Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-12
ELEPHANT AND LOCOMOTIVE.
Fate of a Beast That Tried to Push nm
Engine Backward.
no

From the London Standard
1t Is not only in South Africa, and by
statesmen who ought to know better, that
the march Of civilization is opposed and OBJ
st1nacy pitted against progress The ele-
plant has many human qualities and IL the
story that comes to us from Perak, one of
the Straits settlements, be well founded
occasionally shares with politicians hardly
less intelligent their prejudice against the
spirit of the age. 1t appears that a big
tusker, which hal long been an object of
pursuit to the sportsmen Of that remote
district. wandered on to the railway line
and tried conclusions with the engine of
goods train, charging 1t repeatedly, and
Keeping up the contest for nearly an hour
The engine was reversed in the hope that
the beast would quit the field and allow the
train to proceed. but soon as there was
any attempt to renew the journey the ele-
plant returned to the encounter and re-
sumed its obstructive tactics. The driver
was afraid to charge the brute, lest the
train should be thrown Of the metals. and
the contest might have gone on much
longer had not the elephant backet; into
the engine, and. setting its fore feet firmly
between the rails. endeavored to shove the
train backward with its hind quarters.
The driver took advantage of the opportu-
nifty and put on steam, gradually forcing
the beast Off the line. In this maneuver
one of the wheels of the engine went over
the hind legs of the animal, which was put
out OF its misery by the guard of a follow
Ing passenger train. This Is not the first
time that the engine in question has en-
countered an elephant on the line, Just
about five years ago, while it was drawing
a passenger train on a dark night through
the heavy tropical forest, a sudden shock
was felt, and the train came to stand
still. The engine and tender were thrown
Oft the metals and half way down the en-
bankment, though, fortunately, they did
not drag the carriages after them. When
the driver, who had been pitched off. went
back to ascertain the cause of the accident,
he saw a large bull elephant at the bottom
of the embankment on the other side of the
line 1t died few minutes after the COL
lision from the violent shock and loss of
blood. its off fore leg having been shattered
and piece of the trunk torn off. Beyond
the fright and shock caused by the sudden
stopping of the train, which, luckily, was
travelling at only fifteen miles an hour no
injury resulted to any of the passengers
In the same month of the same year a SINH
lar accident occurred on the Bengal-Na gpur
railway in India.
On a pitch dark night mail train was
running at the rate of twenty-seven miles
an hour through very thick jungle which
was known to hold wild elephants. The
driver felt an obstruction and attempted
to reverse, but the engine left the metals,
dragging with 1t a brake van. the carriage
Of the locomotive superintendent and some
other carriages, but without causing in
jury to any of the passengers or officials.
At first 1t was thought that the accident
had been brought about by cattle straying
on the line, but the officials soon found a
dead elephant Apparently the animal had
been crossing the line just as the train
came up, and had been struck by the en-
CINE and hurled dbwn the bank. The agent
of the company sent home one of the tusks
to be put up in the board room as a mem
orial of the occurrence. These instances of
train being thrown off the line through
collision with elephant show that while
such accidents are pretty sure to be bad
for the elephant" they are also attended
with considerable danger to rolling stock
and even to human life. The latter consid-
Grafton completes the analogy We have al
ready drawn.