The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-02-04
BATHING AT THE ZOO.
the Elephant, the Elk and the China
psnHee Are Very Fond OF
the Water

the Water.
The quip of the old author who saws
that the difference between civilized
and uncivilized men hes In the fact
that the former battles and the lat
ter does not, has long been disproved
by fact. But if the difference Of ba tn
made the civilized man, the zoo con
tains number of animals who can
fairly claim the benefit of the distinc-
tion-whether it makes them civilized
is not altogether clear. There is the
elephant, for instance. 1t rejoices in
huge tay1 sunk in the ground, to
which an incline is sunk, and wherein
the pachyderm may enjoy itself.
There are two elephants at the ZOO,
but the bigger doesn't battle. He's
too fierce, wild and untractable to be
let out of his cage. So they keep him
securely chained, and when he needs
bath the hose is turned on him. The
female, quiet beast of pleasant man
ners, sannters forth every afternoon
in summer and battles in the tank
Her joy is simply unmeasured, says the
Philadelphia Times.
When she does battle, the trumpet
ing, the splashing, the squirting of wa
ter out of her trunk on her back and
TANKS, are simply prodigious. 1t is the
sight of the day-but anyone getting
too near may be drenched. That
doesn't feaze the elephant. She's
there to battle. and battle she does.
The crowd watches in amazement.
Elephants, as is well known, do not lie
down, even to battle, and the ZOO
elephant is no exception. She stands
up and swashes about, acting as her
own shower bath, and making the most
of her opportunities.
The male elk is another bather, on a
long and protracted basis. There is
tank in the elk Enclosure into which
water constantly flows. 1t is not a
large tank and when the male elk gets
into 1t, there isn't much room for any
thing else, so the females and the
little elks are forced to stay out and
watch the old one enjoy himself AS
he is liable of a warm day to stay in
the tank from dewy morn to dewy
eve. the others get theirs in watch
ing.
When thus enjoying himself, the
elk is frequently submerged, except
his horns, which are wide, and his
nostrils. They say his object is to
avoid the flies. which can't bite his
horns very well, and don't have much
of chance on his nose. The rest of
the elk family have to fight the flies
as best they may.
The chimpanzee, Billy, gets a
sponge bath daily. The heat of July
was few too many for Billy, who
had been reared in the compare tive
chill of Central Africa, and he had
to be put on lee to keep him from
slipping his earthly moorings alto
gether. Nowadays, his keeper, MUIR
ray, gives him a sponge bath every
afternoon, which is simply Billy's
chief delight. When he feels the
sponge he closes his eyes and smiles,
and expresses his qualification in low
snorts and whistles.
The alligators and crocodiles, being
by nature very fond of bathing, di-
vide their time between lying in the
water with their mouths open and
lying on the ground with their
mouths open. They are not express
sive of countenance and their bath
ing may be by force of habit. The
persistent indulgence in water baths
alternated by sun baths may account
for their good health, for so far as
known they never die natural
death.
The pelicnns, storks, swans, ducks.
cranes, and other like birds are fond
of the water, as everyone knows.
The pelicans, cranes and storks stand
and wade in it knee deep, with one
leg drawn up and one eye closed.
just why this one-sided habit is not
known, even TO naturalists.
The polar bear, not having any ice
bergs on hand, takes it out in water,
which he leaves long enough to eat,
and take an occasional nap. His feel
ing during the recent hot spell may
be conjectured,