The Washington times., 1907-03-31
ELEPHANTS AT WORK.
Hundreds Employed in Sawmilis-May
Give Place to Machinery.

To see the working elephant in all mis-
glory one must go 10 Burma, the center
Of the teakwood industry. Some or the
great saw-mills OF Maulmain and
Rangoon employs hundreds of elephants,
some with and others without a mahOut
or driver.
The companies own immense timber
concessions. and each year a certain
number OF trees are marked for cutting
down Those so marked are girdled 70
prevent the sap rising. This causes the
tree to die.
In three years It Is quite seasoned and
dry Il is then cut down, the branches
are Topped of and one. two, or three
elephants are attached TO it by chains
to haU. It 10 the nearest stream
The creek in which the elephant has
deposited It's log. says the Circle, may be
dry in the timber cutting season, never
theless the creature continues to pile
log after log "a the bed OF the torrent
against the time when the monsoon
shall break and wash the accumulation
OF logs into one OF the main rivers
When this is done men collect at var
/ lous points and examine the various
| owners marks. The logs are sorted and
/ bound into RATS. and a family OF Bur
mans forthwith instals itself upon each
and builds a little hut Of bamboo and
/ leaves IN which TO live while the big
| raft Of teak logs is coming down the
/ river 10 Rangoon.
| When the RATS arrive opposite the
| saSvyards herds Of working elephants
are I'm waiting TO heave the logs out OF
the water and take them TO different
parts OF the mill. They display an in
| telligcnce almost human. and when the
| dinner bell rings at midday logs are
/ dropped in every direction and the
1 ground fairly shakes as hundreds Of
! tuskers scamper of 10 dinner like play
/ ful children let out Of school
| When the logs have been sawu other
| gangs OF elephants move deXteriusly
| about among the huge circular saws,
avoiding them with extreme care. clear
ing away debris, and III a marvellous
manner discriminating between mere
rubbish and the saWn piauks. Then the
elephants stack the latter so carefully
/ that the edges are not injured.
Most amusing Is It 10 see one OF these
/ working elephants taclliuE a huge
/ squared log and placing Il on the stack.
/ First of all he estimates its length and
/ weight as IL lies on the ground. Then
he digs his tusks under 81 at one end,
| curls his trunk over and tries to drag
one end of the log on 10 mis- tusks.
! Should he find the task beyond him he
l viii give a queer little trumpet note and
| Up comes colleague to help him at
/ the other end IN a moment the two
/ elephants have swung the big log be-
tween them. walk IN step TO the pile.
and then one Of them, apparently by
/ pTeconcerted agreement places his end
IN position on the stack, while the other
rams home the log.
Every timber ard has its own par
4 ucular show elephant. more intelligent
than the rest and one belonging 10
/ Messrs. MacGregor & Co. Of Rangun.
was in the habit of turning on a water
tap and helping himself to a big drink,
though he could never be induced TO
turn the water off again Similar OBJ
stinacy and occasionally bad temper is
often shown, and the mahouts are very
highly paid. for they live always IN the
risk that the hsge brutes may turn
upon them and AL them, particularly
If the mahout he's at any time shown
cruelty or unkindness.
A Hindu mahOut was employed with
I a working elephant in Bangkok, Siam,
and frequently used a steel gOad in de-
fiance of all warnings. The result was
that his elephant made frequent at
tempts 20 Kill him, and finally the man
was discharged.
Nearly four years afterward. by a
most remarkable coincidence. both ele-
phant and mahOuJ met again in Maui
main Burma. and no sooner was the
big tusker out of sight Of the sawmill
and we'll into the forest than he curled
his trunk up backward, seized his old
prosecutor by the neck. hurled him %
the ground and in an instant a mighty
fCrefoot had crushed out his life
Each working elephant represents a
value OF Sl.500. and years of expert
ence have shown that until quite re-
Gently this was the most profitable form
of labor that could be employed in the
! great forests of Burma and Siam. Now
however. highly ingenious American,
/ German and British machineTy-chie1y
portable railroads and steam hoists-
are gradually taking the place of the
giant workers. and in another decade
the Independent elephant IabOrer may
be entirely extinct.