Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1913-08-08

W p6UuEQL OIL LuS SSINlCoS vi &A
animal than Is the teak indus
try on those of the elephant.
In Java, 1t Ia true, the timber, being
smaller and the conditions different
hand labor and implements are EN-"
ployed. and in parts ever of Burma
and Siam the country Is sufficiently
fat to permit the carting by buffaloes
being used as a method Of extraction.
But these parts are comparatively Few
and far between, and the obstacles in
the way Of introducing heavy plants
into o country deficient in good roads.
bridges or facilities for transport must
be at o0ce apparent, writes q CORE
spondent of the London Times. Even
without these obstacles 1t Ia doubtful
whether teak, being &c scattered az
1t is, could ever be proftably worked
up and down steep hillsides by ma
chinery, while It Ia as certain 70 any
thing can be that no machinery could
ever devised to perform the part
played by elephants in the water.
Apart from the enormous bodily
strength which enables 1t to drag, an
elephant can, with its forehead, trunk
or tusks, push and roll enormous logs
about as If they we're playthings. nor
does 1t mind working in water 1--WE
feet, and even more, in depth.
Asiatlc Differs From African.
The Asiatic elephant, which belongs
to an entirely different species from
the African and resembles the latter
hardly more closely than the buffalo
does the OK, Is, like the teak tree, con-
fined mainly to India, Farther India
and the Malay peninsula. Wild herds
are still found In Burma and Siam,
where they are carefully protected, a
special license being required to shoot
them in the former country and the
law f%orbidding their destruction ex-
cept in cases of necessity, or for self
defenes in the latter. Every few
years the Siamese government holds
"keddah" operations or catches at
Ayuthia, and by their agency the do
mesticated are recruited from the free
herds.
That apart from it's work, the condi-
lions under which the elephant Is to
live in captivity should as closely as
possible resemble those Of its wild
state will naturally be the owners
first care. 1t is a purely herbivorous
animal, and thrives we'll on the ordi-
nary jungle plants and creepers, the
juicy "kaing" grass, young bamboo
shoots and wild plantain being among
its f3vorite foods. In Siam, 1t Is
hardly eves stall fed, as it is n India;
in the neighborhood of a town or viii
lage, when it has to be tied up, food
must, Of course, be brought to it. But,
as a general rule, the animal Is sim
ply turned out int othe jungle to find
its food for itself, the forefeet being
hobbled to prevent its straying too far.
Among its primary requisites are
shade and abundance of water. Given
these and good grazing, an elephant
has a fair chance of keeping its con-
dition throughout the sever months
which constitute It's working season.
The latter begins, as already stated,
in June. From that time onward, the
animals daily and weekly routine is
something as follows: Directly 1t is
daylight the rider leaves mis- camp,
goes out to track his charge, which,
despite his hobbled condition, will
often succeed in straying a distance
of several miles: bathes him all over
in the creek-this Is n of the most
important of the mahout's duties-and
brings him to the Gene of the days
work. Operations begin at seven q.
m., or a little before, and go on till
II. by which time the power Of the
sun generally renders 1t imprudent to
continue further. For 1t must be re-
membered that the elephant IL natur-
ally q nocturnal animal and extremely
liable to sunstroke. On the compile
ton Of their days work the animals
are brought 10 camp, Invested Of their
gear, hobbied and turned out into the
Jungle. Toward evening the riders
pay them another visit to make sure
that their charges have not slipped
their hobbies, as they occasionally
manage TO do, or been walked of by
a gang of thieves. who till lately In
tested some parts of Siam. and even
now = not unknown. The elephants
r inspected by the foreman IN
charge Of the camp, bathed and bskt