Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-01-30
Elephants

q ZOO an STARE Ill SlleuI WOuuSl dt lAO
giant elephants. or beg for dime to
indulge in ride on the back of one
of these kings of the jungle, bear in
mind that there are things other than
size that may be told Of the elephant.
One, for example, is his method OF
making his way to escape.
THE fact that the elephants feet
are padded renders his step noiseless,
in spite of his great weight" natur-
alist tells us, land his extraordinary
nimbleness seems almost incompat-
ible with his great bulk. Livingstone
related of a party of natives who hunt
ed an elephant with spears. When
first seen. the COW was sucking her
calf, and upon discovering danger at
hand Immediately put herself between
danger and her young. The natives
began with triumphant song and
then threw a volley Of spears, which
fastened themselves in the body OF
the elephant. She retreated-all
bleeding as she was-keeping guard,
however. over her calf In crossing
stream the calf was killed and the
mother shot so full Of spears as TO
resemble mammoth hedgehog. upon
discovering the loss of her young, she
became furious and charged again ana
again upon the natives, who escaped
only by taking advantage OF the ele-
plants inability to turn quickly.
Finally. weak with loss of blood. the
mother fell to the ground, and with a
last roar, passed away.
At times calf elephants will rec1p-
rocate the affection of the dam: al
though usually. like many children
they are too self-engrossed to be
thoughtful. The grief of calf over
its mothers death is thus told by a
traveller:
"a party had been out elephant
hunting and had succeeded In snoot-
ing several before the others took TO
fight. Returning the next day 10
collect their booty, they were met Dy
a Young calf elephant, which ran up
to them twisted it's trunk about their
arms and legs and seemed very mucn
interested in securing their coopera'
tion in some enterprise. Presently
they approached the spot where lay
dead elephant, and the calf at once
began running round it, attempted 10
raise it to its feet, and all the time
manifested the liveliest grief ana
uttered the most pitiful means.
Finding at length that all us 81
forts were vain, the calf re1olned the
travellers, as if to say, Now that you
have slain my mother, you must take
care of the orphan.
Much is written of the fearful de-
struction Of the elephants FOR the
sake Of the ivory of their tusks, but II
should he added that the wanton
wastefulness Of hunters -sportsmen
they can hardly be called-multlpnes
This greatly. The tusks have no roots'
hut grow out of perennial pulp, so
that as necessity requires, they are
renewed Bullets have been found I'M
bedded in the tusks which must nave !
lodged there while the place OF their
denosit was still soft as the tusk Is
AZ the base and which must. supse'
ouently have been carried along as
tho new ivory below pushed along tne
older ivory above. .u-
The elephant. like man, mas MIX
+eetr which In due course OF time crop
ont and are succeeded by the second
and nermanent teeth. On the OUTSIDE
80 tooth ia constituted for crushing,
the next LAYER is adapted to tearing
and the last layer for grlnolng. fei
haps, as an illustration OF the lnterue-
pendeuce Of all terrestrial Ire, II nay
be worth while to mention tnat the III.
yen,ion of celluloid and the discovery
of vegetable ivory, has, by furnishing
a substitute for ivory, done much 10
postpone the time when the elephah's
will be extinct. o,.1
The natives transport the Ivory eltn-
ar in the shape of long heavy strips,
or cut up into squares and regular ng-
ures. 80, 49,.
The elephant is troubled with high
Nv emotional nature, and not ln1re-
ouently falls dead from excessive ex.
citement. His memory is tenacious anu
he does not forget kindness, even
though he sometimes offsets 1t with re-
collection of subsequent lll-treatment.
On more than one occasion, a Traveller
who has cured the wounds OF an ele-
nhant has been held in the liveliest re-
membrance and recognized affection
atelv after prolonged absences. Al
times an elephant will escape and join
ing a herd of wild ones, will become
feral in it's nature. And yet repeated
experience has proven that 1t recog-
nizes the voice Of it's former master
and yields speedily to the habit OF sub
mission.
Though the elephants intelligence is
limited il range, it is certainly very
great in degree. His nature is extreme
" emotional and mantfests itself in a
sense of humiliation, in admiration OF
it's own cleverness, in affectionateness
as well as in the most terrible anger
and the most abject fear.
With elephants and the rest OF the
animal kingdom 1t is unsafe to build
upon experiences with single indivld-
ual The individual elephant is to some
extent, at least, the creature OF its tenn
permanent, surroundings and training.
Many stories are related to illustrate
the affection and kindness manifested
by wild elephants, by surrounding and
projecting the bull whose tusks expos
ed him to the cupidity Of the hunter.
n