The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-06-02
AN ELEPHANT RIDE
The First Try on a Padded Animal
Is a Fearful Ordeal.
FEELS LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE.
And Resembles For Time Trying to
Sit on Steep santing Roof-Ths
Big Brutes Are Timid, and Little pius
and Qufoksands Terrify Them.

Big 6rutes Are Timid, and Little Pias
and QuIoksands Terrify Them.
Elephant riding is thing that, like
| guessing peoples names correctly, re-
| quires a good deal Of practice. The
nrst ride is thing never to be for
gotten. more especially If 1t happens
| 10 be on a pad eiephant-that is to
| say, one that carries no howdah or
seat OF any kind except an immense,
hard, lumpy mattress, which is fassen-
ed on by four large rough ropes, pulled
as taut as mans strength can pull
Them. If there are two or three other
persons already mounted you get cor
| ner or this mattress to sit on and are
told to hold on by the ropes.
Meanwhile the elephant is getting
tired OF kneeling and keeps making
heavfng motions unpleasantly sugges-
tive of the sea. You strive wildly to
get your fingers under one Of the
| ropes and are asked impatiently If you
are ready.
| You do not feel at all ready or likely
ever to be ready for your seat is un-
certain and slippery, and for the life
of you you cannot get fair hold on
the rope.
Breaking your nails In a last des-
perate effort. you say feebly that you
are ready, when with sudden jerk,
that seems to drag all your bones out
Of their sockets, you are tilted up on a
| steep slope, about as pleasant to sit On
as the side of slate roof.
But you have no time to enjoy the
position, for there comes another foun-
dering jerk that knocks your hat over
your eyes and throws you violently
against your next neighbor, after
which you fnd your seat is level again,
and 1t presently dawns upon you that
this earthquake was, In truth, merely
the elephants customary way of ris-
ing He Is now slowly and solemnly
stalking onward, as you are aware by
feeling your spine rhythmically and
| soundlessly dislocated at each noiseless
step.
AT first 1t seems to you as odd that
you should ever come to like riding an
elephant, as that eels should come to
like being skinned. and your friends
assurance that you will ere long be
able to dispense with the aid of ropes
and go on chatting and even smiling
while that colossal upheaval takes
place falls on the ear as an idle tale.
Nevertheless 1t Is the truth Before
har rdI
getting up or the kneeling down. You
rarely take hold of rope, and you are
Indifferent to almost any angle of
steepness. You learn to appreciate the
restfulness of being on colossus that
Will never stumble, never shy, never
frolic and with whose guidance you
have no more to do than you have With
that of ship at sea.
Even when an elephant is muttnous
ne Is SO In solemn we'll considered
manner. He will not run away, though
he will on occasion stride away, and
sufficient absurd sight 1t is, though not
to those on his back.
once saw an elephant try conclu-
sions with his mahout and stride OFT
dehantly in a wrong direction till the
savage blows rained upon his head by
the driver with his heavy iron hook
made him change his tactics. He pull
ed up short and began rocking his body
violently to and fro till first one rider
and then another was sent flying until
all were gone.
The sight of them strewing the
ground around him and ruefully rub
bing their bruises assuaged his anger.
An elephantine smile lit up his rugged
face, and he once more rendered cheer
full obedience to his mahout.
Considering his strength and size,
the elephant is a timorous beast They
are greatly alarmed by small pigs, and
I have known an otherwise sensible
elephant utterly routed by litter Of
piglings scampering between his legs
In thick grass jungle.
Now, pigling can never have hurt
an elephant Therefore whence his
fear? Can 1t be their latent powers OF
sQuealing?
Certain 1t is that pigs share with
quicksands the power of terrifying an
elephant. His reasons for fearing
quicksands are weighty ones, and 1t Is
impossible not to sympathize with the
huge beasts agony OF terror when he
finds himself ON unsound ground.
A spot was pointed out to us along
the river bank at Fyzabad, where
year ago an elephant had got into q
quicksand and been lost
All that could be done to save him
was done, but the treacherous sand
would not forego its victim. Four
days he took to sink out of sight, and
then nothing could be seen of him but
the tip of his trunk still piteously
beckoning I'm vain for help. At last
the cruel sand closed over that, and his
last agony was ended st. Paul Pio-
neer- Press.