Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-07-29
WHERE ELEPHANTS
COME FROM
Methods Of Capture-Trained Ele-
plants HeIp Subdue Wild Ones

1
plants Help subdue wild Ones
Papa, where do the elephants come
FROM"
The answer to this question that any
boy Is apt to PROFOUND to any father
when spring brings the circus to town is
answered in National Geographic so
c1ety bulletin as follows:
"Showmen prefer the Indian elephant to
the African on the score rof disposition,
but there is no more loving mother than
the African female, for she never discards
, her young. 1t is quite common to see
her lunging through the Rhodesian Jungle
followed by three Of her babies, nine, six
and three years old. while fourth one is
on the way; the CESSATION period Is two
years.
AFRICA, OF course. is the hunters par
adise and there the elephant is more ant
10 be shot than captured and tanned
or the endless variety of game, the pur-
suit Of the elephant is deemed the most
dangerous. In British territory a license
costs SIPS to shoot four of the beasts. The
hunter starts out with retinue of hum
dreds of natives who closely scan the
ground for 'spoor dung and when il is
apparent that a herd Is near, the excite
ment becomes intense. A huge ball of
ABOUT Tour tons with grand pair of
tusks Is sighted. One shot IN exactly the
right spot Gust back of the shoulder)
VIII bring him down. Although the most
short-sighted animal in the world, he
charges in fury if the hunter has been
unlucky, and in a few brief moments the
valiant crowd has fled in terror. If
lucky short. the hunter has three or four
hundred dollars worth of ivory, and the
ecstatic army of hungry savages devours
the carcass and all that cannot be eaten
at the time is carried back to the village
or nuts, to rejoice the hearts Cor rather
the stomachs) of the women and children.
Elephant hunting in Burma and in In
Ola takes different forms. In India great
long V-shaped stockades are built, the
arms or which are some times mile long.
The elephants are driven into the largo
opening. little realizing that they are
walking into trap They are gradually
driven down toward the apex of the V.
where they are forced through a gate into
a big pen.
In Burma instead of a great, farinr
or powerful posts planted in the ground.
there are two converging rows of lights
fastened IN trees. The hunting Is done at
night AS the elephants are unanswered
into the broad opening between the outer
thrown across the opening, and the ele-
plants retreat farther down into the V.
getting just as far away from the lights
as possible. Then another row is thrown
across the opening, and this in turn is
succeeded by other lines. the elephants
constantly retreating from the lights and
hnally hnding themselves at the apex.
with the choice q Entering the small
stockade or breaking through the Gordon
OF hgnts. The former SENS the lesser of
the two evils to the majority of them.
once inside the stockade two trained
elephants draw up alongside the beast TO
be captured. one on each side, and hold
him between them until a man loops a
big chain around his foot and anchors him
safely to tree. There is terrific strug-
gle py the wild elephant to get free once
more and this often lasts for hours. But
even an elephant finds some bonds he
cannot burst. and finally becomes recon.
cied to them.
Then the animal is left without a
thing to eat for days. becoming famished
ana weak. Next it has to be taught that
no effort it can put forth can circuryart
the will of the trainer. Often the latter
1astens log cabin about it's neck and
nitches tame elephant at the other end. ,
sometimes the captives resist with such
uhcohquerable determination that their
necAs are broken in the struggle Others
are SO adamantine in their spirit of re-
ISSUANCE mat they fight for fredeom to the
bitter end and never yield to training.
nut as soon as one yields 1t is treated
sently' and 1t finds out that the way to
eiephantine happiness lies in accepting the
keepers Will. In about a month 1t settles .
oo"n patiently to the duty of being a ,
sood' trustworthy beast of burden"