Show 4 41 c I THINGS r i u O t 1 O O P OP O 21 t tC B FREDERIC j do HASKIN 1 5 I A PaIt Pah C i 2 r 1 i Q I r J I Wi 4 4 I I yr r S b 1 COLOMBO Ceylon is the native heath ot of the elephant The huge beasts which are re such a source of awe and wonder t Young America on circus cir circus circus cus day roam wild on both the open y plains lains and In the deep forests of this paradise From time Immemorial Im immemorial r memorial the Singhalese have been I taught to capture and train them Formerly these thee massive lords of the forests were used only for the processions processions processions of kings and religious parades but they are now trained to work They are us Q for drawing heavy machinery for tor or clearing new ground and are even eren put in harness to do farm work They are specially useful In building dams across streams and in lifting heavy timbers The sagacity c of a elephant is truly trub 7 wonderful One of them will win place big stones In position and gently turn them until their location becomes about as exact as a stonemason would require In contrast to heavy work like this another one will be trained to gather fruit going over the tree carefully with its sensitive selecting only that fruit which Is ripe and plucking It as neatly as a girl could lift a cherry With her lips Ups The Elephant at Home However before entering at too great length into the success of their domestic life it rill vill be well to observe some Bome of their habits and characteristics while in the jungle Although its home is generally in a warm and sunny climate It Is not true that the elephant Is partial to heat or to light In Ceylon it shuns the sultry valleys and fre frequents frequents frequents the elevated plains on the moun mountainside mountainsIde where the air is often touched u I k b Elephants Bathing in an River of Trained Elephants I I 1 t c Fi 7 4 i L c z f iii r I I Ib b 4 4 1 4 1 f j j bk 1 f I a e 5 fr frS frk k S k ii A p 4 j with frost After vainly searching the hot jungle hunters have discovered herds of them tRem at a height of feet No altitude seems seems too lofty for the ele elephants elephants elephants If It affords an abundance of ot water Contrary to general opinion this animal always shuns the glare of the sun and s the day In the densest foliage it can find dozing and resting in solitude At night it seeks water to indulge its passion for the bath It is believed the animals partiality for fm Posing for the Camera shade Is caused partly by weak eyes All hunters agree that it relies more moreon moreon moreon on the ear and the sense of smell than on Its sight Its inability to see perfectly has been demonstrated on numerous occasions when wh attacked by hunters One would suppose sU po e that a man In contact with such a huge body was doomed but ex exP PrIence P rI nce has shown that th t the hunter un under under der foot has a better chances of escape than one directly in front of the en enraged enraged enraged raged animal The attention of an ele elephant elephant elephant in the act of trampling any anything anything anything thing under underfoot foot is easily diverted A Anoise Anoise Anoise noise at one side or the touch of an overhanging branch Is likely to send the infuriated monster crashing away in a 3 panic The absolute terror and cowardice of an elephant when confronted by something it cannot see and does not understand is both pitiful and ludicrous ludicrous ludicrous rous One instance is cited where a scotch terrier seized the trunk of a tame in its Us ly brought the huge creature to its knees When the dog repeated the at attack attack attack tack the elephant retreated in a panic and would probably have hav broken down the building in its Us frantic franti efforts to getaway get getaway getaway away if the keeper had not interfered Their feet are very tender and they are always apprehensive of injury to them which may be an explanation of their dread of dogs d gs An illustration of the sensitiveness of an elephants feet has been observed by a 3 tame animals in indifference indifference difference when appear a pear was pointed at athis athis 4 his head bead followed by shrinking timid timidity timidIty timidity ity when the same weapon wag wa pointed at its feet Habits of the Monster A herd of elephants traveling to together together together gether is a family not a company col collected collected I by chance or associated together by accident Each group of animals is governed by a leader who plans ther their wanderings reconnoiters in case of alarm and advances to lead the de defense defense defense in case of attack An elephant is capable of concealing its huge bulk bulkIn In an Incredibly small space and can swiftly traverse the narrowest path provided it renders readers sure footing When surprised in the jungle it will make a momentary rush Tush with great noise fol followed followed followed lowed by sudden and absolute stillness The inexperienced invariably suppose that the prey has halted to ascertain the cause of alarm but investigation r that the quarry has escaped without making a sound or leaving a trail an astonishing 8 performance for such a gigantic animal Although the elephant is so ponder ponderous ous it has a gentle disposition It lives liveson liveson on terms t of amity with all animals of the forest neither regarding them as its foe nor provoking their hostility by hy attack It shows no impatience in the company of the elk the bear or the wild hog and none of these animals evince any toward the ele eIe elephant elephant but let some animal appear in inthe inthe inthe the jungle whose form is not familiar and a wild rush Tush instantly follows Black Sheep of the Jungle Those known as rogue elephants do not share the docile temperament characteristic of the rest of the herd The rogue is 15 a single animal anima which for some reason has been denied asso with its family and which is hever allowed to attach Itself to a strange group It may browse In the theno no neighborhood an and 3 frequent the theme same me water hole but the intercourse Is never allowed to develop into familiar familiarity ity Left to Itself the animal seems to become reckless and desperate de It spends Its night In marauding tramp trampling trampling ling Ung down crops and doing great dam damage damage damage age to property These Thesa outcasts are generally males and two of them are never seen acen together It is believed that fa tame elephant escaping from captivity Pity ity invariably becomes a rogue on account of being unable to join ts for former or mer companions or to make new sill alii and curiosity curios 1 ty Mare are strong traits in the elephant Surveying S por ti les s engaged in opening s through t i the he forest frequently find their th lr woo en eni f r i Elephant Feeding in Jungle tracing pegs pulled up over night the I tracks Indicating that the mischief has been done by elephants One traveler who was being chased by y a rogue threw down his valise and made his escape while his massive pursuer halt halted halted ed ott to break open the bag b g and examine Its contents Hunters have observed that a wounded elephant will not charge across an intervening hedge but butwill butwill butwill will run up and end down in search of an opening A mere string suspended from slender posts will wUl protect a field of grain from elephants the animals fear of pitfalls seeming to make them wary of all such obstructions even though the slightest blow would remove them Elephants will never stay in a jungle during a thunderstorm their fear f ar of remaining g near trees which might be struck by lightning causing them to repair to the open ground Although elephant shooting was the standard st sport of Ceylon in the earlier I days the herds are now protected by bylaw bylaw bylaw law and their wanton destruction for forthe forthe forthe the mere gratification of sport has ceased On account of the elephants usefulness the capture and training of them has become an adroit science The Th old way was to lure them into pits but this procedure was so likely to injure the captives that a safer method has been devised This con consists consists consists of driving them into an enclosure enclosure enclosure sure called a kraal The is accomplished by beating the jungle with drums guns and torches the line of beaters gradually narrowing toward the mouth of the enclosure into which the tho frightened animals rush with the idea that it offers an avenue of es escape escape escape cape I Once inside they are left until their fear f ar and bewilderment begins to sub subside subside subside side when a a number of trainers mount mounted ed on the backs of tame elephants en ter the enclosure and proceed to tie the captives to trees or stout stakes The intelligent part the tame elephants take in this work Is remarkable Two of them approach a wild one from either side and gradually force him backward toward the stake where he heIs heIs heis Is to be tethered The prisoners most furious resistance is unavailing against the cool patient Intelligent manipulation manipulation lation of the decoys The roping of a 8 wild elephant is necessarily a difficult task for the men who sh It but the tame ones are so vigilant and sagacious in their assistance that fa fatalities fatalities seldom occur The Process of Training The process of training a wild ele eJe elephant pliant is simple nevertheless the re results suIts are quite astonishing For the first few days it is left alone with a tame one tied near to give it dence At first the captive will refuse refus food but the decoy soon soothes it and persuades it to eat The first step to toward toward ward teaching the stranger respect and obedience is to place him between two tame animals while several men confront him with sharpened Irons Ashe As Ashe Ashe V he lunges forward his trunk comes In contact with the points of the weapons and becomes so sore that he soon Boon learns to hold It up or curl it in close closeout closeout closeout out of harms way After this first lesson an elephant seldom attempts to trunk offensively use Its V VIt It is 15 taken to water securely tied to two tame animals and at every at attempt attempt attempt tempt to break away it Is mercilessly prodded in tender places with sharp irons It Is pricked to make It He Ho down and the same process proc ss is repeat repeated ed to force it to get up It soon learns to avoid pain by responding to the threat rather than the act of torture It is found that elephants which are the most obstinate and violent at first are ure the quickest to be effectually sub subdued subdued subdued dued while those that are sullen and morose can an rarely be trusted in after UI Often Die of Broken Heart The presence of tame elephants is soon dispensed with and the tive ridden alone by the driver Although he may appear docile it is not desira desirable desirable desirable ble to work him too soon as there are frequent instances where a 8 valuable animal has bas lain down and an died of a broken heart the first time l i was put In harness harne Even if he does not die at once from the ignominy of being put to work a captured elephant is likely to become so fretted when forced to labor that he be will sicken n and die in a short time The first employment an elephant is usually put to is treading clay In a brick yard or dragging burdens by bythe bythe bythe The the side of a tame companion sagacity that elephants show in per performing performing performing forming labor is extraordinary Two of them will pile pUe up logs with as much precision and with greater rapidity Continued on Page 4 |