ildren, did not like to lie still in one position, would, as soon as
left to itself, begin crawling about, in which exercise it would
probably get among the legs of the animal, or entangle itself in the
branches of the trees on which he was feeding, when the elephant would,
in the most tender manner, disengage his charge, either by lifting it
out of the way with his trunk, or by removing the impediments to his
free progress. If the child had crawled to such a distance as to verge
upon the limits of his range,--for the animal was chained by the leg to
a peg driven into the ground,--he would stretch out his trunk, and lift
it back, as gently as possible, to the spot whence it had started."
The elephant is not less disposed to resent an injury than to reward a
benefit. It has been frequently observed, by those who have had the
charge of these animals, that they seem sensible of being ridiculed,
and seldom miss an opportunity of revenging themselves for the insults
they receive in this way. An artist in Paris wished to draw the
elephant in the menagerie at the _Jardin des Plantes_ in an
extraordinary attitude, which was with his trunk elevated in the air,
and his mouth open. An attendant on the artist, to make the elephant
preserve the attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, and often pretended
to throw them, without doing so. The animal became irritated, and,
seeming to think that the painter was the cause of his annoyance,
turned to him, and dashed a quantity of water from his trunk over the
paper on which the painter was sketching the portrait.
An amusing anecdote is related, by Captain Williamson, of an elephant,
which went by the name of the _paugal_, or fool, who, by his sagacity,
showed he could act with wisdom. This animal, when on a march, refused
to carry on his back a larger load than was agreeable to him, and
pulled down as much of the burden as reduced it to the weight which he
conceived proper for him to bear. One day, the quarter-master of
brigade became enraged at this obstinacy in the animal, and threw a
tent-pin at his head. A few days afterwards, as the creature was on his
way from camp to water, he overtook the quarter-master, and, seizing
him in his trunk, lifted him into a large tamarind-tree, which overhung
the road, and left him to cling to the branches, and to get down the
best way he could.
We shall conclude our anecdotes of the elephant with one which shows it
in a most amiable light. The Raja
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