T U E D E A D T I G E R .
I l ,al , s u d i a r e not selected for 1,1s own use il, ll,e fieW. At least, the ,nos t
powe r ful will g ene r a l ly be seen wi thout any i-iilcr l „ , t the mohout ; who pe rha ps
may he pi-ovkletl wi th a spe a r . Sneh e l ephant s a,-e ur g ed to a t t a ck Ihe tiger
-ivith thei r teeth ; on which they wi l l receive the cha r g e , somet imes ivith g r e a t
dext e r i ty ; c aus ing the as sai lai , t to t r ans f ix, or a t leas t to wound himsel f in his
spi-ing. T h e r e are, however , ve ry f ew e l ephant s that can lie brought to perfection
"nine in ten of them h e i n g ' d i s g u s t e d wi th the spor t , and g iving w.iy to
very ordina ry a t t a cks . Henc e a ,'eally s t aunch one Is of cous ideral i lc value.
I t is wo r thy of r ema r k , that, sneh e l ephant s as are newly c aught , pos ses s far
move c o u r a g e than those l ong dome s t i c a t ed. P r o b a b l y , this super ior i ty arises
fi-om their of ten f a l l ing ii, witli t iger s in their wi ld s t ate, and b e ing compe l l ed
to s tand on thei r d e f e n c e ; oi-, that, f rom the f r equency of such reuconl res , they
a cqui r e a habi t of indiirerence. Ad d to this, it is obs e rvabl e in all aniu,al s , that
dome s t i c a t ion a s sur edly b,-eak» the s p i r i t ; r ende r ing t h e n pas s ive, and c aus ing
a certain de g r e e of t imidi ty, ope r a t ing g r e a t ly to their di s adv ant a g e in many
rcspect s . No t h i n g mor e compl e t e ly i l lus t rates the t ruth of this pos i t ion, Ulan the
cer t a inty, lhat a j u n g l e cock, which has been born and rea red in a wild state,
though f a r sma l ler than the gene r a l run of g a .ne cocks , will, f rou, its supe r ior
ke enne s s , and act ivi ty, in all ins tances be f o und victorious ! T h e natives of
I l indo s t an, I mean Ihe Mu s s u lmans , are, l ike the Ma l a y s , wondrons ly a t t a ched
to cock f i g h t i n g ; and in both count ries the abo v e e x pe r iment ha s be en tried,
whe r e j u n g l e cocks could b e obt a ined ; -which is ve ry seldom inde ed.
T h e common me thod of t raining an e l ephant to a t t a ck t i g e r s is wi th a
sUiU'ed skin ; ,vhich be ing laid in his wa y , as lie proc e eds ihroilgli a g r a s s j ung l e ,
a t first usua l ly exci tes some a l a rm ; but the e l ephant spe edi ly be come s reconciled
to the object , and, a f l c r i, f ew ti-ials, ma y be br ought , not only to view it
wi th indi l lerence, hut to p u t his foot on the s u p p o s e d c a rc a se ; rol l ing it backwa
r d s and f o rwa rds , as it we r e for amus ement ; and, occas ional ly be a r ing his
who l e we i ght I hereon. Wh e n snfTieiently reconciled to the compl exion ami
feel of the fietilious enemy, the e l ephant is t a u ght to receive it on hi s teetli,
when t l i rowu towa rds his head by one or two men. Af t e r this he is made to
kneel , ami pres s hi s teeth through the s t u l l i u g ; so as to fix it to the g r ound.
Du r i n g all these pa r t s of the tuition, the mohout uses every soothing me ans ;
c a re s s ing the e l ephant , and s u p p l y ing him l iberal ly (vith such daint ies a s he seems
to p r e f e r ; thus , not only r ende r ing him sens ible of tile a dv ant a g e a t t endant
upon his a cqui e s c cue e and doci l i ty of di spos i t ion, but c rea t ing a r e g a rd for his
ke epe r , whi ch in the sequel is of ten found to conl r ibut e much to hi s safety.
T h u s far e l ephant s , in gene r a l , ma y be led wi thout shewing much disinclination
; some, however , t ake f r i ght in the cour s e of t raining, and be come .so invinc
ibly obs t ina te, lhat nei ther force nor c o a x ing c au induce thcin to proceed.
S u ch, ordina r i ly, prove far wor s e than they we r e previous to any me a sur e s be ing
Uken to ins t ruct tlicm. B u t llie severe pa r t of the trial is y e t to come. Ti l e
inanima te object ha s , p e rha p s , been vi ewed wi th iiidill'erence ; hut when a b o y
is putwi thi i i the skin, s tui lcd to its utmos t diuieiision.s, and caused to proceed, at
first witii silence, ami a f t e rwa rds witli louti liowlings, tlic ehrphaiit gene r a l ly in
fol lowing wi l l shew some uneasiness. Ill this s t age, however , he is not required
to a s s u a l t ; lull when a calf, or other animal , is sul,sLituled in lieu of the human
s tul l ing, then the e l ephant is ui-gcd to the at tack, and in every iiistaiiee to shew
his learning. 1 iiave before informed the reader , that e!e[»hants are ext remely
jealous of all small animal s running near, but especial ly behiiul, them; and I may
here a dd, that all, in genera l , would r a ther conf ront , or follow, a l a r g e beast than
a smal l one. Mo s t , indeed, feel the gre a t e s t uneas ines s when dog s are near them,
and move s ideways so a s to avoid tiiein when approa ching . T h e old topic of
ma gni f y ing optics, ment ioned in the last numbe r , will pe rhaps be revived in
beha l f of such iqiprcheiisions ; not however to my conviction.
Du r i n g the time that an elephant is in t raining, it is held prudent to a c cus iom
him to the s ight and smcli of any tiger which may be ke[»l in a c a g e , ; and,
especial ly, to deba r him the s ight of such t iger s as, dur ing tile course of hunt ing,
may b e in an i r r i tated s tate. When a t iger is killed, the elephant should
then be i j ronght u]i to roll, pres s , and transfix iiim, as before siieeilied ; and, if
the nobl e animal shew no di s l rus t , llie c a rc a se may he laid on his back. 'I his
pa r t of the ccreniony is, however , the most diflicuit of the whole ; and if not
mana g ed willi g r e a t del i c a cy and caut ion, may ruin the speeiilation completely.
I t is as toni shing wi th wha t j e a lousy even the bes t trained elephant will tolerate
the br indled bur then! 'I'heir anxiety becomes e x t r eme ; and in propor t ion to their
knowl edg e of the Tiger's na ture and prowe s s , so do ihcy become tenacious of allowing
even one in the death of which they have been ins t rumental , to he ],laced
on their pads . Il is not less curious , tiiat some elephant s , which never can be
br ought to approa ch a live t iger, wi l l witilout hesitation allow themselves to be
laden with a de ad one ; and exhibi t no syi iqi toms of apprehens ion, or of di s t rus t ,
on the occasion, l int I recollect seeing a tiger, wliich had been iiisunicieutiy
secured on the back of an elephant of tliis descri],tioii, fall off on the wa y home ;
thereby a g i t a t ing the elephant so much, as to defeat every ende avour to replace
the c a r c a s e ; whicli, a f t er all, we were compe l l ed to convey on a haclidnj, or
c a r t : no other elepi i ant in tl,e field would subniil to be its b e a r e r !
Ho r s e s are hi ghly a l a rmed at both the smell and s i ght of a t iger. Ti i e y
g ene r a l ly he comc so terrified as to lose their presence of mind ; and. In a
t r embl ing s tate, e xhibi t ing even more than Mr. St i ibhs ever pour t r ayed in his
excel lent pa int ings , seem to have lost the powe r to escape. I t some t ime s happens ,
tha t a hold i,orse is the me ans of s aving not only himself anil rider, hut many
othe r s ; aod of thi s an ins tance occur red where four of us fol lowing a hog , close, the
one a f t er the oi l ier ; our leader pushed through a smal l thick patch of gra.ss ;
ills horse, however , when in its centre, suddenly s tar ted, and flew oO at a
l angent ; the ne x t in succession w ould, in all probabi l i ty, have felt the force of
a t iger whi ch l ay concealed, had he not, in lieu of s l o p p ing short, a s wa s to
have been e x p e e l c d, s p rung over the bea s t , which pa r t l y rose and shewed hims
e l f ; g iving a hint to us who were fol lowing, to avoid the dang e r . S ome other s
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