White elephant

“ White elephants are very scarce; the colour is occasioned by a disease in the animal, a species of leprosy. Any elephant hunter in these countries, who is fortunate enough to capture a white elephant, is immediately created a noble, and advanced to high honour and wealth. The third white elephant, of which I am about to speak particularly, and who may be considered as the heir apparent, was taken a few months previous to our declaring war against the Burmahs. ”

“ When a tributary king or governor of a province has captured a white elephant he is directed to open a road through the forest for the comfortable transit of the sacred animal, and when he reaches the Meinam he is received on a magnificent raft, with a chintz canopy and garlanded with flowers. ”

“ It is impossible for an ordinary bystander to comprehend the secret signs which are mutually understood by the elephant and his guide, the gentle pressure of one toe, or the compression of one knee, or the delicate touch of a heel, or the almost imperceptible swaying of the body to one side; the elephant detects every movement, howsoever slight, and it is thus mysteriously guided by its intelligence; the mighty beast obeys the unseen helm of thought, just as a huge ship yields by apparent instinct to the insignificant appendage which directs her course, the rudder. ”

“ Lord of all created animals in might and sagacity, the elephant roams through his native forests. He browses upon the lofty branches, upturns young trees from sheer malice, and from plain to forest he stalks majestically at break of day 'monarch of all he surveys.'
A person who has never seen a wild elephant can form no idea of his real character, either mentally or physically. The unwieldy and sleepy-looking beast, who, penned up in his cage at a menagerie, receives a sixpence in his trunk, and turns round with difficulty to deposit it in a box ”

“ THE WHITE ELEPHANT.
Mention of the white elephant is found in the very early histories of Oriental countries. In a work called the “Mahaw Anso,” the animal is described as forming a part of the retinue attached to the Temple of the Tooth at Anarájapoora in the fifth century after Christ; but it commanded no religious veneration, being merely considered as an emblem of royalty.
White elephants were so valued in the sixteenth century, that the nations of Pegu and Siam waged a war for many years about one; and, before it was settled, five successive kings were killed, and thousands of men. ”

“ The fine points in an elephant are: a color approaching to white or red, black nails on the toes (the common color of these nails is black and white) , and intact tails (for, owing to their pugnacious disposition, it is rarely that an elephant is caught which has not had its tail bitten off) . On this occasion the king and a large concourse of nobles assemble together to witness the proceedings; they occupy a large platform on one side of the enclosure. The wild elephants are then driven in by the aid of tame males of a very large size and great strength, and the selection takes place. ”

“ Curiously wrought into it are forms of men and birds, and grotesque beasts that seem, with outstretched hands or claws, to hold it up. Two thirds of the way from the base, stand, I remember, four white elephants, wrought in shining porcelain, facing one each way toward four points of the compass. From the rounded summit rises, like a needle, a sharp spire. ”

“ The eyes in some are pink; and the toe-nails, when scraped, are perhaps some lighter, and in some cases a yellowish white. The blotches of the white elephant are not hereditary. It is the offspring of black parents, and the condition does not affect the health of the animal in any way. ”

“ A staunch elephant is then indispensable, and the real excitement commences when the beaters are sent for safety up the adjoining trees, and the hunter, absolutely certain that the dangerous game, although invisible, is close before him, advances calmly to the attack, knowing that the tiger will be ready to spring upon the elephant the moment that they shall be vis-a-vis. ”

“ The mother is very fond of her big baby, and is valiant in its defence. Elephants are enormous feeders, consuming half a bushel of grain and two hundred pounds of green herbage a day.
The sagacity of the elephant has been the theme of many stories, which have also celebrated its affection, gratitude, its sensibility to kindness, its revengeful memory of affronts, and its treacherous disposition, given to sudden bursts of rage. White elephants, of which so much is said, are not a separate species, but albinos. ”

“ These are covered over with light wood, and crossed with slight branches or reeds, upon which is laid some long dry grass; this is covered lightly with soil, upon which some elephant's dung is scattered, as though the animal had dropped it during the action of walking. A little broken grass is carelessly distributed upon the surface, and the illusion is complete. The night arrives, and the unsuspecting elephants, having travelled many miles of thirsty wilderness, hurry down the incline towards the welcome river. Crash goes a leading elephant into a well-concealed pitfall! ”

“ The white elephant, so much respected in India, and who has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and wrinkled with age. He is attended by several mandarins who are appointed to take care of him, and his victuals is presented to him in large golden vessels; his apartment is very magnificent, and gilt all round. At about a league from the country-house belonging to the king, is another white elephant, kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is 300 years old. ”

“ When in a domestic state, the elephant is shy of trusting itself upon unsound earth or quicksands, as it appears to have lost the confidence resulting from an independent freedom among the jungles, and marshy valleys teeming with aquatic vegetation. It will also refuse to cross a bridge unless of solid masonry, and it is curious to observe the extreme care with which it sounds the structure, either by striking with the coiled extremity of the trunk or by experimenting with the pressure of one foot, before it ventures to trust its whole weight upon the suspected floor. ”

“ They then took the animal home and gave it a good bath, patiently scrubbing and scraping away until all the accumulated mud and dirt upon it was removed, when to their almost infinite joy and astonishment they beheld a most beautiful specimen of the white elephant family. It was of pale bath-brick colour, and on its back there were actually a few hairs that could, without any flattery, be truly called white. This elephant is said to be the finest example of the kind ever captured. ”

“ A fine male elephant, well accoutred with his howdah thoroughly secured, and a good mahout, is a splendid mount, and the rider has the satisfaction of feeling that his animal is well up to his weight. I do not know a more agreeable sensation than the start in the early morning upon a thoroughly dependable elephant, with all the belongings in first-rate order, and a mahout who takes a real interest in his work; a thorough harmony exists between men and beast, the rifles are in their places, and you feel prepared for anything that may happen during the hazardous adventures of the day. ”

“ The White Elephants, held in reverence in Siam, and extremely rare, are not distinct from the rest; they are merely albinoes, or white varieties, and are to be viewed in the same light as white Blackbirds or white Sparrows.
THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT [259] is distinguished at once from the Indian species by the great size of its ears, its larger eye, convex forehead, darker colour of its skin, and by possessing only three instead of four nails or hoofs in the hind foot. It is indigenous to Africa, being found south of the Sahara as far as Cape Colony, and from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. ”

“ Men and women with white hair and pink eyes, the white rabbit, etc., represent the albino phase; and the white elephant belongs to this category, being simply an ordinary elephant, who, to a greater or less extent, lacks coloring matter; and, as a result, it is often a dark mouse color, a little lighter than the ordinary elephant, and has numerous pinkish splashes about the head, or on various parts of the body. ”

“ When a really trustworthy male elephant is obtainable, well grown, of large size, easy action, and in perfect training, it is simply invaluable, and there is no pleasure equal to such a mount; the sensation upon such an animal is too delightful, and you long for the opportunity to exhibit the power and prowess of your elephant, as the feeling of being invincible is intensely agreeable. The only sensation that can approach it is the fact of being mounted upon a most perfect hunter, that you can absolutely depend upon when following the hounds in England ”

“ In such an instance the sport is so soon concluded that the only excitement consists in the cautious advance to the attack through bad jungle.
As a rule, the pursuit of elephants through bad, thorny jungles should if possible be avoided: the danger is in many cases extreme, although the greater portion of the herd may at other times be perhaps easily killed. There is no certainty in a shot. An elephant may be discerned by the eye looming in an apparent mist formed by the countless intervening twigs and branches which veil him like a screen of network. ”

“ If the elephant were to be continually exerting its natural intelligence, and volunteering all manner of gigantic performances in the hope that they would be appreciated by its rider, it would be unbearable; the value of the animal consists in its capacity to learn, and in its passive demeanour, until directed by the mahout's commands.
Nothing can positively determine the character of any elephant; every animal, I believe, varies more or less in courage according to its state of health, which must influence the nervous system. ”

“ As an elephant cannot be fully developed in the perfection of ivory until the age of forty, I should accept that age in a wild animal as the period of a starting-point in life, and I should imagine that the term of existence would be about a hundred and fifty years.
The life of an elephant in captivity is exactly opposed to its natural habits. A wild Indian elephant dreads the sun, and is seldom to be found exposed in the open after dawn of day. It roams over the country in all directions during night, and seeks the shelter of a forest about an hour before the sun rises. ”

“ The elephant, on the other hand, stands so entirely apart from all other animals, and its performances appear so extraordinary owing to the enormous effect which its great strength produces instantaneously, that its peculiarities interest mankind more than any smaller animal. Yet, when we consider the actual aptitude for learning, or the natural habits of the creature, we are obliged to confess that in proportion to its size the elephant is a mere fool in comparison with the intelligence of many insects. If the elephant could form a home like the bee, and store up fodder for a barren season ”

“ Its dark colour and immense surface attract an amount of heat which becomes almost insupportable to the unfortunate creature when forced to carry a heavy load during the hot season in India. Even without a greater weight than its rider, the elephant exhibits signs of distress when marching after 9 a.m. At such times it is disagreeable, as the animal has a peculiar habit of sucking water through the trunk from a supply contained within the stomach, and this it syringes with great force between its fore legs, and against its flanks to cool its sides with the ejected spray. ”

“ As the African elephant is a root-eater it is far more destructive than the Asiatic. It is astonishing to observe the waste of trees that are upturned by a large herd of these animals, sometimes out of sheer wantonness, during their passage through a forest. The dense tops of mimosas are a great attraction, and there can be no doubt that elephants work collectively to dig out and to overthrow the trees that would be too large for the strength of a single animal. I have seen trees between two and three feet in diameter that have been felled for the sake of the roots and tender heads ”

“ The elephant, being in its wild state a nocturnal animal, must be able to distinguish the various qualities of trees by the senses of smell and touch, as in the darkness of a forest during night it would be impossible to distinguish the leaves. There are few creatures who possess so delicate a sense of smell; wild elephants will wind an enemy at a distance of a thousand yards, or even more, should the breeze be favourable. ”

“ An elephant is frequently treacherous, and if the person should stand unheedingly before it, a sudden slap with the trunk might be the consequence. For the same reason, it would be dangerous to approach the heels of such an animal, as a kick from an elephant is rather an extensive movement, and it is extraordinary that so colossal a limb as the hind leg can be projected with such velocity, equalling that of a small pony. ”

“ There are very few elephants that will remain unmoved when awaiting the advance of a line of beaters, whether they may be of their own species or human beings. On this occasion the rushing sound of the yielding jungle, which was so thick as to test the elephants' powers in clearing a passage through it, was presently varied by a sharp trumpet, then by a low growl, followed by that peculiar noise emitted by elephants when excited, resembling blows upon a tambourine or kettle-drum. This is a sound that invariably is heard whenever an elephant detects the fresh scent of a tiger ”