Learning About Animals Through Stories

CONTENTS

Nearly every living creature has some means of defense. Note carefully the following.

Man's most natural and ready means of defense are his fists. Seemingly without thought, upon provocation, the fingers and thumbs knot themselves into clublike weapons, which discretion, self-control, and our better judgment tell us we should never use except upon rarest occasions and in direst necessity. "Fools," says the wise man, "strike hands:'

But man's ingenuity has not stopped with fists. He has learned to use clubs, spears, swords, darts, bows and arrows, catapults, battering-rams, bombs, and guns of all description, some of which will hurl missles weighing a ton or more many miles.

The dog uses his teeth.

The cat and all her kind use both teeth and claws.

The hawk, owl, eagle, and all their kind use both beak and talons.

The cow and all horned animals use their horns.

The horse kicks with his hind feet, strikes with his fore feet, and bites sometimes.

The elephant uses both his trunk and his tusks, and the rhinoceros his great horn. Both trample with their feet.

The timid rabbit and all fleet-footed animals generally tike to their heels.

The snail, clam, oyster, and turtle hide in their shells, while the feeble cony hides in the rocks.

The bee, wasp, and hornet use their terrible stings, while the porcupine, hedgehog, and the Australian echidna use their spines or quills which cover their bodies.

The skunk makes use of his "scent-bag," while the venomous snake strikes with his deadly fangs.

Thus we see bow practically all living creatures are provided with some means of defense in carrying out what is called the first law of nature-self-preservation.

SOMETIMES men have been compelled to be closely associated for a time with wild animals.

A Western farmer was returning home late one dark stormy night by way of a familiar path through a large woods. After he had proceeded some distance, he saw, a little way ahead, what appeared to be some dark-colored animal, a large black bear, he thought, perhaps. He hesitated for a moment, questioning whether he would better proceed or retreat. He finally decided to take chances and go on, only to discover that the object he had seen was merely an old black horse that had stopped directly across the path. His fears, of course, were at once allayed.

But it was quite otherwise with an Arab hunter in Africa on another night, when, just at dusk, with gun in hand, he had climbed an oak tree to watch for a deer he had seen wandering about in the vicinity during the day.

Instead of the deer, however, a large African lion and lioness appeared on the scene, the lioness coming and lying down at the foot of the tree which he had climbed. After a time an other large lion put in appearance, whereupon the first lion began to roar so loud the poor Arab became so frightened and terrified that he let his gun drop out of his hands to cling, more tightly to the tree.

Soon the two kings of the forest were engaged in a deadly struggle, which, lasting for a long time, did not end until each had killed the other, after which the lioness took her departure. But we may well imagine what a frightened man this Arab must have been to be so close and unwilling a witness to so terrifying a scene all alone in the forest in the depths of the night.

It is a well-known fact that some animals are fond of music, while others are exceedingly particular as to the instruments played in their presence, says a writer in Our Dumb Animals.

Lions have been found to listen with marked atten. tion to the piano. They appreciate the top and middle notes, but begin to roar terribly when the bass notes are struck loudly.

Tigers cannot endure the shrill notes of the fife. Scientific experiments have been made that show that the ears of the tiger are much more sensitive than those of human beings, and that sharp-toned instruments irritate their sensitive organs of hearing.

That is why some people in the jungles of India and China have sometimes been able to save their lives by playing a fife or some similar instrument that they have happened to have along with them when attacked by a wild beast. The ferocious animal has appeared to forget all else but the irritation caused to the sensitive membrane of its ears and has been more than willing to flee with all possible haste.

Experiments have been made with horns, fifes, and violins, and their effect upon the animals noted, the result being that all animals take rather kindly to the softer notes of the violin, but are much disturbed by the shrill tones of the harsher instruments.

BY big cats we mean the larger animals belonging to the cat family, such as the lion, tiger, jaguar, panther, leopard, puma, or mountain lion, and lynx, or wild cat.

These all have much the same nature, habits, and disposition, and are all admirably adapted to the life they live.

They are all stealthy, and are provided with powerful jaws, teeth, and claws with which to seize and hold their prey.

They are all carnivorous or flesh-eating animals, and are known as predatory animals, or beasts of prey, as they prey upon other animals.

They all hide in thickets and jungles, where they lie in ambush for their prey, which consists of a large variety of vegetable-eating animals, such as the ox, sheep, goat, deer, antelope, buffalo, giraffe, wild ass, and zebra.

Speaking of the lion, which stands at the head of this group of big cats or felines, Mr. S. C. Goodrich, in his work on natural history, says "The lion lies in wait for his prey. He creeps near to it, and then rushes upon it with a sudden spring or a series of tremendous leaps, seldom failing to secure his prize. The cat, hunting a mouse, is a good example, on a minute scale, of a lion hunting an antelope, deer, or other like animal. His nature leads him to seek concealment, to skulk under cover, and to gain his object by stealth rather than open attack. Yet when actually confronted with an enemy, he often displays the most undaunted courage.

"The lion was created to kill and eat other animals. In fulfilling this law of his nature, he is no more destructive or cruel than is man himself. Mankind have butchers, hunters, trappers, and fishers who kill for the people. The lion kills only for himself and family. His hunger being appeased, he ceases his slaughter until hunger again calls him to action.

"In general, he does not attack man, in his native wilds; he rather preys on the larger quadrupeds that come within his reach. Yet he will attack man when threatened or irritated by him, or when prompted by hunger, especially if he can steal upon him in the early part of the night, when the instinct of destruction is strong upon him.

"When he has once fed on human flesh, he is said to prefer it; and hence the lions that have been born and bred in the vicinity of towns and villages, have more ferocious habits toward mankind than others."

As here stated, in catching and devouring other animals, these animals are but acting out their nature. As a rule, they do not kill to kill but to satisfy hunger. And while we may not admire their predatory habits, as long as it is their nature to do this they will do it. We may pity their victims; but they are not to blame for acting out their nature.

Moreover, when they take life they do it in a masterly and skilful manner, and in the shortest time possible. They do not torment or unnecessarily prolong torture. Even in this we may see a measure of mercy. Their work is so sudden and summary, so startling, bewildering, and benumbing to the senses, that their victims have little time to think, or their mutilated bodies to react and sense their suffering. Like the electric shock, it is all over in a moment.

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THERE is and always must be the largest, the greatest, or the best of any class or kind of thing. And generally we desire to see or learn about that particular thing.

Some years ago the author and his wife paid several dollars to hear Paderewski play on the piano. We were willing to do so because he was said to be the greatest living pianist in the world.

The author was eager to attend a certain baseball game some years ago, for he wished to see Walter Johnson, the fastest baseball pitcher in the world, pitch a ball.

For the same reason, Jumbo holds a prominent place in the animal world. So far as known, he was the largest elephant, either wild or in captivity, ever seen by man. A few facts about Jumbo, therefore, will be of interest.

Jumbo was an African elephant, captured in 1861, on the banks of the Settite River, Abyssinia, when young, or when only about three and one-half feet high, and brought to Paris.

When about three years old he was transferred to the Royal Zoological Gardens in London, England, where he remained, a delight to the English children, for nearly twenty years.

In 1882, when Jumbo had grown to be a very large elephant, Mr. P. T. Barnum, the noted American showman, much against the wishes and protests of the English children, purchased him for $10,000, and, with some difficulty, got him aboard a ship and brought him to America, so that the children and people of this country might have the privilege of seeing him also.

For three years Jumbo formed one of the chief attractions of Mr. Barnum's great show, he was so large, having grown until he was eleven feet and six inches tall, or about as tall as two tall hen, and weighed six tons. An elephant that weighs three or four tons is a large elephant.

Jumbo was a very kind elephant, and was especially fond of children; and wherever the great show stopped in its travels to give a performance, Jumbo entertained the children. On top of his great back was strapped a big box filled with seats. Against his side, leading up to the box, was a tall step-ladder, up which the children climbed and took their seats in the box. When the box was filled, Jumbo gave them all a ride, so that ever afterward these children could say that they had a ride on the large elephant in the world. Little children every where, therefore, loved Jumbo, and he loved the

But, as with so many great and noted things Jumbo met with a fatal accident one day. This is where and how it happened. While the elephants connected with Mr. Barnum's show, including a baby elephant, were being driven across a railroad track at St. Thomas, Canada, September 15, 1885, Jumbo, now twenty-five years old, was run down by the engine of an onrushing freight-train and killed. His skeleton, mounted, is in the New York Museum of Natural History, and his skin, stuffed, is in the Museum of Natural History at Tufts College, Medford, near Boston, Massachusetts.

A little boy six years old, living in Bluefield, West Virginia, on hearing this story read to him one day by his grandmother, was quite indignant at Jumbo being killed in this way, and said, "That engine should have looked out where it was going."

WILLIAM H. BLACKBURN, head keeper of the Washington Zoo, is doubtless one of a very few men still living who saw Jumbo killed.

He was with him at the time of the accident, and, shouting "Jumbo " at the top of his voice, did all within his power to get him off from the railroad track before the engine of a " wild cat " freight-train ran into him and killed him.

For nine years, from 1882 to 1891, Mr. Blackburn traveled with the P. T. Barnum show. He is now, 1927, seventy-one years old.

As stated in the previous story, the accident occurred September 15, 1885, three years after Mr. Blackburn joined the show.

An exhibition had been given at St. Thomas, Canada, that day, and the elephants were being driven across the main line of the Grand Trunk railroad to the cars belonging to the show, standing on a side-track.

The managers of the show had been promised a clear track, and a man had been instructed to go up the line and flag the freight-train should it chance to appear while the elephants were crossing the track. But this man became so interested in the loading of the animals that he neglected to flag the train, the result being that one of the four elephants that had not gotten across the track yet was struck and rolled down an embankment, a baby elephant, named "Tom Thumb," was struck and had one of its fore legs broken, and Jumbo was killed.

Instead of crossing the track directly on coming to it, Jumbo, to avoid going down a rather steep embankment, started, with stately strides and with his ears spread out wide and tail standing straight out behind, down the main line. Marching thus, Mr. Blackburn says he looked about twice as large as he had ever looked before. It was at this point that Mr. Blackburn, hearing the train coming, called so loudly to Jumbo to get off the track. But, confused and not realizing his danger, Jumbo, after whirling around once or twice, kept on down the line.

The engine therefore struck him from the rear, first knocking his hind feet out from under him, and then, pitching him headlong, drove his head against the truck underneath an open freight-car standing on a side-track. He was so badly hurt that he died in five minutes.

But Jumbo, while no match for a railroad engine, was something of an obstruction. The engine and the two cars behind it were derailed.

Tom Thumb, the baby elephant, was sent to the New York Zoo, where his broken leg, placed in a plaster cast, got well, and so he was saved. So also was the elephant rolled down the embankment.

The accident was a serious loss, however, to Mr. Barnum's show. Both the giant and the baby elephant were gone, one, the chief one, for ever.

Mr. Barnum took all that could be preserved of Jumbo, the skin and skeleton nicely mounted, along with the rest of his show, back to England in 189o, in order that the people and children of England might see him once again, but not as before.

Jumbo was killed because one man failed to obey orders, to attend to his duties and signal an irregular and unscheduled train. His desire to see the elephants loaded brought accident, death, and destruction to them.

Jumbo had only just begun to live. He was not quite twenty-five years old, and had not yet stopped growing. Granted that elephants will live from 150 to 200 years, his life was cut short from 125 to 175 years-a great loss!

ONE of the most touching and pathetic elephant stories comes to us from India, the home of many elephants, where these largest of living land animals are used for various purposes, from service as baby-tenders to hauling logs and hunting tigers.

Although elephants do not get their growth until they are about twenty-five years old, and, in their natural state, live, to be from 150 to 200 years old, they nevertheless eventually come to, their age-limit and die, as do all other living creatures.

An Indian elephant had become so old and infirm that he could no longer walk. His feet had given out, and he could only lie on the ground and eat a little food and drink a little water which his keeper brought to him.

Finally, after being in this condition for some time, his sight gave out also, and he could no longer see-could only feel about with his trunk.

One day when a number of people had gathered around him and were standing looking at him, he kept reaching out and feeling about in different directions with his trunk as if wanting something, the onlookers little realizing how near his end was. His keeper, noticing this, stepped up to him, and calling him by name, asked him what he wanted.

In response, the elephant encircled the keeper with his trunk and drew him to his side and held him there. The keeper, realizing that his old friend, the elephant, whom he had cared for so many years, was dying, stood weeping, while the crowd that had gathered stood looking on with interest. Finally the old elephant breathed his last, and his great trunk dropped to the ground from its last loving embrace.

The elephant's dying actions were then plain to all. He wished his keeper to be near him when he died. So affectionate are elephants!

ELEPHANTS are among the most intelligent and affectionate of all animals, as well as the largest land animals -and the most ponderous quadrupeds, or four-footed beasts, in existence.

In their natural or wild state, elephants, live in herds, and manifest great care and affection for each other. The herds are usually led by some large, old, stalwart male elephant, or by some large, old, experienced mother elephant.

In jungle-land, where they are liable to be attacked by fierce and hungry tigers at night, the elephants form a circle, with the largest male elephants on the outside, the younger male elephants next inside tb them, and the mother elephants and the baby elephants in the center.

The trunk of the elephant is a most wonderful, useful, and necessary part of him. With this he feeds, drinks, smells, trumpets, pulls

down branches, sprays himself, brushes off flies, and defends himself. Everything that goes into his mouth, whether food or water, is conveyed there by his trunk, as he is so constructed that when standing it is impossible for him to reach the ground with his head or mouth. Every­thing on the ground that he wishes to eat must first be picked up or grasped with a winding twist by the outer end of his trunk and brought to his mouth.

This trunk is very supple and powerful, and is said to contain no fewer than 3,000 muscles. With it the elephant can strike down a man with a single blow, or throw a tiger over his back high in the air. With it he can draw up water and spray himself, or throw dirt or straw over his back to keep off the flies. With it he trumpets when excited, moans when in distress, gives the signal for a stampede, thumps on the ground to attract attention, and talks in elephant language to his keeper or to his fellow elephants.

When hurt, tame elephants will often permit themselves to be treated and even operated upon without resentment, notwithstanding the operation gives them evident pain. They seem to know that this is necessary and best for them, and therefore submit to it. In this they manifest great sense.

In countries where elephants abound, they are frequently made use of in tiger hunts, in capturing wild elephants, and in hauling or carrying lumber about or pushing loads with their heads. They have also been taught to rock cradles, and to do other useful things about the home. When tame, they are docile, affectionate, and easily led or driven about. They have a small but kind and intelligent eye, and seem willing and glad to be helpful and to lend their great strength in the service of man. They are fond of peanuts and sweetmeats, and appreciate little attentions shown them.

For exhibition purposes, they can be trained to perform many interesting feats, such as standing on their heads, on their hind legs, on their fore legs, or with all four feet on the top of a small box or keg; placing themselves in various formations; kneeling down over a human being without touching or crushing him; swinging their great bodies or trunks about to music; and marching in single file, each holding on with his trunk to the tail of the elephant in front of him.

Anciently elephants were used in war, but in modern warfare they have been made little use of.

Elephants have great memories. They remember kind acts, and they do not forget insults.

Occasionally a tame elephant will go mad, in which case he becomes dangerous and must be killed. Perhaps they tire of captivity.

On the whole, they are very intelligent and interesting animals.