Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy | Page 6

positively necessary for us to have crossed that river, and
had there been no other way for us to do it but to go over the railroad
bridge, I think we might have been called brave boys, for the bridge
was very high above the water, and a timid person would have been
very likely to have been frightened when he looked down at his feet,
and saw how easy it would be for him to make a misstep and go
tumbling down between the timbers.
But, as there was no necessity or sufficient reason for our risking our
lives in that manner, we were nothing more or less than three little
fools!

It would be well if all boys or girls, to whom a hazardous feat presents
itself, would ask themselves the question: "Would it be a brave thing
for me to do that, or would I be merely proving myself a simpleton?"

THE REAL KING OF BEASTS.
[Illustration: A ROYAL PROCESSION.]
For many centuries there has been a usurper on the throne of the Beasts.
That creature is the Lion.
But those who take an interest in the animal kingdom (and I am very
sorry for those who do not) should force the Lion to take off the crown,
put down the sceptre, and surrender the throne to the real King of
Beasts--the Elephant.
There is every reason why this high honor should be accorded to the
Elephant. In the first place, he is physically superior to the Lion. An
Elephant attacked by a Lion could dash his antagonist to the ground
with his trunk, run him through with his tusks, and trample him to
death under his feet. The claws and teeth of the Lion would make no
impression of any consequence on the Elephant's thick skin and
massive muscles. If the Elephant was to decide his claim to the throne
by dint of fighting for it, the Lion would find himself an ex-king in a
very short time. But the Elephant is too peaceful to assert his right in
this way--and, what is more, he does not suppose that any one could
even imagine a Lion to be his superior. He never had such an idea
himself.
But besides his strength of body, the Elephant is superior in intelligence
to all animals, except the dog and man. He is said by naturalists to have
a very fine brain, considering that he is only a beast. His instinct seems
to rise on some occasions almost to the level of our practical reasoning,
and the stories which are told of his smartness are very many indeed.
But no one can assert that the Lion has any particular intelligence. To
be sure, there have been stories told of his generosity, but they are not

many, and they are all very old. The Elephant proves his pre-eminence
as a thinking beast every day. We see him very frequently in
menageries, and we can judge of what he is capable. We see the Lion
also, and we very soon find out what he can do. He can lie still and
look grave and majestic; he can jump about in his cage, if he has been
trained; and he can eat! He is certainly great in that respect.
We all know a great deal about the Elephant, how he is caught and
tamed, and made the servant and sometimes the friend of man. This,
however, seldom happens but in India. In Africa they do not often tame
Elephants, as they hunt them generally for the sake of their ivory, and
the poor beasts are killed by hundreds and hundreds so that we may
have billiard-balls, knife-handles, and fine-tooth combs.
Rut whether the Elephant is wanted as a beast of burden, or it is only
his great tusks that are desired, it is no joke to hunt him. He will not
attack a man without provocation (except in very rare cases); when he
does get in a passion it is time for the hunter to look out for his precious
skin. If the man is armed with a gun, he must take the best of aim, and
his bullets must be like young cannon-balls, for the Elephant's head is
hard and his skin is tough. If the hunter is on a horse, he need not
suppose that he can escape by merely putting his steed to its best speed.
The Elephant is big and awkward-looking, but he gets over the ground
in a very rapid manner.
Here is an illustration of an incident in which a boy found out, in great
sorrow and trepidation, how fast an Elephant can run.
This boy was one of the attendants of the Duke of Edinburgh, one of
Queen Victoria's sons, who was hunting Elephants in Africa. The