the bottom of a great deep hole when they least expect it, for the top
is very carefully covered over with sticks and leaves, so as to look
as much as possible like the surrounding ground. Du Chaillu, who was a
great hunter in Africa, once fell down one of these pits, and it was a
long time before he could make anybody hear him and come and help him
out. If an Elephant had happened to put his foot on the covering of
that hole while Du Chaillu was down there, the hunter would have found
himself very much crowded.

When the Elephant is caught, he is soon tamed and trained, and then he
goes to work to make himself useful, if there is anything for him to
do. And it is when he becomes the servant and companion of man that we
have an opportunity of seeing what a smart fellow he is.

It is sometimes hard to believe all that we hear of the Elephant's
cleverness and sagacity, but we know that most of the stories we hear
about him are true.

For instance, an Elephant which was on exhibition in this country had
a fast and true friend, a little dog. One day, when these animals were
temporarily residing in a barn, while on their march from one town to
another, the Elephant heard some men teasing the dog, just outside of
the barn. The rough fellows made the poor little dog howl and yelp, as
they persecuted him by all sorts of mean tricks and ill usage. When
the Elephant heard the cries of his friend he became very much
worried, and when at last he comprehended that the dog was being
badly treated, he lifted up his trunk and just smashed a great hole in
the side of the barn, making the stones and boards fly before him.

[Illustration]