The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

The ELEPHANT and TAYLORS.
AN EXTRACT.

ELEPHANTS are very plentiful at Atcheen, (in the East-Indies) and consequently their teeth, which the Surat merchants buy up for their markets. In 1702, I saw one who had been kept there above 100 years, but by report was then 300 years old, he was about 11 feet high, and had a vast deal of sagacity.
When any young male Elephant grows unruly, which they usually do in rutting time, and break their fetters and go astray, this old Elephant is immediately sent out, and following the track of his foot, will find him out, and bring him back to his stable either by fair or foul means.
At Atcheen they have a small Coin of leaden money called cash, from twelve to sixteen hundred of them goes to one Mace, or Massee. The Massee is a small gold coin of fourteen pence current, but in value about twelve pence English. I have taken a Gold Massee, and put it with a Massee of cash, and thrown into a puddle of water, and the Elephant would find out the Gold among the Lead by the nice feeling of his Proboscis.
There is a very comical piece of revenge he took on a Taylor in Anno 1692. A ship called the Dorothy, commanded by Capt. Thwaits, called at Atcheen for refreshments in her way from England to Bengal, and two English gentlemen residing then at Atcheen, went abroad to furnish themselves with what European necessaries they had occasion for; and, among other things, they bought some Norwich stuffs for clothes, and there being no English taylor to be had, they employed a Surat taylor, who kept a shop on the Bazaar, or great Market place, and had generally half a dozen, or half a score workmen to sew in his shop. It was the old Elephant's custom to reach in his Trunk at doors or windows as he passed along the side of a street, begging decayed fruits or roots, which the inhabitants generally gave him.
As he was one morning going to the river to be washed, with his Carnack, or rider on his back, he chanced to put his trunk into the Taylor's window, and the Taylor pricked him with his needle, instead of giving an alms. The Elephant seemed to take no notice of the affront, but went calmly on to the river, and was washed, and being done with washing, troubled the water with one of his forefeet, and then sucked up a good quantity of that dirty water into his Trunk, and passing unconcernedly along the same side of the street where the Taylor's shop was, he put in his trunk at the window, and blew his nose on the Taylor with such a force and quantity of water, that the poor Taylor and his life guard, were blown off the table they wrought on, almost frightened out of their senses, but the English gentlemen had their clothes spoiled by the Elephant's comical, but innocent revenge.