APT Pg2 Sept 1911

So, I'm not sure how I feel about the elephant story. What're your thoughts?

American Primary Teacher, Page 2, September 1911

Alright. Admittedly, I have not read the above-referenced book, "Jukes-Edwards: A Study in Education and Heredity,” but I have to say, “… an act to prevent the increase of idiocy and imbecility” sure caught my attention. 😶

Oh! Lucky for us, I have found it online for free right HERE, thanks to the folks at Project Gutenberg. It seems to have first been published in 1900 and is looking to be chock full of good quotes—on the other hand, see this footnote¹ 🙃. The preface opens right off the bat with this little gem: “Of all the problems which America faces on the land and on the seas, no one is so important as that of making regenerates out of degenerates.” 🤔 I have to say that sentence has a feel of “still applicable today” about it.

Moving on. I mentioned an elephant story. Yes. Let’s take a look at that.

APT Page 2, Sept 1911, Elephant and Machine clippings

Story “Won Elephant’s Friendship”

If you decide to read it, maybe let us know what your thoughts are on it in the comments. I always love when an animal and a human can cultivate a beautiful relationship. However, the scissor part hit me a bit wrong.

Note: For easier reading, here is the text from the original articles shown with the original punctuation:

The elephant's manner of showing its appreciation of kindness is a most affecting sight if we may judge from several instances which are on record. That these huge beings possess excellent memories and become fondly attached to kind attendants has been often shown. To win the good will and lasting gratitude of one of these mighty giants whose disposition towards his keepers had been anything but friendly, is the claim of a Japanese veterinary surgeon whose story is told by a missionary in the Indianapolis News:

"I was called upon to treat the elephant, and although I felt much afraid of the big beast, as I had heard how wild he was, I determined to attempt it. First of all, I took ropes and endeavored to fasten his trunk to an iron bar, but my efforts were unsuccessful, for as he moved about the ropes were cut at once.

"As this plan failed, I knew it would be impossible to treat him by force, but a happy thought came to me. I called in the elephant's keeper, stood him in front of the elephant, and told him to pretend his eyes were sore by some gestures. I then treated his eyes and bandaged them, and he went away. This I repeated three times while the elephant stood quietly watching.

"After the third treatment I took off the bandage, washed the keeper's eyes, and told him to pretend he was quite well of his sore eyes. He pretended to be very grateful, thanked me many times, and went away.

"Then with a strong determination I went up to the elephant, and, putting a ladder against his big body, I climbed to his back. With a pair of sharp scissors I tried to cut off the piece of torn eyelid, but as I began cutting the elephant screamed very loudly. I had never heard such a noise, and I was filled with fear. I sprang to the floor and backed away, trembling in every nerve.

"On looking up, I saw the scissors still dangling from the elephant's eyelid. I then climbed up again very carefully, and, summoning all my strength, I cut off the piece of eyelid, this time succeeding also to treat him as I desired. Then I washed his eyes.

"I went every day for some time to treat and wash his eyes, and he soon became so grateful and so fond of me that he would kneel down for me to treat him. Thus I succeeded by strategy where force had failed.

"I visit this elephant once in two weeks, and he is always delighted to see me, and looks upon me as his friend."

Okay. Now that you’ve read it, what did you think about it?

Photo by Nam Anh on Unsplash

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Story “The Machine Without Thread”

"I like to sew when there is no thread in the machine, it runs so easily," said a little girl one day.

A good many people, I think, are pretty fond of running their machines without thread.

When I hear a boy talking very largely of the grand things he would do, if he only could, and if things and circumstances were only different, and then neglecting every daily duty, and avoiding work and lessons, I think he is running his machine without any thread.

When I see a girl very sweet and pleasant abroad, ready to do any thing for a stranger, and cross and disagreeable in her home, she, too, is running her machine without any thread.

Ah! This sewing without a thread is very easy, indeed, and the life machine will make a great buzzing, but labor, time, and force will in the end be far worse than lost.

--"Friend for Boys and Girls."

Well, that one seems rather self-explanatory. It seems to me we have a great many folks running about “without thread” these days.

Photo by Ilya lix on Unsplash

Thanks again for popping in!

God bless.

1. Let me just say, I read through the book after scheduling this post, and it's not all that interesting. It's about two family lines, one of which is referred to as “degenerates” and the other is rather a “Forrest Gump” of family lines. It honestly hit the level of obnoxious, or even pompous, for me. 😅