Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/147

 search in despair, they had turned their faces homeward, when all of a sudden a small, beautifully-formed elephant was seen at a distance, drinking. He was all muddy and dirty, and at first sight appeared darker than the ordinary color of this animal. But some peculiarity in the skin aroused hope. "Let us creep nearer and trap him," they whispered. This was an easy task to such skilled native hunters. The iris of the eye, the color of which is held to be a good test of an albino, encouraged their faint expectation; it was a pale Neapolitan yellow.

One of them said, "We will take him home and give him a wash." This was done, and to their great joy the whole body proved to be of a pale Bath-brick color, with a few real white hairs on the back. There could be no longer room for doubt; they had truly captured one of the world-renowned white elephants. Indeed, competent experts pronounced it to be the "fairest" ever caught within living memory. The ears and tail were beautiful; the hair, the nails, the eyes, all were indicative of the very highest family. He proved a pure albino, so-called "white."

The whole kingdom was thrown into a state of the wildest excitement as the news spread east and west, north and south. Swift runners carried the glad tidings from hamlet to hamlet. "A white elephant has been captured!" was in every mouth. A fleet messenger bore the official docu