Zachard, an old traveller, saw a white elephant in Siam which was said to be over two hundred years old, over which there had been much blood shed. It lived in a magnificent pavilion, and had one hundred attendants, who fed it from vessels of gold. When Mr. Crawford was in Siam, the king had six white elephants; and the King of Ava possessed only one, which was fastened directly in front of the palace. While Mr. Crawford was in Ava, a report was sent to the king that a white elephant had been captured, but it could not be forwarded without the destruction of ten thousand baskets of rice. To which the king replied, “What signifies the destruction of ten thousand baskets of rice in comparison with the possession of a white elephant!” and the order for the beast was immediately given. The white elephant now in the possession of the King of Ava, who styles himself “Lord of the White Elephant,” is, according to Vincent, a vicious brute of medium size, with white eyes, and the forehead and ears spotted white (pink), appearing as if they had been rubbed with pumice stone or sand-paper; but the remainder of the body is as black as coal. The animal is kept chained in the centre of a pavilion, surrounded by the adjuncts of royalty, which consist of gold and white cloth umbrellas, an embroidered canopy, a bundle of spears, dishes, etc. Mr. Vincent was informed that a young white elephant had recently been captured in the north-eastern part of British Burmah, near Tounghoo; but it died, and the king had been “out of sorts” ever since. Mr. Vincent also inspected the white elephants at Bangkok, and found them fastened to posts in large sheds, covered with gilt canopies very much as were those at Mandalay. The keeper fed the animals with bananas in his presence, and caused the Apis of Buddha, as they call the animal, to salute an American, probably for the first time. The salaam, or salutation, consisted in raising the proboscis to the forehead, and then lowering it slowly and gracefully to the ground. With these white elephants were several white monkeys, which were kept to ward off evil spirits. White animals of all kinds are considered abodes of transmigrating souls by Buddhists. Sir John Bowring saw the white monkey honored with special attention. The veneration received by white elephants may perhaps be explained by the fact that all white animals are believed to be the abiding-place of some mighty Buddha; and by possessing such an animal, having the deity in the family, as it were, they may receive any advantages that may accrue from the association.