The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal and asks to see the trap. Once there he claims he still doesn't understand. The tiger gets back in the trap to demonstrate and the jackal quickly shuts him in, suggesting to the brahmin that they leave matters thus. There are more than a hundred versions of this tale spread across the world. In some the released animal is a crocodile, in some a snake, a tiger and others a wolf. Some variants are very old, going back at least to the "Panchatantra" or "Fables of Bidpai" and the Jataka tales. In Europe it appeared some 900 years ago in
Seeing the elephant trip westward progressed pioneers began to write in their journals that they were beginning to see glimpses of the elusive animal. Joseph Wood wrote: "Now methinks I see the elephant with unclouded eyes." As travelers became tired and hungry and saw family members and travel companions die of disease and accidents, reality began to set in. The elephant was not everything they hoped it would be. On June 3, 1852, Polly Coon wrote: Found our mess very much dejected with their nights watching and drenching but consoled themselves that they had seen some of the Elephant. Everything being wet we