Published in the Lake County Independent, Libertyville, Illinois on 07/13/1900.
    It is a fact that pipers in Highland regiments are posted to companies, and always follow them wherever they go. On one certain occasion a company of the Gordons were marching from a place called Jellunder, to Fort Kangra, situated on one of the lower ranges of the Himalayas. Accompanying them was an elephant, on which were placed sick and exhaused men. After a few days’ march we were deprived of music on account of the piper’s feet becoming blistered, and he was relegated to the back of the elephant. On the last day’s march, before entering a new station, some one suggested that in order to brighten us up the piper might be requested to play on the elephant’s back at the head of the company. To this the officer assented, and accordingly the piper was handed his pipes. When he began to tune them it was evident that the elephant had no appreciation of such sounds, for he shook his head, flapped his big ears menacingly, raised his trunk, with which he embraced the piper round the waist, and violently threw him and his pipes into a ditch as a mark of his disapproval of such music.
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