ChapDiaifs Travels in South Africa 2ig 



spot where they grew, so that, leaving the intent out of the question, it was in 

 itself a prodigious feat of animal strength." — (vol. i. p. 251.) 



' ' Next morning we awoke at a late hour, and breakfasted on part of an 

 elephant's trunk, which was baked in a pit during the night, in the way before 

 described, and was soft as a jelly, resembling very much the flavour of ox 

 tongue. The foot, a joint from which twenty men can dine, is also exceedingly 

 fine, being a white, crisp, and gi-izzly kind of substance, strongly ingrained with 

 fat, and, though rich as marrow, one may eat any quantity without feeling 

 surfeited ; but a certain portion of the head and cheek of a fat elephant cow is 

 by far the most delicious morsel." — (vol. i., p. 33.) 



" Elephants' .lard is the most cooling and beneficial ointment for all inflamma- 

 tory wounds, that can be obtained." — (vol. i., p. 160.) 



"They had rubbed themselves well with the fat of the elephant, an operation 

 in which they particularly delight, as it softens and cleanses the skin, cures all 

 scrofulous diseases, and it is, moreover, a non-conductor of the heat of the 

 sun."— (vol. i., p. 155.) 



"I noticed, while walking the other day, that one of my men picked up 

 quantities of almonds, far away from any signs of the tree. On inquiry I found 

 they are dropped in the excrements of elephants, in an undigested state, and 

 the natives tell me, that by following at this season on an elephant's spoor, they 

 can always obtain a sufficient quantity for a meal in a short time. I noticed 

 that wherever the elephant halted they found from a dozen to twenty or thirty." 

 — (vol. ii., p. 141.) 



The same thing is recorded of other similar fruits : 



" A small dull-green fruit tree bears a fruit which is called in Natal an orange. 

 It is of the size of a large orange, with a hard rind, is of a yellow colour when 

 ripe, and has a delicious odour. The seeds contain a good deal of strychnine, 

 but they are not eaten by man. Elephants however eat seeds and all in great 

 quantities, but pass the seeds in an undigested state." — (vol. ii., p. 145.) 



" The elephant apparently is very fond of the mosela (the finest of the 

 acacias), which, so far as they can be reached by an elephant, about 25 feet, 

 are everywhere nibbled off." — (vol. ii., p. 47.) 



The following is a curious incident difficult of explanation : 



" I bought here," says Mr Chapman "a piece of a bull tusk, weighing 18 lb. 

 Dutch, which was found in the stomach of one of the elephants killed by them 

 on the Shesheke. The two had evidently been fighting sometime before, but 

 there were no external signs of the hide having been penetrated, the elephant 

 being quite hearty, and the wound having closed up again." — (vol. ii., p. 176.) 



It would have been interesting to know the form and dimensions 

 of this piece of ivory ; also, whether by the word stomach Chapman 

 means the stomach literally or only the belly. Mr Baines, to 

 whom we applied for particulars on the subject, uses the latter 

 term. He writes us : 



" The piece of ivory found in the belly of an elephant was deposited in the 

 Cape Museum. Mr Chapman was well satisfied with the testimony of the 



