CANDKI-AIiRA ICU I'HORIil A TREES 



IX 



The African Elephant 



OU R knowlcd!:^^ ot the ways iA the African elephant 

 is v(;ry scanty. Wa know that from the days 

 of Scij)io man hec^an to break him in to service Hke 

 liis Indian cousin, but tliere is little t'^ be learnt about 

 him tlurin^' the int(*rv(;nini4 centuries, beyond that he 

 continued to tlourish in his hundrc-ds and thousands all 

 over the \'ast rcL^dons in whicdi he d\\(dt. So it was until, 

 with the arri\'al of the I*Lur(Jijean traders, ivory bt;came 

 all at once a mu(di-cov(^ted ai'ticlc 1 he supply of 

 elephants' tusks appeared inexhaustibh^ In the west of 

 Africa, especiall\-, there wctc undoubtedK' lar^'e tr<'asure- 

 stores of i\'or\', accumulated by natixc chiefs. '1 he 

 inv(!ntion of thf- modern rille made the slauL^htering of 

 (dephants an (.-asy matt('r. It would be difhcult to calculate 

 th(:: tremendcjus numbers of elephants that were killed. 

 The natives, seeing' the ^ain to be g'ot, tocjk [jart zealously 

 in the annihilation with their primitive weapons. 



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