42 The Life of a7t Rlephant 



to acquire the ability to walk with ease and 

 safety on precipitous ground, but even this was 

 learnt with practice. A 

 perpendicular bank, if un- 

 yielding, even if only five 

 feet high, remained always 

 insurmountable, for he 

 could not raise a hind-foot 

 sufficiently to give a pur- 

 chase in bringing his body 

 to follow trunk and fore-feet. But if the soil 

 could be broken away the difficulty ceased to 

 exist, for he would trample on the displaced 

 and in a few seconds surmount the 

 obstacle. To descend a steep, almost 

 vertical slope he would break away 

 the brink with his fore-feet and 

 lower himself over the edge, then, 

 bending his hind-legs, let himself 

 go, leaving two deep furrows to 

 mark his course. On the narrow 

 ridges between the valleys he 

 would walk with circumspection, lest a false 

 step should mean death. Indeed, he had 



ear 



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