A Corral. 43 



valleys from ridge to ridge, through forests so dense as 

 to obstruct a distant view, the elephants invariably select 

 the line of march which communicates most judiciously 

 with the ojDposite point, by means of the safest ford.' 

 So sure-footed are they, that there are few places where 

 man can go that. an elephant cannot follow, provided 

 there be space to admit his bulk, and solidity to sustain 

 his weight. 



In 1865 a capture of elephants was attempted at 

 Avisavelle in Ceylon : the corral was constructed close 

 to a wall of rocks so precipitous and high that it was 

 considered superfluous to continue the enclosure in front 

 of them. But over these rocks the elephants made their 

 escape, and the corral was a total failure.^ 



This faculty is almost entirely derived from the un- 

 usual position, as compared with other quadrupeds, of 

 the knee joint of the hind leg ; arising from the superior 

 length of the thigh bone, and the shortness of the meta- 

 tarsus: the heel being almost where it projects in man, 

 instead of being lifted up as a "hock." It is this which 

 enables him, in descending declivities, to depress and 

 adjust the weight of his hinder portions, which would 

 othenvise overbalance and force him headlong.^ It is 



' Dr. Hooker, in describing the ^ Since the above passage was written, 

 ascent of the Himalaya, says, the I have seen in the Journal of the 

 natives in making their paths despise all Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. .xiii. 

 zigzags, and run in straight lines up the pt. ii. j). 916, a paper upon this sub- 

 steepest hill faces; whilst '"the ele- ject, illustrated by the subjoined dia- 

 phant's path is an excellent specimen of gram. 



engineering — the opposite of the native The writer says, "an elephant de- 

 track, — for it winds judiciou.sly." {Hi- scending a bank of too acute an angle to 

 malaya7i fournal, vol. i. ch. iv. ) admit of his walking down it direct, 



^ Ceylon Observer, March 1865. (which, were he to attempt, his huge 



