Leaders of the Herd. 51 



greater bodily strength; and the devotion and loyalty 

 which the herd evince to their leader are very re- 

 markable. This is more readily seen in the case of a 

 tusker than any other, because in a herd he is generally 

 the object of the keenest pursuit by the hunters. On 

 such occasions the others do their utmost to protect him 

 from danger : when driven to extremity they place their 

 leader in the centre and crowd so eagerly in front of 

 him that the sportsmen have to shoot a number which 

 they might otherwise have spared. In one instance a 

 tusker, which was badly wounded by Major Rogers, 

 was promptly surrounded by his companions, who sup- 

 ported him between their shoulders, and actually suc- 

 ceeded in covering his retreat to the forest. 



Those who have lived much in the jungle in Ceylon, 

 and had constant opportunities of watching the habits 

 of wild elephants, have witnessed instances of the sub- 

 mission of herds to their leaders, that suggest an inquiry 

 of singular interest as to the means adopted by the latter 

 to communicate with distinctness, orders which are 

 observed with the most implicit obedience by their 

 followers. The following narrative of an adventure in 

 the great central forest toward the north of the island, 

 communicated to me by Major Skinner, who was 

 engaged for some time in surveying and opening roads 

 through the thickly -wooded districts there, will sen-e 

 better than any abstract description to convey an idea of 

 the conduct of a herd on such occasions : — 



" The case you refer to struck me as exliibiting some- 

 thing more than ordinary brute instinct, and approached 



