THE GREAT THICK-SKINNED ANIMALS 165 



tossed her trunk up and down two or three times, and, falHng on her 

 broadside against a thorny tree, which yielded hke grass before her 

 enormous weight, she uttered a deep, hoarse cry, and expired. This 

 was a very handsome old cow elephant, and was decidedly the best in 

 the troop. She was in excellent condition, and carried a pair of long 

 and perfect tusks. I was in high spirits at my success, and felt so 

 perfectly satisfied with having killed one, that, although it was still 

 early in the day, and my horses were fresh, I allowed the troop of five 

 bulls to remain unmolested, foolishly trusting to fall in with them 

 next day." 



A herd of elephants is one of the most impressive sights known. 

 To look down in a valley on a herd of two or three hundred, as is not 

 unusual — every height and knoll dotted over with groups of them, 

 while the bottom of the valley is filled with a dense and noble, living 

 mass, is truly a marvelous sight. Their colossal forms at one moment 

 are partially concealed by the trees which they are disfiguring with 

 giant strength; and at another seen majestically emerging into the 

 open glades bearing in their trunks the branches of trees with which 

 they indolently protect themselves from the flies. 



The African elephant has never been domesticated as his Indian 

 cousin has. Many good stories are told of the bravery, high intelli- 

 gence and affection of elephants in India. Kipling tells us of ''ele- 

 phants a pilin' teak," and it is a familiar sight in a lumber yard. In 

 tiger hunting they are fearless and invaluable. Some there are so 

 noted for their skill and reliability that they are reserved for royal 

 sportsmen. However, the barbarous tribes of Africa have never 

 dreamed of the possibility of rendering this lord of the jungle service- 

 able in a domestic capacity ; and even among the colonists there exists 

 an unaccountable superstition that his subjugation is not to be accom- 

 plished. In India elephants become very adept at the catching and 

 breaking of wild elephants, and were this method adopted in Africa 

 and the native animal domesticated and used against other big game, 

 it would become one of the greatest sports in the world. 



Once killed the elephant is of no use except for the ivory of his 

 tusks. The natives and some Europeans, however, esteem elephant 

 steak and baked elephant's feet great luxuries. The tusks are em- 



