"38 



induced by the ripening of certain kinds of fruit in particular districts. At such 

 times it appears that the old bulls rejoin the herds to which they belong. Once, 

 and once only, Sir Samuel Baker had the opportunity of witnessing such a mi- 

 gration, which he describes as follows: "We were marching through an unin- 

 habited country for about thirty miles, and in the midst of beautiful park-like 

 scenery, we came upon the magnificent sight of vast herds of elephants. These 

 were scattered about the country in parties varying in number from ten to one 

 hundred, while single bulls dotted the landscape with their magnificent forms 

 in all directions. In some places there were herds of twenty or thirty, entirely 

 composed of large tuskers; in other spots were parties of females with young ones 

 interspersed, of varying growth; and this grand display of elephantine life con- 

 tinued for at least two miles in length as we rode parallel with the groups at about 

 a quarter of a mile distant. It would have been impossible to guess the number, as 

 there was no regularity in their arrangement, neither could I form any idea of the 

 breadth of the area that was occupied. ' ' 



In describing his first view of the largest company of elephants he ever en- 

 countered, Oswell writes that " as I got clear of the bush I came upon at least four 

 hundred elephants standing drowsily in the shade of the detached clumps of mimosa 

 trees. Such a sight I had never seen before, and never saw again. As far as the 

 eye could reach, in a fairly open country, there was nothing but elephants. I da 

 not mean in joined masses, but in small separate groups. Lying on the pony's neck, 

 I wormed in and out, looking for the bulls whose ' spoor ' we had been following, 

 and while doing so was charged by a very tall, long-legged, ugly beast, who would 

 take no denial, and I was obliged to kill him." 



It has already been stated that the maximum pace of the Indian ele- 

 Pace 



phant is estimated at about fifteen miles an hour; but this can only be 



maintained for a couple of hundred yards or so, after which the rate sinks to eight 

 or six miles an hour. On the other hand, Sir Samuel Baker is of opinion that the 

 African elephant might be able to maintain the maximum pace of fifteen miles an 

 hour for a hundred yards longer than its Asiatic cousin, and that it would settle 

 down to a pace of ten miles an hour, which could be kept up for at least that period 

 of time. The relatively-longer limbs and stride of the African species fully bear out 

 this view as to its speedier movements. 



Senses ^ e sense ^ SGent appears to be very strongly developed in this spe- 



cies, inasmuch as it can discover the presence of a human being at an 

 immense distance when the wind is favorable. As soon as an elephant scents a man, 

 it starts off at once at a rapid pace, which will be maintained sometimes for hours; 

 and since in most parts of Africa the wind is constantly veering, this constitutes one 

 of the great difficulties in elephant stalking. On the other hand, the sight of 

 these animals is most defective, and it does not appear that their hearing is particu- 

 larly good. On account of these deficiencies, it is possible to approach a wild Afri- 

 can elephant from the leeward to within a very short distance, and we have been 

 informed, on good authority, that a hunter once wagered that he would write 

 his initials on the hind-quarters of one of these animals while alive, and that he 

 actually succeeded in doing so. 



