428 THK HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 



their top branches. The limit of their powers in over- 

 throwing trees appeared, however, to be confined to 

 those of not more than about eight inches in diameter, 

 and my experience with trained tame elephants leads to 

 a similar conclusion. Even these are not torn up by 

 the roots, but merely borne down by the application of 

 their full weight, by means of the forehead and one foot, 

 or, as the natives here assured me, of the stern. The 

 tales of some African travellers of elephants employing 

 large trees as projectiles (one declares he saw two trees 

 of eighteen inches diameter torn up and hurled ten or 

 twelve yards) must be utter myths, A broad track 

 through the jungle, like a high-road, led off in the 

 direction taken by the herd ; and, where they had 

 crossed the dry sandy bed of the Matiu river, their 

 tracks of every size, ranging from that of the tusker 

 of a foot and a half diameter to the youngster's the 

 size of a teacup, showed that the herd must have num- 

 bered some fifty or sixty individuals. I was of course 

 C[uite unable to follow them in my present condition. 



In the afternoon, when I was asleep, some of the 

 Bhiimias came in with news of a solitary tusker being 

 within half a mile of the camp. 111 as I was I could 

 not stand this, so getting on my pony, in sleeping 

 drawers and slippers just as I was, I went out at 

 least to sec him. He was standing in the sandy bed 

 of the Matin river, where he had dug out a great 

 hole down to the moisture below the surface, and 

 plastered himself all over with the wet sand to keep 

 off the flies. He was a very large tusker, resembling 

 the Nepal breed in shape. The only striking difference 

 I notice! between him and domesticated elephants 

 was the much greater fleshiness of his neck and fore- 

 quarters, a circumstance also to be remarked in the 



