n THE ELEPHANT 19 



the pressure of the animal's weight was exerted, was exactly half 

 the perpendicular height of the elephant. I have seen very much 

 larger animals in Africa, but there is nothing in India to approach 

 the size of Jumbo. 



There is no reason why the African elephants should not be 

 tamed and made useful, but the difficulty lies in obtaining them 

 in any great numbers. The natives of Africa are peculiarly savage, 

 and their instincts of destruction prevent them from capturing and 

 domesticating any wild animals. During nine years' experience 

 of Central Africa I never saw a tamed creature of any kind, not 

 even a bird, or a young antelope in possession of a child. The 

 tame elephant would be especially valuable to an explorer, as it 

 could march through streams too deep for the passage of oxen, 

 and in swimming rivers it would be proof against the attacks of 

 crocodiles. So few African elephants have been tamed in propor- 

 tion to those of Asia that it would be difficult to pronounce an 

 opinion upon their character when domesticated, but it is generally 

 believed by their trainers that the Indian species is more gentle 

 and amenable to discipline. The power of the African is far in 

 excess of the Asiatic. Nine feet at the highest portion of the 

 back is a good height for an Indian male, and eight feet for the 

 female, although occasionally they are considerably larger. There 

 are hardly any elephants that measure ten feet in a direct perpen- 

 dicular, although the mahouts pretend to fictitious heights by 

 measuring with a tape or cord frorn the spine, including the curve 

 of the body. 



As Jumbo was proved to have attained the height of eleven 

 feet although in captivity from infancy, it may be easily imagined 

 that in a wild state the African elephant will attain twelve feet, 

 or even more. I have myself seen many animals that would have 

 exceeded this, although it would be impossible to estimate their 

 height with accuracy. 



The shape of the African variety is very peculiar, and differs 

 in a remarkable manner from the Asiatic. The highest point is 

 the shoulder, and the back is hollow ; in the Indian the back is 

 convex, and the shoulder is considerably lower. The head of the 

 African is quite unlike that of the Indian ; and the ears, which 

 in the former are enormous, completely cover the shoulder when 

 thrown back. The best direction for a vital shot at an African 

 elephant is at the extremity of the ear when flapped against the 

 side. A bullet thus placed will pass through the centre of the 

 lungs. The Indian elephant has many more laniince in the teeth 

 than the African, constituting a larger grinding surface, as the 



