PACE. 257 



His fastest walk is about equal to tlie steady jog 

 trot of a man. When pushed, he assumes a kind 

 of ambling pace, which, in fleetness, is equal to a 

 gallop. He goes forward with ease and celerity ; 

 but if English naturalists are to be credited 

 " turns himself round with great difficulty, and that 

 'not without taking a pretty large circuit." 



The latter statement may, possibly, bo in part 

 true of the Indian species, but certainly not of the 

 African, which, as I myself can testify, is by no 

 means slow in wheeling about when beset by ene- 

 mies. To show that this is the case, I can- 

 not do better than quote the experiences of Sir 

 Samuel Baker, who, when describing a hunt at 

 which he himself was present, and in which three na- 

 tives on foot attempted to hamstring an enraged 

 bull-elephant, says, " The creature turned himself 

 round, as if on a pivot, with extreme quickness, and 

 charged headlong, first at one and then at the other 

 of his assailants, who, though they were as active 

 as monkeys, found it impossible to get behind him, 

 and thus attain their purpose." 



The speed of the elephant is not very great, no- 

 thing like that of the horse ; but from the length of 

 his legs and body he is enabled to get pretty quickly 

 over the ground. In sandy districts, however, his 

 broad feet give him an advantage over the horse ; 

 for, while the latter sinks to the depth of several 

 inches at every step, the foot-prints of the elephant 

 are hardly perceptible. 



Speaking on this subject, Mr. Moodie, the Afri- 

 can settler, when describing the tragic death of one 



s 



