270 THE ELEPHANT. 



highly of the peculiar smell of the animal." It may 

 be so, but, for my part, I consider that of a young 

 animal at least as very palatable. 



Everyone, however, agrees in saying that the 

 foot, if properly cooked, is a great delicacy. The na- 

 tive manner of preparing it is as follows : A hole 

 should be dug in tbe earth, about four feet deep and 

 two feet six inches in diameter, the sides of which 

 should be perpendicular. In this a large fire should 

 be lighted, and kept burning for four or five hours, 

 with a continual supply of wood, so that the walls 

 may become red-hot. At the expiration of the blaze, 

 the foot should be laid on the glowing embers, and 

 the hole be covered closely with thick pieces of 

 green wood laid parallel together, so as to form a 

 sort of ceiling. This should be covered with wet grass, 

 and the whole should be plastered over with mud, 

 and stamped tightly down to retain the heat. Upon 

 the mud a quantity of earth should be heaped, and 

 the oven should not be opened for thirty hours or 

 more. At the expiration of that time the foot will 

 be perfectly baked ; the sole will separate like a 

 shoe, and expose a delicate substance, which, with a 

 little oil and vinegar, together with an allowance of 

 pepper and salt, is a delicious dish that will feed a 

 number of people. When circumstances, however, 

 permit, a more civilized plan of preparing the foot 

 is to half boil it in water, and, after adding a quan- 

 tity of fresh milk, allow it to simmer over a slow fire 

 till reduced to a kind of jelly. In that state it may 

 be eaten either hot or cold. 



But why the proboscis should be looked on as a 



