296 THE ELEPHANT. 



tensive forests of evergreens, in which numerous 

 herds of elephants still find food and shelter. From 

 having been frequently hunted by the Boers and 

 Hottentots, these animals are become so shy as 

 scarcely ever to be seen during the day, except 

 amono; the most remote and inaccessible ravines 



O 



and jungles ; but in the night time they frequently 

 issue forth in large troops, and range, in search of 

 food, through the inhabited farms in the vicinity. 

 And on such occasions they sometimes revenge the 

 wrongs of their race upon the settlers, who have 

 taken possession of their ancient haunts, by pulling 

 up fruit-trees, treading down gardens and corn- 

 fields, breaking their ploughs, waggons, and so 

 forth. 



" I do not mean, however, to affirm," Pringle 

 goes on to say, " that the elephants really do all 

 this mischief from feelings of revenge, or with the 

 direct intention of annoying their human persecu- 

 tors. They pull up the trees, probably, because 

 they want to brouse on their soft roots, and they 

 demolish the agricultural implements merely because 

 thev happen to be in the way." 



During these nocturnal raids of the elephant on 

 the domains of the settlers and others, loss of hu- 

 man life occasionally occurs ; of which an instance 

 is related by Delegorgue. 



" A small herd of these animals, five or six in 

 number, traversed, during the night, the upper 

 part of the bay, and paid a visit to the property of 

 the Englishman, Ogle; and having followed the 

 first foot-path, entered the woods and clambered 



