ITS FLESH AS A DELICACY. 255 



expert in tracking any individual by the " spoor," or track, which is 

 made by its footsteps. The foot of a male is easily to be distinguished 

 by the roundness of its form, while that of the female is more oval, 

 and the height of the animal is also ascertained by measurement of the 

 footmarks, twice the circumference of the foot being equal to the height 

 at the shoulder. 



The death of a large Elephant is great matter of congratulation 

 among the natives, who rejoice at the abundant supply of food which 

 will fall to their share. Almost every portion of the animal is used 

 by the Kaffirs, whose strong jaws are not to be daunted by the toughest 

 meat, and whose accommodating palates are satisfied with various por- 

 tions which would be rejected by any civilized being. 



Some portions of the Elephant are, however, grateful even to Euro- 

 pean palates, and the foot, when baked, is really delicious. This part 

 of the animal is cooked by being laid in a hole in the earth, over which 

 a large fire has been suffered to burn itself out, and then covered over 

 with the hot earth. Another fire is then built on the spot, and permit- 

 ted to burn itself out as before, and when the place is thoroughly cool, 

 the foot is properly cooked. The flesh of the boiled foot is quite soft 

 and o-elatinoLis, somethino* resemblinoj calf's head, and is so tender that 

 it can be scooped away with a spoon. The trunk and the skin around 

 the eye are also enumerated as delicacies, but have been compared by 

 one who has had practical experience as bearing a close resemblance to 

 shoe-leather both in toughness and evil flavor. 



The natives employ many methods of capturing Elephants, the pit- 

 fall being the most deadly. Even this insidious snare is often rendered 

 useless by the sagacity of the crafty old leaders of the herds, who pre- 

 cede their little troops to the water, as they advance by night to drink, 

 and, carefully beating the ground with their trunks as they proceed, 

 unmask the pitfalls that have been dug in their course. They then 

 tear away the covers of the pits and render them harmless. These 

 pits are terrible affairs when an animal gets into them, for a sharp 

 stake is set perpendicularly at the bottom, so that the poor Elephant 

 is transfixed by its own weight and dies miserably. Each pit is about 

 eight feet long by four in width. 



The ivory of the African Elephant is extremely valuable, and vast 

 quantities are imported annually into this country. The slaughter of 

 an Elephant is therefore a matter of congratulation to the white hunter, 

 who knows that he can obtain a good price for the tusks and teeth of 

 the animal which he has slain. A pair of tusks weighing about a hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds will fetch nearly two hundred dollars when sold, 

 so that the produce of a successful chase is extremely valuable. One 

 officer contrived to purchase every step in the army by the sale of the 

 ivory which he had thus obtained. Ou an average, each pair of tusks, 



