THE EtEFHANT. 



Affection of a young elephant. 



calf. The Agageer would willingly have let 

 these alone, as the teeth of the female are very 

 small, and the young one is of no value whatever. 

 But the hunters would not be limited in their 

 sport. The people having observed the place of 

 her retreat, she was very soon found, and as soon 

 lamed by the Agageers; but when they came to 

 wound her with their darts, as every one did in 

 their turn, to our very great surprise, the young 

 one, which had been suffered to escape unheeded, 

 rushed out from the thicket, apparently in great 

 anger, and ran upon the horses and men with all 

 the violence it was master of. I was amazed and 

 afflicted, at seeing the affection of the little ani- 

 mal in defending its wounded parent, heedless of 

 its own life or safety. I therefore cried to them/ 

 for God's sake to spare the mother, but it was 

 then too late; and the calf had made several rude 

 attacks upon me, which I avoided without diffi- 

 culty; but I am happy to this day, in the reflec- 

 tion that I did not strike it. At last, making one 

 of its attacks upon another of the party, it hurt 

 him a little on the leg; on which he thrust it 

 through with his lance, as others did after, and it 

 then fell dead before its wounded mother, whom 

 it had so affectionately Defended. It was about 

 the size of an ass, but round, big-bellied, and 

 heavily made: and was so furious and unruly, 

 that it \vould easily have broken the leg of a man 

 or a horse, could it have overtaken, and jostle^ 

 against them properly." 

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