A Baby Elephant 113 



appear, I do not know why, bigger than necessary, 

 and its little trunk makes a thousand contortions, 

 does not stop for a moment ; at each side of its 

 mouth are two white points as thick as the finger, 

 indicating future tusks ; and its eyes are light. 

 There is something comical and sportive in its physio- 

 gnomy which I cannot express. This roguish fellow, 

 whose height I took later, measured 3 feet 10 inches. 

 Without understanding why its mother is thus 

 lying on the sand, it comes to her side, enters the 

 water, comes out again, and plays all kinds of tricks, 

 throwing water, wet sand, and gravel in every direc- 

 tion. Two or three crocodiles, attracted by blood, 

 appear near the bank. If only the heedless young 

 thing does not again venture into the water, and fall 

 a victim to some nasty trick ! Suppose I show my- 

 self ? But how will it take my presence ? If it wants, 

 to flee I really shall not know how to prevent it. 

 Meantime my men at last appear, and after having 

 stopped a moment to contemplate from a distance the 

 orphan's gambols, they begin to make a rope, hidden 

 by a bush. We must bring the business to a head. I 

 imitate the cry of the sparrow-hawk, a call understood 

 between us ; and one of the natives comes to me skirt- 

 ing the reeds, the young elephant seeing him dis- 

 tinctly, but, being unable to scent him, appearing not 

 to mind his presence. Seeing this, instead of con- 

 tinuing to conceal myself, I leave my hiding-place and 

 walk about on the sand to leeward ; finally I sit 

 down, so as not to frighten it by my movements. 

 Once it looks at me, raises its trunk as though to 



