298 After Big Game in Central Africa 



many years must elapse before African colonisation will 

 profit by this experiment ? Meantime hunting will continue, 

 and when establishments are founded there will be no more 

 elephants to put in them. 



The only thing to be done, in my opinion, is for European 

 nations, in agreement with the Congo Free State, to prohibit 

 elephant-hunting under pain of heavy penalty. The step is 

 a radical one, and would momentarily injure trade ; but a 

 hundred years sooner or later we shall exhaust the supply 

 of ivory, so we might as well try to conserve it now. Once 

 hunting, as well as the exportation and sale of ivory, was 

 forbidden, the authorities in each colony could proceed to 

 confiscate the ivory found in the hands of natives. Ivory 

 having no further value either to the native or to the 

 European, hunting would stop of itself. Severe punishments 

 might be inflicted upon those who slaughtered elephants for 

 amusement or to obtain meat. When these results were 

 achieved, means of capturing elephants 1 could be devised. 

 With these guarantees there would be no difficulty in 

 finding the necessary capital for the formation of large com- 

 panies for the capture and training of elephants, companies 

 which would sell to the colonists and Government animals 

 trained for transport purposes. 



I am persuaded that by applying in Africa the methods 

 which succeed in India, by employing even the cornacs and 

 elephants of the country, the result would be successful. As 

 to the possibility of domesticating the African elephant, can 

 one doubt it for a moment ? History tells us that in ancient 

 times there were at Carthage hundreds of elephants trained 

 for war and transport purposes, and what was done in 

 Africa formerly cannot one do nowadays? A few years' 

 training under the management of a Hindoo staff would 

 suffice to make expert cornacs in Africa. 



1 They are opposed in India to the capture of young elephants, the 

 maintenance of which is very expensive ; they prefer capturing adult 

 animals. 



