Early Experiences 43 



himself been witness to such an accident, 

 when, the soil giving way, his companion had 

 been precipitated into the valley below ; at 

 first grasping with outstretched trunk at bam- 

 boos and saplings to stay her fall, and ulti- 

 mately, as these were torn loose, as if refusing 

 the assistance so urgently required, lying a 

 huddled and inert mass some seventy feet 

 below. 



He had learnt how to ford the forest streams, 

 testing in advance each footstep lest he should 

 chance on quicksands from which there was no 

 escape ; to swim the rivers, rejoicing in his 

 strength, sinking, to strike the firm bottom and 

 to rebound thence to the surface, ploughing the 

 current with only his trunk above the surface, 

 like the conning pole of some submarine vessel. 

 He had been taught where to seek the food 

 supplies of the various seasons. He knew 

 when the bamboo foliage was at its best, when 

 the grasses were in flower, what barks, roots, 

 and fruits were whole- 

 some and where to find ^ 



~^^~- 



them. He could detect 



