FAMILY P ROBOSCIFEKA. TRUNKED. 



45 



" When I shot an ordinary bull elephant, I was accustomed to say to 

 myself, ' Ah ! a good bull ; tusks at least fifty pounds each ; 4s. 6d. a 

 pound; bring me in 221. 10s. Capital day's work; help to pay for the 

 two horses that died last week, or the four that are bitten with ' tsetse,' 

 and must die in a week or two.' But if, on the other hand, I shot an 

 elephant with a pair of tusks of unusual size, perfection, or beauty, I at 

 once devoted them to my collection, and valued them at a tenfold price." 



The height of Elephants which have attained their full growth is very 

 rarely above ten feet, and one wliich measured ten feet six inches, belong- 

 ing to the vizier of Oude, is mentioned by Mr. Corse as being remarkably 

 tall. The standard height for Elephants in the East India Company's 

 service is from seven feet upwards, measuring to the shoulder ; but the 

 curve of the back is much higher, particularly in the young animal, and 

 decreases as it advances to maturity ; so that the flattened back is a sure 

 indication of old age. 



Elephants go with young twenty months and eighteen days, according 

 to the authority of Mr. Corse. When first born they rarely exceed thirty- 

 four inches in height, and gradually increase till between twenty and 

 twenty-four years of age, when they seemed to have arrived at maturity. 

 The parent does not seem particularly attached to its offspring ; for after 

 having been separated from it a few days, she will take no notice of it, 

 notwithstanding its cries and efforts to obtain its usual supply. 



The sagacity of the Elephant has afforded much interest and amusement, 

 from the astonishing facts which have been brought forward by zoologists 

 in support of it. But if the subject be more closely inquired into, it will 

 be found that this animal does not much exceed the horse in this quality, 

 and, indeed, is far inferior to the dog. 



Our plate contains a representation of the Indian Elephant (E. Indicus), 

 found in Southern India, Ceylon, Java, and Sumatra. 



When tamed the animal is remarkable for its docility, which has been 

 mistaken by many naturalists for sagacity ; but at the rutting season they 

 must be kept low, or dangerous consequences may be the result, for at that 

 season they are subject to paroxysms of rage which impel them to acts of 

 violence. 



The African Elephant (E. Africanus) is of less bulk than the Asiatic 

 or Indian Elephant. It is now employed in that quarter of the world, as 

 it still is in Asia, either for state, war, or carriage. At present they are 

 merely hunted for sport, or for the purpose of obtaining ivory. This sport 

 is attended with much danger, as the following extract from Mr. Cum- 

 ming's book, already referred to, abundantly proves : 



" We proceeded silently as might be for a few hundred yards, following 

 the guide ; when he suddenly pointed, exclaiming, ' Klow ! * and before us 

 stood a mighty herd of mighty bull elephants, packed together beneath a 

 shady grove about a hundred and fifty yards in advance. I rode slowly 

 towards them ; and as soon as they observed me they made a loud 

 rumbling noise, and, tossing their trunks, wheeled right about and made 

 off in one direction, crashing through the forest and leaving a cloud of dust 

 behind them. I was accompanied by a detachment of my dogs, who 

 assisted me in the pursuit. 



" The distance I had come, and the difficulties I had undergone, to 

 behold these elephants, rose fresh before me. I determined that on this 

 occasion at least I would do my duty, and, dashing my spurs into ' Sun- 

 day's ' ribs, I was very soon much too close in their rear for safety. The 

 elephants now made an inclination to my left, whereby I obtained a good 

 view of the ivory. The herd consisted of six bulls ; four of them were 

 full-grown, first-rate elephants ; the other two were fine fellows, but had 

 not yet arrived at perfect stature. Of the four old fellows, two had much 

 finer tusks than the rest, and for a few seconds I was undecided which of 

 these two I would follow ; when, suddenly, the one which I fancied had 

 the stoutest tusks broke from his comrades, and I at once felt convinced 

 that he was the patriarch of the herd, and followed him accordingly. 

 Cantering alongside, I was about to fire, when he instantly turned, and, 

 uttering a trumpet so strong and shrill, that the earth seemed to vibrate 

 beneath my feet, he charged furiously after me for several hundred yards 



in a direct line, not altering his course in the slightest degree for the trees 

 of the forest, which he snapped and overthrew like reeds in his headlong 

 career. 



" When he pulled up in his charge, I likewise halted ; and as he 

 slowly turned to retreat I let fly at his shoulder, ' Sunday ' capering and 

 prancing and giving me much trouble. On receiving the ball the elephant 

 shrugged his shoulder, and made off at a free majestic walk. This shot 

 brought several of the dogs to my assistance which had been following the 

 other elephants, and on their coming up and barking another headlong 

 charge was the result, accompanied by the never-failing trumpet as before. 

 In his charge he passed close to me, when I saluted him with a second 

 bullet in the shoulder, of which he did not take the slightest notice. I 

 now determined not to fire again until I could make a steady shot ; but 

 although the elephant turned repeatedly, ' Sunday ' invariably disappointed 

 me, capering so that it was impossible to fire. At length exasperated, I 

 became reckless of the danger, and, springing from the saddle, I approached 

 the elephant under cover of a tree, and gave him a bullet in the side of the 

 head, when, trumpeting so shrilly that the forest trembled, he charged 

 among the dogs, from whom he seemed to fancy that the blow had come ; 

 after which he took up a position in a grove of thorns, with his head 

 towards me. I walked up very near, and as he was in the act of charging, 

 I (being in those days under wrong impressions as to the impracticability 

 of bringing down an elephant with a shot in the forehead) stood coolly in 

 his path until he was within fifteen paces of me, and let drive at the 

 hollow of his forehead, in the vain expectation that by so doing I should 

 end his career. The shot only served to increase his fury an effect 

 which, I have remarked, shots in the head invariably produce; and 

 continuing his charge with incredible quickness and impetuosity, he all but 

 terminated my elephaut-hunting for ever. A large party of the Bechuanas 

 who had come up yelled out simultaneously, imagining I was killed, for 

 the elephant was at one moment almost on the top of me : I however 

 escaped by my activity, and by dodging round the bushy trees. As the 

 elephant was charging, an enormous thorn ran deep into the sole of my 

 foot, the old Badenoch brogues, which I that day sported, being worn 

 through ; and this caused me severe pain, laming me throughout the rest 

 of the conflict. 



" The elephant held on through the forest at a sweeping pace ; but he 

 was hardly out of sight when I was loaded and in the saddle, and soon 

 once more alongside. About this time I heard Isaac blazing away at 

 another bull ; but when the elephant charged, his cowardly heart failed 

 him, and he very soon made his appearance at a safe distance in my rear. 

 My elephant kept crashing along at a steady pace, with blood streaming 

 from his wounds; the dogs, which were knocked up with fatigue and 

 thirst, no longer barked around him, but had dropped astern. It was 

 long before I again fired, for I was afraid to dismount, and ' Sunday ' was 

 extremely troublesome. At length I fired sharp right and left from the 

 saddle : he got both balls behind the shoulder and made a long charge 

 after me, rumbling and trumpeting as before. The whole body of the 

 Bamangwato men had now come up, and were following a short distance 

 behind me. Among these was Mollyeon, who volunteered to help ; and 

 being a very swift and active fellow, he rendered me important service by 

 holding my fidgety horse's head while I fired and loaded. I then fired six 

 broadsides from the saddle, the elephant charging almost every time, and 

 pursuing us back to the main body in our rear, who fled in all directions 

 as he approached. 



" The sun had now sunk behind the tops of the trees : it would very 

 soon be dark, and the elephant did not seem much distressed, notwith- 

 standing all he had received. I recollected that my time was short, there- 

 fore at once resolved to fire no more from the saddle, but to go close up to 

 him and fire on foot. Riding up to him I dismounted, and, approaching 

 very near, I gave it him right and left in the side of the head, upon which 

 he made a long and determined charge after me ; but I was now very 

 reckless of his charges, for I saw that he could not overtake me, and in a 

 twinkling I was loaded, and, again approaching, I fired sharp right and 



