1 88 Anecdotal Natural History. 



hustles its foe backwards and forwards under its 

 body, kicking it forward with the hind feet, and then 

 backward with the fore feet. In this way it has 

 bet n known to destroy a wild boar and a tiger, and 

 in both cases the elephant was a female which was 

 defending her offspring. 



It is strange to see how artists ignore this structure, 

 even when they are engaged in scientific work. I 

 have now before my eyes a well-known zoological 

 diagram for schools, in which the elephant has knee, 

 hock, and pasterns just like a horse, and to make 

 matters worse, is standing with the pastern of one hind 

 foot gracefullv bent ! 



I may here mention that the footprint of an 

 elephant designates the size and serves to identify 

 the animal. 



It is found by measurement that twice the circum- 

 ference of the foot is equal to its height at the 

 shoulder. Now, the circumference of "Jumbo's" 

 foot slightly exceeds five feet six inches, so that his 

 height is a little over eleven feet. 



The identity of the animal is shown by the lines 

 which cross and recross each other in the sole of the 

 elephant's foot, just as do the lines of the palms of 

 our hands, and which are imprinted on soft ground. 

 When hunters track an elephant, they copy these 

 lines, and so are able to adhere to the " spoor" of the 

 same animal, even when it has been mixed with the 

 footsteps of many others. 



These great feet, which can crush a tiger into a 

 jelly, and which have to support a weight which is 

 measured by tons, are as silent in their tread as those 

 of a cat. All elephant hunters know that elephants 

 can glide noiselessly through thick forests, where even 

 the barefooted savage can scarcely tread without 

 betraying his whereabouts. 



