194 Anecdotal Natural History. 



proboscis one fore foot is then pushed forward until it 

 obtains a hold. 



Next follows the hind foot of the same side, and 

 then the fore and hind feet of the opposite side are 

 gradually transferred to their new situation, the ever 

 restless proboscis always acting as pioneer of each 

 step. 



No one who has not seen it can realize the mar- 

 vellous delicacy of the whole proceeding, or the per- 

 fection of balance shown by the apparently ungainly 

 animal. 



Judging by appearances, the elephant is about the 

 last animal in the world which we should have 

 thought to be swift of progress on land and in the 

 water, a rock-climber, silent of tread as a cat, almost 

 invisible among trees, and capable of slipping 

 through dense forests without shaking the boughs 

 or producing a sound that would betray its presence. 

 Still less could we expect that it should be able to 

 perform the extraordinary feats of agility which have 

 already been mentioned. 



Yet it does all these things, and, most wonderful 

 of all, its vast strength, its powers of intellect, and 

 its other great gifts are made to be subservient to 

 man. 



I was never more impressed with the truth of the 

 passage quoted at the beginning of this article, than 

 by watching the mode in which the enormous animal 

 was rendered helpless by man, into whose hand all 

 living creatures are delivered. 



