282 DIVISION I. VEETEBIiAL ANIJIALS. — CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



Asiatic, but the ears arc much larger, being of enormous size, covering the 

 entire slioulclcrs, and reaching downward upon the legs. The species in- 

 habits tlie whole continent from the Niger to the Cape of Good Hope, 

 assembling in large herds in the cool mimosa groves, where water is abun- 

 dant — an clement so essential to their peculiar organization, which requires 

 the refreshment of frequent ablutions. They are vigilant, defend tlieir young 

 to tiie last extremity, and arc fierce and revengeful when wounded "r attacked. 

 They are not domesticated, nor employed in useful occupations, and therefore 

 are hunted only as an exciting sport, or for their tusks and teeth. Pringle, 

 in his African Sketches, furnishes the following animated account of an ex- 

 cursion into their favorite haunts, from which we derive a very good idea of 

 their habits and general proceedings : — 



"I rode next day, with some engineer ofiiccrs, into the Ceded Territory, 

 and while they ascended the \\'intcrbcrg, I constructed, with the aid of the 

 Hottentot soldiers, a sort of booth or sliicling for our shelter at night, on 

 the skirts of a wood, in a lovely verdant glen at the foot of the mountains, 

 all alive with the amusing garrulity of monkeys and paroquets. The aspect 

 of the AMnterberg from this spot was very grand, with its coronet of rocks, 

 its frowning fronts, and its steep grassy skirts, feathered over with a strag- 

 gling forest partly scathed by fire. As lions were numerous in tiie vicinity, 

 we took care to have a blazing watch-fire, and a couple of sentinels were 

 placed for our protection dming tlic night. We received, however, no dis- 

 turbance, and spent a very pleasant evening in our ' greenwood bovver ; ' the 

 spot, in jiieular commemoration of one of the party, being thenceforth 

 denominated Fox's Kraal or .Shieling. 



" Next day we followed the course of the Koonap, over green sloping 

 hills, till the increasing ruggedness of the ravines, and the prevalence of 

 jungle, compelled us to j)ursue a Kaffir path, now kept open only by the 

 2)assagc of wild animals, along the river margin. The general character of 

 the scenery I have already described. During the forenoon, we had seen 

 many herds of (juaggas, and antelopes of various kinds, which I need not stop 

 to enumerate ; but after midday we came upon tlic recent traces of a troop 

 of elephants. Their huge fiotpi'ints were everywhere \isible; and in the 

 swampy spots on the banks of the river, it was evident that some of them had 

 been luxuriously enjoying themselves by rolling their unwieldy bulks in the 

 ooze and mud. But it was in the groves and jungles tliat they had left the 

 most striking proofs of their recent presence and peculiar habits. In many 

 places, paths had been trodden through the midst of dense thorny forests, 

 otherwise im^ienetrable. They appeared to have opened up these paths with 

 great judgment, always taking the best and shortest cut to the next open 

 savanna, or foixl of the river ; and in this way their labors were of the 



