THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT. 603 



leaves, which it plucks daintily with the tip of its trunk, and always beats against its fore-legs, 

 in order to shake off the dust. While feeding, the Elephant never seems to be in a hurry, but 

 eats deliberately, and often pauses in its meal, as if engaged in contemplation. In this 

 country, the average daily food of an adult Elephant is one truss of hay, one truss of straw, a 

 bushel of barley-meal and bran made into a mash, thirty pounds of potatoes, and six pints of 

 water. In Ceylon, each Elephant employs two men in cutting leaves for its sustenance, and a 

 very large animal would probably require the services of three leaf -cutters. 



The general color of the Elephant is brown, of a lighter tint when the animal is at liberty, 

 and considerably deeper when its hide is subjected to rubbing with a cocoa-nut brush, and 

 plenty of oil. Sometimes an albino or white Elephant is seen in the forests, the color of the 

 animal being a pinky- white, and aptly compared to the nose of a white horse. The King 

 of Ava, one of whose titles is "Lord of the White Elephants," generally contrives to monopo- 

 lize every White Elephant, and employs them for purposes of state, decorating them with 

 strings of priceless gems, pearls, and gold coins, and lodging them in the most magnificent of 

 houses, where their very eating-troughs are of silver. 



Although the tame Elephant is usually gentle in his disposition, there are certain times 

 in the year when he becomes greatly excited, and is sometimes so powerfully agitated, that he 

 will attack anything that comes in his way, and has often been known even to assault his own 

 keeper. Elephants in this condition are technically called "must" Elephants, and are care- 

 fully guarded as long as the paroxysm lasts. On one occasion, a mahout was forced to sit 

 upon the animal's back for several days continuously, not daring to alight lest the infuriated 

 animal should destroy him. As he sat upon the creature's back, it constantly endeavored to 

 pull him from his seat, but was held at bay by the sharp point of the "haunkus," which 

 wounded his trunk whenever it threatened the mahout, and caused such pain that the animal 

 was fain to desist from its deadly efforts. While in this state of excitement, the Elephant is 

 largely employed as a combatant, being set to fight another "must" animal for the gratifica- 

 tion of its owner. Very heavy wagers were often laid upon these combatants by their Eastern 

 owners, and the fight was of a most terrific character. Each Elephant was mounted by his 

 own mahout, who was furnished with a rope netting, to which he clung as the animals met in 

 the deadly shock, in order to prevent himself from being flung off the creature's back. It is a 

 remarkable fact, that the animal never interferes with a human being provided he is mounted 

 upon an Elephant's back, and even the wild "rogue" Elephants do no harm to the men who 

 come to ensnare them. 



There are many breeds, or "casts," of the Asiatic Elephant, which are distinguished by 

 certain technical terms. 



The African Elephant is spread over a very wide range of country, extending from 

 Senegal and Abyssinia to the borders of the Cape Colony. Several conditions are required for 

 its existence, such as water, dense forests, and the absence of human habitations. 



Although it is very abundant in the locality which it inhabits, it is not often seen by 

 casual travellers, owing to its great vigilance, and its wonderful power of moving through the 

 tangled forests without noise, and without causing any perceptible agitation of the foliage. 

 In spite of its enormous dimensions, it is one of the most invisible of forest creatures, and a 

 herd of Elephants, of eight or nine feet in height, may stand within a few yards of a hunter 

 without being detected by him, even though he is aware of their presence. The only sure 

 method of ascertaining the presence of Elephants is by listening for one sound which they are 

 continually giving forth, and which they are unable to control. This peculiar noise resembles 

 the bubbling of wine when poured from a bottle, and is caused by the large amount of 

 water which is stored in their interior. This curious sound is emitted at regular intervals, 

 and forms a sure criterion whereby to judge of the direction in which the creatures may be 

 standing. 



At the present day the African Elephant is never captured and domesticated, although 

 there seems to be but little reason for such an omission. In the ancient times, this species was 

 trained for the arts of war and peace as regularly as the Asiatic Elephant, and its present 



