26 Wild Beasts 



be anywhere else than within reach of its trunk if there 

 is a probability of the animal's getting bogged, for the 

 chances are that he will be buried beneath its feet for a 

 support. 



This is not said with the intention of disparaging those 

 good qualities which elephants possess. It must be plain 

 from what has gone before that nothing else Was to be 

 expected. Except in the way of patient dissimulation, it 

 would be difficult to show that when these animals take 

 to evil courses they display more ability in perpetrating 

 crime than many others. The consequences of vice in 

 them are apt to be serious, and thus attract attention ; but 

 so far as cunning, foresight, and invention are called into 

 play, they do not distinguish themselves, and those trag- 

 edies with which their names are associated seem to be 

 more particularly marked by violence, ferocity, and rapid- 

 ity of execution. Furthermore, it is well known that 

 cerebral structure in these species is not of a high type ; 

 and with regard to its organization we know nothing. 



If we now follow this largest of game into its native 

 haunts, and note those experiences by which its pursuit 

 is attended, what has been said with reference to the 

 habits and character of elephants will, in the main, be 

 found to rest upon good evidence. The outlook will be 

 quite different according to where the animals are found. 

 In India elephants live almost altogether in forests, while 

 in Africa this is not the case. A hunter on the "Dark 

 Continent" may also ride ; quite an advantage in escaping 

 a charge, and also in following a beast who, when fright- 

 ened, frequently goes forty miles at a stretch. Dogs can 



