ELEPHANT HUNTING. 649 



back I had vanquislied so many of my feline foes in Guzerat 

 — an impression •which, however ridiculous it must appear, 

 detracted considerably from the satisfaction I experienced. 



The operation of hewing out three pairs of tusks occupied 

 several hours, their roots, embedded in massy sockets, spread- 

 ing over the greater portion of the face. My Indian friends 

 will marvel when they hear of tusks being extricated from 

 the jaws of a female elephant — but with very few exceptions, 

 all that we saw had these accessories, measuring from three 

 to four feet in length. I have already stated my belief that 

 the maximum height of the African male is twelve feet ; that 

 of the female averages eight and a half — the enormous magni- 

 tude of the ears, which not only cover the whole of the 

 shoulder, but overlap each other on the neck, to the complete 

 exclusion of the mahout, or driver, constituting another 

 striking feature of difference between the two species. The 

 forehead is remarkably large and prominent, and consists of 

 two walls or tables, between which, a wide cellular space 

 intervening, a ball, hardened with tin or quicksilver, readily 

 penetrates to the brain, and proves instantaneously fatal. 



The barbarous tribes that people Southern Africa, have 

 never dreamed of the possibility of rendering this lordly 

 quadruped serviceable in a domestic capacity; and even 

 amongst the colonists, there exists an unaccountable super- 

 stition that his subjugation is not to be accomplished. His 

 capture, however, may readily be achieved ; and as he appears 

 to possess all the aptitude of his Asiatic relative, the only 

 diflBculty that presents itself, is the general absence, within 

 our territories, of sufficient food for his support. Were he 

 once domesticated and arrayed against the beasts of the 

 forest, Africa would realize the very heau ideal of magnifi- 

 cent sport. It is also worthy of remark, that no attempt has 

 ever been made on the part of the colonists to naturalize 

 another most useful animal, the camel, although the soil, cli- 

 mate, and productions appear alike to favor its introduction. 



