ELEPHANT HUNTING. 549 
back I had vanquished 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 
difficulty 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 beaw ideal of magnifi- 
cent sport. It is also worthy of remark, that no attempt has 
ever been made on the part of thg colonists to naturalize 
another most useful animal, the camel, although the soil, cli- 
mate, and productions appear alike to favor its introduction. 
