270 WILD ANIMALS. 



wards and forwards, the legs crossed or swayed to and fro, or it 

 will fan itself witt a leafy brancli, more it seems for the sake of 

 motion than for the coolness it may derive from the operation. 

 The jaws are incessantly munching or grinding, and the trunk, 

 when not busy conveying something to the mouth or spurting 

 water about, is kept in a perpetual movement, twisting and 

 turning in every direction. 



How these herds are governed or the method of communication 

 existing between the leader and its followers cannot be ascertained. 

 In Sir B. Tennent's book there is the copy of a letter written 

 by Major Skinner, giving the details of a fact the author mentions, 

 which is certainly worth quoting : " The case you refer to struck me 

 as exhibiting more than the ordinary brute instinct, and approached 

 nearer to reasoning powers than any other instance I can now 

 remember. I cannot do justice to the scene, although it appeared 

 to me at the time to be so remarkable. that it left a deep impression 

 in my mind. In the height of the dry season, in Neuera-Kalaiva, 

 you know the streams are all dried up, and the tanks nearly 

 so. All animals are then sorely pressed for water, and they con- 

 gregate in the vicinity of those tanks in which there may remain 

 ever so little of the precious element. During one of those seasons 

 I was encamped on the bund or embankment of a very small tank, 

 the water in which was so dried that its surface could not have 

 exceeded an area of five hundred square yards. It was the only 

 pond within many miles, and I knew that of necessity a very large 

 herd of elephants, which had been in the neighbourhood all day, 

 must resort to it at night. On the lower side of the tank, and in 

 line with the embankment, was a thick forest, in which the 

 elephants sheltered themselves during the day. On the upper side, 

 and all around the tank, there was a considerable margin of open 

 ground. It was one of those beautiful, bright, clear, moonlight 

 nights, when objects could be seen almost as distinctly as by day, 

 and I determined to avail myself of the opportunity to observe 

 the movements of the herd, which had already manifested some 

 uneasiness at our presence. The locality was very favourable for 

 my purpose, and an enormous tree projecting over the tank 

 afforded me a secure lodgment in its branches. Having ordered 



