274 WILD ANIMALS. 



scene that I ever saw; my assailant looked the very picture of 

 grandeur and rage." 



Dr. Holub writes that in the Cape Colony " the elephants' immu- 

 nity from pursuit gives them an overweening assurance that is in 

 striking contrast with the behaviour of the animals of their kind 

 in Central and Northern South Africa. There a shot, even if two 

 or three miles away, is enough to put a herd to speedy flight, 

 and they seldom pause until they have placed the best part of 

 twenty miles between themselves and the cause of their alarm; 

 and although within the last twenty years 7500 elephants have 

 been killed by Europeans, it is the very rarest occurrence for one 

 of them to make an unprovoked attack upon a human being. 

 Here, on the contrary, between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown, 

 it is necessary to be on one's guard against meeting one of the 

 brutes. Just before I returned to Port Elizabeth, on my home- 

 ward journey, a sad accident had happened in the underwood by 

 the Zondago River, which flows practically through the forest. 

 A black servant had been sent by his master to look for some 

 cattle that had strayed ; as the man did not return, a search was 

 made for him, but nothing was found but his mangled corpse. 

 From the marks all around it was quite evident that a herd of 

 passing elephants had scented him out, and diverging from their 

 path had trampled the poor fellow to death. It should be men- 

 tioned that, although ordinarily living under protection, these 

 ponderous creatures may be slain by consent of the Government." 



