ELEPHANTS. 279 



Another writer observes tliat even to this day in most parts of 

 Africa the assurance that in other countries elephants are tamed 

 and ridden passes among the Hottentots and Kaffirs as one of the 

 " white man's " lies. 



There are exceptions to nearly every rule, and even to the one 

 that the African natives cannot, or will not, tame the elephant,. 

 an exception has been made public in the Field newspaper of 

 1880. Quoting the paragraph that contains this information : " It 

 has been asserted that the natives of Africa are unable to tame 

 any of the wild beasts with which they are surrounded, and that, 

 though many of them are the best hunters in the world, they 

 never make an attempt to reduce them to subjection. Mr. 

 Mitchinson, who has travelled much among the natives near the 

 "West Coast, states that he saw the nucleus of a menagerie of 

 domesticated wild animals which had been tamed by the natives. 

 On the Cunene river, which enters the Atlantic in latitude 18° 

 south, he found two perfectly tame cow hippopotami, which came 

 at the call of the natives, and allowed them to milk them regu- 

 larly. The animals were not confined in any way, but roamed at 

 will up and down the river, returning to the village where they 

 had been tamed. Their milk, somewhat thicker and sweeter than 

 cow's milk, was used by the natives as a purgative medicine. At 

 the village of Bite, Mr. Mitchinson saw an African elephant which 

 had been tamed, and was perfectly under control. Decorated 

 with rude ornaments, it took part in ceremonial processions, and 

 served otherwise as a symbol of the sovereignty of the chief. 

 This animal was about seven feet high. This is a proof not only 

 of the possibility of taming African elephants, but of the fact that 

 the natives can be taught to capture and train these animals." 



Elephants live entirely on vegetable food, but the African 

 species are more decided tree feeders than the Indian, and in con- 

 sequence are more destructive animals in a forest, though the 

 devastation an Indian herd can encompass in a rice-field is often 

 very great. Exaggerated accounts of the loss inflicted are, how- 

 ever, frequently given, for careful investigation often reveals the 

 fact 'that the actual damage done is less than at fir^t supposed. 

 Dr. Livingstone makes the following remarks on this subject : 



