9 6 APPENDIX 



tongue, he pulls down the upper branches which have moll 

 leaves, and thefe he devours firft ; having ftript the tree of 

 its branches, he does not therefore abandon it, but placing 

 his fnout as low in the trunk as he finds his horn will en- 

 ter, he' rips up the body of the tree, and reduces it to thin 

 pieces, like fo many laths ; and when he has thus prepared 

 it, he embraces as much of it as he can in his monftrous 

 jaws, and twills it round with as much eafe as an ox would 

 do a root of celery, or any fuch pot-herb or garden-ftuff. 



Such, too, is the practice of the elephant ; we faw, at eve- 

 ry ftep in thefe immenfe forells, trees in different progref- 

 fes of this operation, fome diverted of their leaves and bran- 

 ches, and cut over as far down the trunk as was foft, and 

 pliable, and was capable of being mapped off by one bite, 

 without fplitting or laceration; others, where the trunk was 

 cut into laths or ribbands, fome of which were ate in part, 

 others prepared, but which had been left from fatiety or ap- 

 preheniion of danger, a feaft without labour for the next 

 that mould find it. In fome places' we faw the trees all con- 

 fumed, but a flump that remained about a foot from the 

 ground, and thefe were of the moft fucculent kind, and 

 there we diftinctly perceived the beginning of the firft la- 

 ceration from the bottom ; and what, befide the teftimony 

 of the hunters, confirmed this fact beyond doubt was, that 

 in feveral places large pieces of the teeth of elephants, and 

 horns of the rhinoceros were brought to us, partly found 

 lying on the ground at the foot of thefe trees, and part flick- 

 ing in them. 



Neither the elephant nor rhinoceros eat grafs; if their food 

 depended upon that, many times in the year they muft be 



reduced 



