150 
MAMMALIA. 
[Chap. IV. 
which an animal of the prodigious size of the elephant 
can conceal himself, and the motionless silence which 
he preserves, is quite surprising ; whilst beaters pass and 
repass within a few yards of his hiding place, he will 
maintain his ground till the hunter, creeping almost 
close to his legs, sees his little eye peering out through 
the leaves, when, rinding himself discovered, the elephant 
breaks away with a crash, levelling the brushwood in his 
headlong career. 
If surprised in open ground, where stealthy retreat is 
impracticable, a herd will hesitate in indecision, and, 
after a few meaningless movements, stand huddled toge- 
ther in a group, whilst one or two, more adventurous 
than the rest, advance a few steps to reconnoitre. Ele- 
phants are generally observed to be bolder in open 
ground than in cover, but, if bold at all, far more 
dangerous in cover than in open ground. 
In searching for them, sportsmen often avail them- 
selves of the expertness of the native trackers; and 
notwithstanding the demonstration of Combe that the 
brain of the timid Singhalese is deficient in the organ 
of destructiveness 1 , he shows an instinct for hunting, 
and exhibits in the pursuit of the elephant a courage 
and adroitness far surpassing in interest the mere hand- 
ling of the rifle, which is the principal share of the 
proceeding that falls to his European companions. 
The beater on these occasions has the double task of 
finding the game and carrying the guns; and, in an 
animated communication to me, an experienced sports- 
man describes " this light and active creature, with his 
long glossy hair hanging down his shoulders, every 
1 System of Phrenology, by Geo. Combe, toI. i. p. 256. 
