Chap. IV.] 
THE ELEPHANT. 
153 
The incessant slaughter of elephants by sportsmen in 
Ceylon, appears to be merely in subordination to the in- 
fluence of the organ of destructiveness, since the carcase 
is never applied to any useful purpose, but left to de- 
compose and to defile the air of the forest. The flesh is 
occasionally tasted as a matter of curiosity : as a steak 
it is coarse and tough ; but the tongue is as delicate as 
that of an ox ; and the foot is said to make palatable 
soup. The Caffres attached to the pioneer corps in the 
Kandyan province are in the habit of securing the 
heart of any elephant shot in their vicinity, and say it 
is their custom to eat it in Africa. The hide it has 
been found impracticable to tan in Ceylon, or to con- 
vert to any useful purpose, but the bones of those shot 
have of late years been collected and used for manuring 
coffee estates. The hair of the tail, which is extremely 
strong and horny, is mounted by the native goldsmith, 
and made into bracelets ; and the teeth are sawn by the 
Moormen at Gralle (as they used to be by the Romans 
during a scarcity of ivory) into plates, out of which they 
fashion numerous articles of ornament, knife-handles, 
card racks, and ee presse-papiers." 
