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 groiip, 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, vol. i. p. 256. 



