250 
THE ELEPHANT. 
but those which project horizontally, arching gradu¬ 
ally upwards, and tapering to a point, are con¬ 
sidered the handsomest. It is by no means easy, 
however, to obtain two perfect teeth from the same 
animal, for although they may originally have been 
well-formed (which is not always the case) they are 
often broken off, either at the point, or even close 
to the sockets. The injury is supposed to have 
been inflicted by the animals when in play, or when 
pushing their tusks into the ground in search of 
large succulent bulbs, or in tearing up the roots of 
trees in order to be enabled to browse on the young 
shoots and boughs. It may even be the result of 
the determined and savage battles that take place 
between males, fragments of strange tusks, as 
elsewhere shewn, having occasionally been found 
imbedded, not only in the heads, but in the bodies of 
elephants. 
In one instance, indeed, and the fact is perfectly 
well authenticated, cc a piece of ivory, weighing 
twenty-two pounds, was discovered in the stomach 
of an old bull-elephant that was shot on the 
Sharkakee River by Jacque, Slekanen, and other 
respectable and well-known hunters belonging to 
Kruman, the missionary station of the Reverend 
Mr. Moffatt. This animal had a large wound in 
the side, which had closed up, and he had for 
some time past stuck to the locality. He was 
well known to the natives, two or three of 
whom he had already killed in the most unprovoked 
manner, charging them at first sight. In like 
manner he charged some ten or a dozen hunters 
