PACE. 
257 
His fastest walk is about equal to the steady jog 
trot of a man. When pushed, he assumes a kind 
of ambling pace, which, in fieetness, is equal to a 
gallop. He goes forward with ease and celerity; 
but—if English naturalists are to be credited—- 
“ turns himself round with great difficulty, and that 
not without taking a pretty large circuit.’ 5 
The latter statement may, possibly, be in part 
true of the Indian species, but certainly not of the 
African, which, as I myself can testify, is by no 
means slow in wheeling about when beset by ene¬ 
mies. To show that this is the case, I can¬ 
not do better than quote the experiences of Sir 
Samuel Baker, who, when describing a hunt at 
which he himself was present, and in which three na¬ 
tives on foot attempted to hamstring an enraged 
bull-elephant, says,— e£ The creature turned himself 
round, as if on a pivot, with extreme quickness, and 
charged headlong, first at one and then at the other 
of his assailants, who, though they were as active 
as monkeys, found it impossible to get behind him, 
and thus attain their purpose.” 
The speed of the elephant is not very great, no¬ 
thing like that of the horse ; but from the length of 
his legs and body he is enabled to get pretty quickly 
over the ground. In sandy districts, however, his 
broad feet give him an advantage over the horse; 
for, while the latter sinks to the depth of several 
inches at every step, the foot-prints of the elephant 
are hardly perceptible. 
Speaking on this subject, Mr. Moodie, the Afri¬ 
can settler, when describing the tragic death of one 
s 
