II 
THE ELEPHANT 
3 
was sold to America by the Zoological Society of 
London, was brought up in confinement since its 
early existence, when it was about 4 feet 6 
inches high. That elephant was carefully weighed 
and measured before it left England, with the 
result, of height at shoulder, 11 feet; weight, six 
tons and a half. The girth of the fore-foot when 
the pressure of the animal’s weight was exerted, 
was exactly half the perpendicular height of the 
elephant. I have seen very much larger animals 
in Africa, but there is nothing in India to approach 
the size of Jumbo. 
There is no reason why the African elephants 
should not be tamed and made useful, but the diffi¬ 
culty lies in obtaining them in any great numbers. 
The natives of Africa are peculiarly savage, and 
their instincts of destruction prevent them from 
capturing and domesticating any wild animals. 
During nine years’ experience of Central Africa I 
never saw a tamed creature of any kind, not even 
a bird, or a young antelope in possession of a child. 
The tame elephant would be especially valuable to 
an explorer, as it could march through streams too 
deep for the passage of oxen, and in swimming 
rivers it would be proof against the attacks of 
crocodiles. So few African elephants have been 
tamed in proportion to those of Asia that it would 
be difficult to pronounce an opinion upon their 
character when domesticated, but it is generally 
believed by their trainers that the Indian species is 
more gentle and amenable to discipline. The power 
