136 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
creature. The chief difficulty of African commerce 
is the lack of transport. The elephant is admirably 
adapted by his natural habits for travelling through 
a wild country devoid of roads. He can wade 
through unbridged streams, or swim the deepest 
rivers (without a load), and he is equally at home 
either on land or water. His carrying power for 
continued service would be from 12 to 14 cwts. ; 
thus a single elephant would convey about 1300 
lbs. of ivory in addition to the weight of the pad. 
The value of one load would be about ^500. At 
the present moment such an amount of ivory would 
employ twenty-six carriers ; but as these are gener¬ 
ally slaves which can be sold at the termination 
of the journey, they might be more profitable 
than the legitimate transport by an elephant. 
Although the male elephant will carry a far greater 
load than the female, through its superior size and 
strength, it would be dangerous to manage upon a 
long journey should it take place during the period 
of “ must.” I have heard the suggestion that an 
elephant should be castrated, as the operation would 
affect the temper of the animal and relieve it from 
the irritation of the “must” period; but such an 
operation would be impossible, as the elephant is 
peculiarly formed, and, unlike other animals, it has 
neither scrotum nor testicles externally. These are 
situated within the body, and could not be reached 
by surgery. 
It is well known that the entire males of many 
domestic animals are naturally savage. The horse. 
