158 
THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANT. 
sentinel, having calmly wiped his face, stood a little to one side, and con¬ 
tinued as vigilant a 3 before. Soon afterwards, he found himself under the 
necessity of repeating his admonition to the spectators; but no sooner was 
this uttered than the female laid hold of his musket, twirled it round with her 
trunk, trod it under her feet, and did not restore it till she had twisted it 
nearly into the form of a screw. 
At Macassar, an elephant driver had a cocoanut given him, which, out 
of wantonness, he struck twice against his elephant’s forehead, to break. 
The day following the animal saw some cocoanuts exposed in the street for 
sale; and taking one of them up with his trunk, beat it about the driver’s 
head, and killed him on the spot. 
A tame elephant, kept by an officer in India, was suffered to go at large. 
The animal used to walk about the streets in as quiet and familiar a manner 
as any of the inhabitants; and delighted much in visiting the shops, particu¬ 
larly those which sold herbs and fruit, where he was well received, except by 
a couple of brutal cobblers, who>, without any cause, took offense at the gen¬ 
erous creature, and once or twice attempted to wound his proboscis with 
their awls. The noble animal, who knew it was beneath him to crush them, 
did not disdain to chastise them by other means. He filled his large trunk 
with a considerable quantity of water, not of the cleanest quality, and ad¬ 
vancing to them, as usual, covered them at once with a dirty flood. The fools 
were laughed at, and the punishment applauded. 
I have had experience with both the African and the Indian elephant 
and know the former to be the more dangerous animal of the two, and the 
one that is more ready to charge. The females, especially those that are 
barren and have small tusks, are far more dangerous than males, frequently 
charging without the least provocation, even when unwounded; and hunters 
will sometimes take the trouble to kill one of these worthless females before 
attacking the tuskers. I am, of the opinion that the greater number of acci¬ 
dents that have occurred in African elephant-shooting may be set down to 
females. 
The intrepid Arabs of the Soudan slay the elephant in the same manner 
as the rhinoceros, by hamstringing it with a long two-edged sword. Three 
or four mounted hunters, singling out a tusker and separating it from its 
fellows, follow it until, tired out, the animal faces its pursuers, and prepares 
to charge. Directly it does so, the hunter who is the object of the charge 
puts his horse to a gallop, and is closely followed by the elephant. There¬ 
upon, two of his companions follow at their best pace behind; and as soon as 
