ELEPHANT HUNTING 
243 
over the greater part of that country which is well fitted 
for settlement; nor anywhere, if the herds grow too numer¬ 
ous, It would be not merely silly, but worse than silly, to 
try to stop all killing of elephants. The unchecked in¬ 
crease of any big and formidable wild beast, even though 
not a flesh eater, is incompatible with the existence of man 
when he has emerged from the stage of lowest savagery. 
This is not a matter of theory, but of proved fact. In place 
after place in Africa where protection has been extended 
to hippopotamus or buffalo, rhinoceros or elephant, it has 
been found necessary to withdraw it because the protected 
animals did such damage to property, or became such 
menaces to human life. Among all four species cows with 
calves often attack men without provocation, and old bulls 
are at any time likely to become infected by a spirit of 
wanton and ferocious mischief and apt to become man- 
killers. I know settlers who tried to preserve the rhinoceros 
which they found living on their big farms, and who were 
obliged to abandon the attempt, and themselves to kill the 
rhinos because of repeated and wanton attacks on human 
beings by the latter. Where we were by Neri, a year or two 
before our visit, the rhinos had become so dangerous, killing 
one white man and several natives, that the District Com¬ 
missioner who preceded Mr. Browne was forced to under¬ 
take a crusade against them, killing fifteen. Both in South 
Africa and on the Nile protection extended to hippopota¬ 
mus has in places been wholly withdrawn because of the 
damage done by the beasts to the crops of the natives, or 
because of their unprovoked assaults on canoes and boats. 
In one instance a last surviving hippo was protected for 
years, but finally grew bold because of immunity, killed a 
