550 
FOOD OF THE ELEPHANT. 
Chap. XXYII. 
feigned, but bad not much incbnation to go near the battle-axe 
again. There was, however, a flow of perspiration, and the ex¬ 
citement continued fully half an hour, then gradually ceased. 
This paroxysm is the direct opposite of hypnotism, and it is sin¬ 
gular that it has not been tried in Europe as well as clairvoyance. 
This second batch of visitors took no pains to conceal their 
contempt for our small party, saying to each other in a tone of 
triumph, “They are quite a God-send!” literally, “God has 
apportioned them to us.” “ They are lost among the tribes! ” 
“ They have wandered in order to be destroyed, and what can they 
do without shields among so many?” Some of them asked if 
there were no other parties. Sekeletu had ordered my men not to 
take their shields, as in the case of my first company. We were 
looked upon as unarmed, and an easy prey. We prepared against 
a night attack by discharging and reloading our guns, which were 
exactly the same in number (five) as on the former occasion, as I 
allowed my late companions to retain those which I purchased at 
Loanda. We were not molested, but some of the enemy tried to lead 
us towards the Bashukulompo, who are considered to be the fiercest 
race in this quarter. As we knew our du^ection to the confluence 
of the Kafue and 'Zambesi, we dechned their guidance, and the 
civil head-man of the evening before, then came along with us. 
Crowds of natives hovered round us in the forest; but he ran for¬ 
ward and explained, and we were not molested. That night we 
slept by a httle village under a low range of hills, which are called 
Chizamena. The country here is more woody than on the high 
lands we had left, but the trees are not in general large. Great 
numbers of them have been broken off by elephants, a foot or two 
from the ground: they thus seem pollarded from that point. This 
animal never seriously lessens the number of trees; indeed I have 
often been struck by the very little damage he does in a forest. 
His food consists more of bulbs, tubers, roots, and branches, than 
anything else. Where they have been feeding, great numbers of 
trees, as thick as a man’s body, are seen twisted down or broken 
off, in order that they may feed on the tender shoots at the tops. 
They are said sometimes to unite in wrenching down large trees. 
The natives in the interior beheve that the elephant never touches 
grass, and I never saw evidence of his having grazed until we came 
near to Tete, and then he had fed on grass in seed only ; t hi s 
