XXXI 
IVORY 
389 
rupted by elephants on nine separate occasions between 
January and April. This being the dry season, these 
animals come down in herds to this tribntar}^ of the 
White Nile to drink : they jostle against the telegraph 
poles and knock them down. When a pole is down the 
A Useful Association. Buff-backed Heron on an elephant. When 
elephants are suspicious they raise their trunks and move them 
incessantly in order to scent danger. 
wire falls low enough to touch the backs of the elephants, 
and this leads to a large amount of damage, and, in 
some instances, the telegraph line is destroyed for half 
a mile. Occasionally an elephant uproots a telegraph 
post and twists the iron pedestal to Avhich the pole 
is bolted (see p. 26). 
