Correspondence. 
A. 
[No. 2, 
JOG 
A further Note on Elephants and Rhinoceroses. 
There is a notice of the wild Elephants of Borneo in Mr. Spencer 
St. John’s ' Life in the Forests of the Far East’ (1862), I, 95. This 
author writes—“ Among our Malays was one who had frequently 
traded with the north-east coast [of Borneo], and the mention of 
gading (ivory) brought to his recollection that Elephants exist in 
the districts about the river Kina Bataiigan : I have seen many 
tusks brought to Labuan for sale, but never measured one longer 
than six feet two inches, including the part set in the head. 
“ 1 have met dozens of men who have seen the Elephant there, 
but my own experience has been limited to finding their traces near 
the sea-beach. It is generally believed that above a hundred years 
ago the East India Company sent to the Sultan of Sulu a present of 
these animals ; that the Sultan said, these great creatures would cer¬ 
tainly eat up the whole produce of his little island, and asked the 
donors to land them at Cape Unsang, on the north-east coast of 
Borneo, where his people would take care of them. But it is con¬ 
trary to their nature to take care of any animal that requires much 
trouble, so the Elephants sought their own food in the woods, and 
soon became wild. 
“ Hundreds now wander about, and constantly break into the 
plantations, doing much damage ; but the natives sally out with 
huge flaming torches, and drive the startled beasts back to the 
woods. 
“ The ivory of Bornean commerce is generally produced from the 
dead bodies found in the forests ; but there is, now living, one man 
who derives a profitable trade in fresh ivory. He sallies out on dark 
nights, with simply a waist-cloth and a short, sharp spear ; he crawls 
up to a herd of Elephants, and, selecting a large one, drives his 
spear into the animal’s belly. In a moment, the whole herd is on 
the move, frightened by the bellowing of their wounded companion, 
who rushes to and fro, until the panic spreads, and they tear headlong 
through the jungle, crushing before them all the smaller vegetation. 
The hunter’s peril at that moment is great, but fortune has favoured 
him yet, as he has escaped being trampled to death. 
“ In the morning he follows the traces of the herd, and, carefully 
examining the soil, detects the spots of blood that have fallen from 
