elephants. 
535 
Paces. re g ar d to movement on land, Mr. Sanderson says that “the 
onl^ pace of the elephant is the walk, capable of being increased to 
a fast shuffle of about fifteen miles an hour for very short distances. It can 
neit er trot, canter, nor gallop. It does not move with the legs on the same side 
together, but nearly so. A very good runner might keep out of an elephant’s way 
INDIAN ELEPHANTS ENJOYING THEMSELVES. 
on a smooth piece of turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with, 
any attempt to escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be 
unavailing.” An elephant is totally unable to leap in either the horizontal or the 
vertical direction, and since its maximum length of stride is about 6^ feet, a 7-foot 
ditch forms an effectual barrier to its progress. Elephants are, however, capable 
of ascending or descending steep and difficult places with great facility, sometimes 
sliding down on their bent hind-limbs. When a herd of them descends one of the 
steep alluvial banks bordering most of the Indian rivers, it is surprising how 
