have tap-roots; thus the powerful tusks of the elephants,
applied as crowbars at the roots, while others
pull at the branches with their trunks, will effect the
destruction of a tree so large as to appear invulnerable.
The Ceylon elephant rarely possessing tusks, cannot
destroy a tree thicker than the thigh of an ordinary
man.
In Ceylon, I have seldom met old bulls in parties
they are generally single or remain in pairs; but, in
Africa, large herds are met with, consisting entirely of
bulls. I have frequently seen sixteen or twenty
splendid bulls together, presenting a show of ivory
most exciting to a hunter. The females in Africa congregate
in vast herds of many hundreds, while in
Ceylon the herds seldom average more than ten.
The elephant is by far the most formidable of all
animals, and the African variety is more dangerous
than the Indian, as it is next to impossible to kill it
by the forehead shot. The head is so peculiarly
formed, that the ball either passes over the brain, or
lodges in the immensely solid bones and cartilages
that contain the roots of the tusks. I have measured
certainly a hundred bull tusks, and I have found them
buried in the head a depth of twenty-four inches.
One large tusk, that measured 7 ft. 8 in. in length, and
22 inches in girth, was imbedded in the head a depth
of 31 inches. This will convey an idea of the enormous
size of the head, and of the 'strength of bone and
cartilage required to hold in position so great a weight,
and to resist the strain when the tusk is used as a
lever to uproof; trees.
The brain of an African elephant rests upon a plate
of bone exactly above the roots of the upper grinders;
it is thus wonderfully protected from a front shot, as
it lies so low that the ball passes above it when the
elephant raises his head, which he invariably does
when in anger, until close to the object of his attack.
The character of the country naturally influences
the habits of the animals: thus, Africa, being more
generally open than the forest-clad Ceylon, the elephant
is more accustomed to activity, and is much
faster than the Ceylon variety. Being an old elephant-
hunter of the latter island, . I was exceedingly interested
in the question of variety of species, and I had
always held the opinion that the African elephant
might be killed with the same facility as that of
Ceylon, by the forehead shot, provided that a sufficient
charge of powder were used to penetrate the extra
thickness of the head. I have found, by much experience,
that I was entirely wrong, and that, although
by chance an African elephant may be killed by the
front shot, it is the exception to the rule. The danger