T h e r e now remained but two elephants o f thofe that
had been difcovered, which were a Ihe one with a calf.
The Agageer would w illin gly have let thefe alone, as the
teeth o f the female are very fmall, and the y ou n g one is o f .
no fort o f value, even for food, its fleih fhrinking much
upon drying. But the hunters would not be limited in
their fport. The people having obferved the- place o f her
retreat, thither we eagerly followed, She was very foon
found, and as foon lamed by the Agageers; but when they
came to wound her with the darts, as every one did in their
turn, to our very great furprife, the young one, which had
been fuffered to efcape unheeded and unpurfued,.came out
from the thicket apparently in great anger, running upon
the horfes and men with all the violence it was mailer of.
I was amazed; and as much as ever I was, upon fuch an
occafion, afflicted, at feeing the great affeCtion o f the little
animal defending its wounded mother, heedlefs o f its own
life or- fafety. I therefore cried to them, for God’s fake to
fpare the mother, tho’ it was then too la te ; and the calf had
made feveral rude attacks upon me, which I avoided without
difficulty ; but I am happy, to this day, in the reflection
that I did not ftrike it. At laft, making one o f its attacks
upon Ayto Engedan, it hurt him a little on the leg ; upon
which he thruft it through with his lance, as others did
after, and it then fell dead before its Wounded mother, whom
it had fo afFe&ionately defended. It was about the fize o f
an, afs, but round, big-bellied, and heavily m ad e ; and was
fo furious, and unruly, that it would eafily have broken the
le g either o f man or horfe, could it have overtaken them,
and jollied againft them properly.
H e r e
H e r e is an example o f a beaft (a young one too) pofleffing
abftraCted fentiments to a very high degree. By its flight on
the firil appearance o f the hünters, it is plain it apprehended
danger to itfelf, it alfo reflected upon that, o f its mother,
which was the caufe o f its return to her affiflance. This
affeCtion or duty, or let us call it any thing we pleafe, except
inilinCt, was flronger than the fear of danger ; and it
mufLhave conquered that fear by reflection before it returned,
when it refolved to make its befl and laft efforts,
for it never attempted to fly afterwards.' I freely forgive
that part o f my readers, who know me and themfelves fo
little, as to . think I believe-it worth my while to play the
mountebank, for the great honour o f diverting them ; an
honour far from being o f the firft rate in my cfteem. If
they fhould fhew, in this placé, a degree o f doubt, that,
for once, I am making u fe o f the privilege o f travellers, and
dealing a little in the marvellous, it would be much more .
t;o the credit o f their difcernment, than their prodigious
fcruples about the reality or pollibility o f eating raw fleih;
a thing that has been recorded by the united teftimony o f
all that ever vifited Abyffinia for thefe two hundred y ea rs ,.
has nothing unreafonable in itfelf, though contrary to our
practice in other cafes; and can only he called in queflion
now, through weaknefs,’ ignorance, or an intemperate defire
to find fault, by thoffe chat believed- that a man could
ge t into a quart bottle.
W h a t I relate o f the young éléphant contains difficulties
o f another kind ; though 1 am- very well pérfuaded fomre
w ill fwallow it eafily, who cannot digeft the raw fléfli. Ih
both inflances I adhere ftriCtly to the truth; and I beg leave
ts aflure thofe fcrupulous rea.ders, that i f they knew their
author,,