Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-10-25
ELEPHANT LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

have generally found two curious points
overlooked or ignored by writer's One is
the rapid and noiseless movements of this
animal in the thichest cover the other, his
capabilities of passing over ground for him
apparently unfeasible The elastic noise
less football of the elephant has been fre-
| quently referred to by writer's on Indian
subjects, and has been rightly asserted to
! be the most agreeable feature in Journey
| ing on elephant back. This popularity
may be easily explained by an examination
OF the structure of the animals foot but
the silent, stealthy way in which be will
! pass through the densest thicket, literally
"Sl1pplag dJOay," when his acute senses of
smell or hearing warn him of danger, has
been generally overlooked, and appears to
us somewhat difficult of explanation Let
| any one unsSilled in the mysteries of "bush-
ia lging," attempt to move even for a few
PAGES in an ordinary fox-covert without
noise, and he will form some idea of the
difficulties presented to the passage of so
huge an animal as the elephant through
the dense tangled underground of South
African "bush" Yet that that animal ,des-
pite his enormous bulk, will "draw off,"
when within few yards of his pursuer,
greatest rapidity, even in the thickest
cover is undeniable. We may, however,
remark that this faculty, or by whatever
other term it may be described, is not Pc
culiar to the elephant alone, for it has been
observed to a marked extent in the moose
or cariboo of North America Again his
powers of passing over difficult ground are
often underrated even by hunters. When
experiments were first made in India in
training elephants to draw the guns, it was
observed with surprise that the animals
powers Of ascending steep and rugged
ground were far greater than had been an
ticipated The gun, light x-pounder,
with which the trial was first made, was
drawn up slope so steep as to require the
animal to crawl upon its four knees, with
out hesitation. On the other hand, ham
pered by the gun and harness, the elephant
a small female) showed unusual dread OF
soft and swampy ground. In Africa,
marshes do not seem to possess the same
terror for these animals in their wild state;
for if they otfer tempting pools, however
uncertain the footing may be, the elephants
appear to find track across them. In the
river-courses, too, deepened as they are by
yards below the surface of the surround
ing country and having banks nearly per-
pendicular small shady pools close shelter
ed from the suns rays often remain in the
hot season when the rest of the stream has
disappeared, and to these, should no other
way be open, may be found tracks of the
animals, leaving no doubt they had reached
the coveted water by slipping down on
their posteriors. In what position the him
der legs are placed during this operation
we cannot tell, but the "spoo:," leaves no
GOubt of its having been repeatedly adopt
ed in places apparently inaccessible. The
elephants generally remain in the thickcst
part Of the forest during day, making for
the water, to which they often go long dis
tances, shortly before midnight, and return
ing to cover some hours before dawn. We
may here remark that, although these ami
mails, owing no doubt to their acute sense
Of hearing and of scent have never been
surprised in recumbent POSITION there
is ample proof that the bulls, at any rate,
usually rest lying on their sides. The late
MIR. Gordon Cumming was, we believe, the
first to note this fact, which we can our
selves confirm. He remarked that the
sides Of the enormous ant-heaps, so COM
mon in this region, were apparently pre-
ferred, and that the ground was often dis
tinctly marked with the impression of the
undertusk as well as of the animals body.
The influence of the paticular tract of coun.
try in which they are found upon these ami
mails, and the influence which they, in their
turn, like all other living creatures, exer-
else on their habitat, should not escape
short notice. On the borders of the Cape
Colony and Natal we find the few elephants
that remain large in size, but with compar-
atively small tusks of inferior ivory. As
we approach the equator, although food is
more plentiful, we find the animals smaller
in size, having far larger tusks, the latter,
too, being of an ivory far superior i'll hard
pess and closeness of grain. Indeed, al
though naturalists have not recognized
more than one species of the African ele-
phant, the varieties of ivory exported from
the north, west, southeast coast, and the
Cape, have each marked differences Of
quality by which they are easily recogniz-
able. The animals in turn, however, like
wise affect the economy Of the country
they inhabit The damage done even by a
single elephant in very short time to
patch of cultivated ground is truly fright
ful, and, having been once seen, would lead
one to imagine that when these animals are
herded together in vast troops such as the
one seen by DR.. Livingstone on the banks
of the Zambesi, consisting Of over eight
! hundred, covering an extent of two miles
Of country, their course would be marked
| by utter desolation- The havoc thus caused
is not however, perceptibIc, fact which
that observant traveller has attributed, no
doubt rightly, to the care shown by the ell
| ephants in the selection of their food-a
point, as he justly remarks, often overlook
ed in estimating the quantity of food re-
quited by the larger animals. Again, all
these animals, rhinoceri and hippopotami,
included are, as NJ. Krapf observed, the
true pioneers, "the real pathmakers Of the
tropical forest, which, without their tracks,
would be often utterly impenetrable to
man." Further, these paths, leading, as
they most frequently do, to water. are Of
ten the only open channels for the surface
flow of the heavy rainfalls, and thus ma
terially contribute to the continuance OF
the water supply of the district to the
very existence Of which they owe their for
nation. While the elephant does not thus
destroy vegetation which would ruin the
shelter which appears indispensable to him
! on the other hand he directlv assists the