ou are right, and we will do so; but the day is breaking; so? Bremen,
collect the people together to search for the cattle; and, Omrah, tell
Mahomed to come here."

"By the by, Swinton," said Major Henderson, "those elephants' tusks
lying by the wagon remind me of a question I want to put to you:--In
Ceylon, where I have often hunted the elephant, they have no tusks; and
in India the tusks are not common, and in general very small. How do you
account for this variety?"

"It has been observed before; and it is but a fair surmise, that
Providence, ever attentive to the wants of the meanest animals, has
furnished such large tusks to the African elephant for the necessity
which requires them. In Ceylon there is plenty of grass, and an abundant
supply of water all the year round; and further, in Ceylon, the elephant
has no enemy to defend himself against. Here, in Africa, the rivers are
periodical torrents, which dry up, and the only means which an elephant
has of obtaining water during the dry season is to dig with his tusks
into the bed of the river, till he finds the water, which he draws up
with his trunk. Moreover, he has to defend himself against the
rhinoceros, which is a formidable antagonist, and often victorious. He
requires tusks also for his food in this country, for the elephant digs
up the mimosa here with his tusks, that he may feed upon the succulent
roots of the tree. Indeed, an elephant in Africa without his tusks could
not well exist."

"Thank you for your explanation, which appears very satisfactory and
conclusive; and now let us go to breakfast, for Mahomed, I perceive, is
ready, and Omrah has displayed our teacups, and is very busy blowing
into the spout of the teapot, a Bushman way of ascertaining if it is
stopped up. However, we must not expect to make a London footman out of
a 'Child of the Desert.'"

"Where is his adversary and antagonist, the valiant Big Adam?"

"He was among those who indulged in the liquor yesterday afternoon, and
I believe was worse than any one of them. The little Bushman did not
fail to take advantage of his defenseless state, and has been torturing
him in every way he could imagine during the whole night. I saw him
pouring water into the Hottentot's mouth as he lay on his back with his
mouth wide open, till he nearly choked him. To get it down faster, Omrah
had taken the big tin funnel, and had inserted one end into his mouth,
which he filled till the water ran out; afte