e male is very much larger than the female,
consequently much more difficult to kill. He is provided with two
enormous tusks. These are long, tapering, and beautifully arched; their
length averages from six to eight feet, and they weigh from sixty to a
hundred pounds each. In the vicinity of the equator the elephants attain
to a greater size than to the southward; and I am in the possession of a
pair of tusks of the African bull elephant, the larger of which measures
ten feet nine inches in length, and weighs one hundred and seventy-three
pounds. The females, unlike Asiatic elephants in this respect, are
likewise provided with tusks. Old bull elephants are found singly or in
pairs, or consorting together in small herds, varying from six to twenty
individuals. The younger bulls remain for many years in the company of
their mothers, and these are met together in large herds of from twenty
to a hundred individuals. The food of the elephant consists of the
branches, leaves, and roots of trees, and also of a variety of bulbs, of
the situation of which he is advised by his exquisite sense of smell. To
obtain these he turns up the ground with his tusks, and whole acres may
be seen thus plowed up. Elephants consume an immense quantity of food,
and pass the greater part of the day and night in feeding. Like the
whale in the ocean, the elephant on land is acquainted with, and roams
over, wide and extensive tracts. He is extremely particular in always
frequenting the freshest and most verdant districts of the forest; and
when one district is parched and barren, he will forsake it for years,
and wander to great distances in quest of better pasture.

The elephant entertains an extraordinary horror of man, and a child can
put a hundred of them to flight by passing at a quarter of a mile to
windward; and when thus disturbed, they go a long way before they halt.
It is surprising how soon these sagacious animals are aware of the
presence of a hunter in their domains. When one troop has been attacked,
all the other elephants frequenting the district are aware of the fact
within two or three days, when they all forsake it, and migrate to
distant parts, leaving the hunter no alternative but to inspan his
wagons, and remove to fresh ground. This constitutes one of the greatest
difficulties which a skilful elephant-hunter encounters. Even in the
most remote parts, which may be reckoned the headquarters of the
elephant, it is only occasionally