s head is hard and his skin is tough. If the hunter is on a
horse, he need not suppose that he can escape by merely putting his
steed to its best speed. The Elephant is big and awkward-looking, but
he gets over the ground in a very rapid manner.

Here is an illustration of an incident in which a boy found out, in
great sorrow and trepidation, how fast an Elephant can run.

This boy was one of the attendants of the Duke of Edinburgh, one of
Queen Victoria's sons, who was hunting Elephants in Africa. The
Elephants which the party were after on that particular day had got
out of the sight of the hunters, and this boy, being mounted on a
horse, went to look them up. It was not long before he found them,
and he also found much more than he had bargained for. He found that
one of the big fellows was very much inclined to hunt _him_ and he
came riding out of the forest as hard as he could go, with a great
Elephant full tilt after him. Fortunately for the boy, the Duke was
ready with his gun, and when the Elephant came dashing up he put two
balls into his head. The great beast dropped mortally wounded, and the
boy was saved. I don't believe that he was so curious about the
whereabouts of Elephants after that.

[Illustration]

When the Elephant is desired as a servant, he is captured in various
ways. Sometimes he is driven into great pens; sometimes he tumbles
into pitfalls, and sometimes tame Elephants coax him into traps, and
fondle and amuse him while their masters tie up his legs with strong
ropes. The pitfalls are not favorite methods of capturing Elephants.
Besides the injury that may be done to the animal, other beasts may
fall into and disturb the trap, and even men may find themselves at
the bottom of a great deep hole when they least expect it, for the top
is very carefully covered over with sticks and leaves, so as to look
as much as possible like the surrounding ground. Du Chaillu, who was a
great hunter in Africa, once fell down one of these pits, and it was a
long time before he could make anybody hear him and come and help him
out. If an Elephant had happened to put his foot on the covering of
that hole while Du Chaillu was down there, the hunter would have found
himself very much crowded.

When the Elephant is caught, he is soon tamed and trained, and then he
goes to work to make himself useful, if there is anything for him to
do. And it is when he becomes the servant and companion of man that we
have an op