lly in the neighborhood of the coast,
where the land is flat and sandy, the water is always brackish, even
during the rainy season, and in the dry months it is undrinkable.

The natives then make use of a berry for cleansing it and precipitating
the impurities. II know the shrub and the berry well, but it has no
English denomination. The berries are about the size of a very large
pea, and grow in clusters of from ten to fifteen together, and one
berry is said to be sufficient to cleanse a gallon of water. The
method of using them is curious, although simple. The vessel which is
intended to contain the water, which is generally an earthen chatty, is
well rubbed in the inside with a berry until the latter, which is of a
horny consistency, like vegetable ivory, is completely worn away. The
chatty is then filled with the muddy water, and allowed to stand for
about an hour or more, until all the impurities have precipitated to
the bottom and the water remains clear.

I have constantly used this berry, but I certainly cannot say that the
water has ever been rendered perfectly clear; it has been vastly
improved, and what was totally undrinkable before has been rendered fit
for use; but it has at the best been only comparatively good; and
although the berry has produced a decided effect, the native accounts
of its properties are greatly exaggerated.

During the prolonged droughts, many rivers of considerable magnitude
are completely exhausted, and nothing remains but a dry bed of said
between lofty banks. At these seasons the elephants, being hard
pressed for water, make use of their wonderful instinct by digging
holes in the dry sand of the river's bed; this they perform with the
horny toes of their fore feet, and frequently work to a depth of three
feet before they discover the liquid treasure beneath. This process of
well-digging almost oversteps the boundaries of instinct and strongly,
savors of reason, the two powers being so nearly connected that it is
difficult in some cases to define the distinction. There are so many
interesting cases of the wonderful display of both these attributes in
animals, that I shall notice some features of this subject in a
separate chapter.

CHAPTER IX.

Instinct and Reason--Tailor Birds and Grosbeaks--The White Ant--Black
Ants at War--Wanderoo Monkeys--Habits of Elephants--Elephants in the
Lake--Herd of Elephants Bathing--Elephant-shooting--The Rencontre--The
Charge--Caught