Invariably They Show The Scars
Received In Battle.
The elephant we killed yesterday had an umbilical hernia
as large as a child's head, probably caused by the
Charge of a rival.
The cow showed scars received from men; two of the wounds in her side
were still unhealed, and there was an orifice six inches long, and open,
in her proboscis, and, as it was about a foot from the point,
it must have interfered with her power of lifting water.
In estimating the amount of food necessary for these and other large animals,
sufficient attention has not been paid to the kinds chosen. The elephant,
for instance, is a most dainty feeder, and particularly fond of certain
sweet-tasted trees and fruits. He chooses the mohonono, the mimosa,
and other trees which contain much saccharine matter, mucilage, and gum.
He may be seen putting his head to a lofty palmyra, and swaying it to and fro
to shake off the seeds; he then picks them up singly and eats them.
Or he may be seen standing by the masuka and other fruit-trees
patiently picking off the sweet fruits one by one. He also digs up
bulbs and tubers, but none of these are thoroughly digested.
Bruce remarked upon the undigested bits of wood seen in their droppings,
and he must have observed, too, that neither leaves nor seeds are changed by
passing through the alimentary canal. The woody fibre of roots and branches
is dropped in the state of tow, the nutritious matter alone
having been extracted. This capability of removing all the nourishment,
and the selection of those kinds of food which contain great quantities
of mucilage and gum, accounts for the fact that herds of elephants
produce but small effect upon the vegetation of a country -
quality being more requisite than quantity. The amount of internal fat
found in them makes them much prized by the inhabitants,
who are all very fond of it, both for food and ointment.
After leaving the elephant valley we passed through a very beautiful country,
but thinly inhabited by man. The underlying rock is trap,
and dikes of talcose gneiss. The trap is often seen tilted on its edge,
or dipping a little either to the north or south. The strike is generally
to the northeast, the direction we are going. About Losito we found
the trap had given place to hornblende schist, mica schist,
and various schorly rocks. We had now come into the region in which
the appearance of the rocks conveys the impression of a great force
having acted along the bed of the Zambesi. Indeed, I was led to the belief
from seeing the manner in which the rocks have been thrust away on both sides
from its bed, that the power which formed the crack of the falls
had given direction to the river below, and opened a bed for it
all the way from the falls to beyond the gorge of Lupata.
Passing the rivulet Losito, and through the ranges of hills,
we reached the residence of Semalembue on the 18th.
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