There was no redress. The questions of a right of game are ever prolific
of bad blood, and it was necessary in this instance to treat the matter
lightly. Accordingly, the natives requested me to go out and shoot them
another elephant: on the condition of obtaining the meat, they were
ready to join in any hunting expedition.
The elephants in Central Africa have very superior tusks to those of
Abyssinia. I had shot a considerable number in the Base country on the
frontier of Abyssinia, and few tusks were above 30 1bs. weight; those in
the neighbourhood of the White Nile average about 50 1bs. for each tusk
of a bull elephant, while those of the females are generally about 10
lbs. I have seen monster tusks of 160 lbs., and one was in the
possession of a trader, Mons. P., that weighed 172 1bs.
It is seldom that a pair of tusks are alike. As a man uses the right
hand in preference to the left, so the elephant works with a particular
tusk, which is termed by the traders "el Hadam" (the servant); this is
naturally, more worn than the other, and is usually about ten pounds
lighter: frequently it is broken, as the elephant uses it as a lever to
uproot trees and to tear up the roots of various bushes upon which he
feeds.
The African elephant is not only entirely different from the Indian
species in his habits, but he also differs in form.
There are three distinguishing peculiarities. The back of the African
elephant is concave, that of the Indian is convex; the ear of the
African is enormous, entirely covering the shoulder when thrown back,
while the ear of the Indian variety is comparatively small. The head of
the African has a convex front, the top of the skull sloping back at a
rapid inclination, while the head of the Indian elephant exposes a flat
surface a little above the trunk.
The average size of the African elephant is larger than those of Ceylon,
although I have occasionally shot monster rogues in the latter country,
equal to anything that I have seen in Africa. The average height of
female elephants in Ceylon is about 7 ft. 10 in. at the shoulder, and
that of the males is about 9 ft.; but the usual height of the African
variety I have found, by actual measurement, of females to be 9 ft.,
while that of the bills is 10 ft. 6 in. Thus the females of the African
are equal to the males of Ceylon.
They also differ materially in their habits.
