At other times,
these wily animals would drink in the Settite, and retire to the
south; feeding upon Mek Nimmur's corn-fields, they would hurry
forward to the river Salaam, about thirty miles distant, and from
thence, in a similar manner, either to the Atbara on one side, or
into the Abyssinian mountains, where, at all times, they could
procure a supply of water. I have frequently discovered fresh
grains of dhurra in their dung, at a great distance from the
nearest corn-field; when the rapid digestion of the elephant is
considered, it must be allowed that the fresh dung found in the
morning bore witness to the theft of corn during the past night;
thus the elephant had marched many miles after feeding. In the
"Rifle and Hound in Ceylon," published in 1854, I gave a detailed
description of the elephants of that country, which, although
peculiar in the general absence of tusks, are the same as the
Indian species.
Although the elephant is found throughout many countries,
extending over an enormous area, there are only two species at
present in existence,--the Indian and African; these are totally
different in their habits, and are distinguished by peculiarities
of form.
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