mammoths, being got into position, were safely slung on board, and the steamer sailed.
During the voyage the elephants would persist in standing up all day and night, and the swaying of their huge bodies with the motion of the ship nearly dislocated even their columnar legs, — nearly fractured also the timbers of the deck. But at last they were urged into kneeling down, while a judicious addition of props kept the deck in its place: and thus the elephants got safely across the seas to Zanzibar. Then came another, difficulty: how were the creatures to be landed? The ship could not go nearer to the shore than two miles, and there was neither raft, nor lighter, nor any other appliance for transporting them to land. Could they swim? No one knew.
There was nothing for it but to try. So one of the monsters — its name was the Budding Lily and it stood ten feet high — was gravely dropped overboard, with a man on its back. The elephant solemnly sank until the man was under water, and then as solemnly reappeared. One look round sufficed to explain the position to the poor beast, which, hopeless of ever reaching the distant shore, turned round and made frantic efforts to get on board again! In vain the mahout belabored it. The elephant kept its head against the ship’s side. In vain they tried to tow it behind a boat, for though, when exhausted with strugling, the huge bulk was dragged a short distance, returning strength soon enabled it to drag the boat back to the ship.
And so for an hour, rain pelting hard all the time, the wretched monster floundered about in the sea, and scrambled against the ship’s timbers, now floating along-
