The Portuguese were the first to revive a
traffic with Africa which had been dormant for upwards of 1000 years.
It was originally confined to the immense stores of ivory which the
natives had accumulated for the purposes of their superstition; but
these soon became exhausted, and the inexorable demands of European
commerce once more prompted the destruction of the mighty and docile
inhabitant of the wilderness. Elephant-hunting became a trade; and a
terrible havoc was commenced, which has been unremittingly pursued
down to the present time.
The term ivory, originally derived from a Greek word signifying heavy,
is indiscriminately applied to the following varieties of osseous
matter:--
1. _The tusks and teeth of the elephant_.--Naturalists recognise two
species of elephants--the Asiatic (_Elephas Indicus_) and the African
(_Elephas Africanus_.) The former of these species is indigenous to
the whole of Southern India and the Eastern Archipelago; but the
largest and most valuable Indian elephant is that of Ceylon. The
second species is found throughout the whole of Africa; and on the
banks of the great rivers and lakes of the unexplored regions of the
interior, hordes of the finest African elephants are supposed to
wander in security.
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