Chapter VIII: Part 8

In regard to the sense of feeling, it centres in his trunk; but it is as delicate and as distinct in that as in the human hand. This trunk, composed of membranes, nerves, and muscles, is, at the same time, a member capable of motion, and an organ of sentiment. The animal can not only move and bend it, but he can shorten, lengthen, and turn it all ways. The extremity of the trunk is terminated by a protuberance, which projects on the upper part like a finger, by which the elephant does the same as we do with our fingers; he picks up from the ground the smallest pieces of money; he gathers herbs and flowers, chusing them one after another; he unties knots, opens and shuts doors, by turning the keys or slipping the bolts: he learns to draw regular characters with an instrument as small as a pen. We cannot even deny that this hand of the elephant has several advantages over ours: it is equally flexible and as dexterous in feeling or laying hold of objects. These operations are made by means of that sort of finger, seated at the superior part of the border, which surrounds the extremity of the trunk, in the middle of which there is a concavity, in the form of a cup, and at the bottom of it are the two apertures, which convey the sense of smelling and respiration. The elephant, consequently, unites in his trunk both the senses of feeling and smelling; and he may join the power of his lungs to the action of his hand, either drawing liquids by suction, or lifting up very heavy burdens, by applying the extremity of his trunk, and making within an empty place by respiration.

Thus the delicacy of feeling, exquisiteness of smelling, facility of motion, and the power of suction, are united in the trunk of the elephant. Of all the instruments which Nature has so liberally bestowed on her favourite productions, the trunk of the elephant is, perhaps, the most complete and the most admirable; it is not only an organic instrument, but a triple sense, whose united functions are, at the same time, the cause, and produce the effect of that intelligence, and of those peculiar faculties which distinguish the elephant, and raise him above all other quadrupeds. He is less subject than other animals to errors of sight, because he rectifies them quickly by the sense of feeling; and making use of his trunk as a long arm to feel distant bodies, he acquires, like men, distinct ideas of distance. But other animals (except the monkey, and some others, who have the fore feet similar to arms and hands) cannot acquire the same ideas without running over that space with their bodies. Feeling is, of all the senses, that which has the most relation to knowledge. The delicacy of feeling gives the idea of the substance of the bodies; the flexibility of the trunk gives the idea of their exterior form; the power of suction, that of their weight; smelling, that of their qualities; and its length, that of their distance. They, therefore, with the same member, and by one simultaneous act, feel, perceive, and judge of divers things at once. His multiplied sensations are equivalent to reflection; and though this animal is, like others, incapable of thinking, as his sensations are combined in the same organ, are coeval and undivided, it is not surprising that he has ideas of his own, and that he acquires in a little time those we inculcate to him. His remembrance should be more perfect than that of any other animal, for memory only depends chiefly on the circumstances of action; and no sensation, however lively, can leave a lasting impression, when single and abstractedly taken; but several combined sensations leave deep impressions, so that if the elephant cannot recall an idea by feeling alone, the sensations of smelling and suction, which act at the same time, help him in recalling them to remembrance. With us the best method to improve the memory is to make use successively of all our senses to consider an object; and it is for want of that combined use of the senses that man forgets more things than he can recollect.

Although the elephant has a more retentive memory, and more intelligence than any other animal, his brain is proportionally smaller than most of them, which I only mention as a proof that the brain is not the seat of sentiment, the _sensorium commune_, which resides, on the contrary, in the nerves of the senses, and in the membranes of the head, which are so numerously distributed on the trunk of the elephant, as to be equal to all those on the rest of the body. It is, therefore, by virtue of this singular combination of faculties in the trunk, that this animal is superior to all others in intelligence, notwithstanding his enormous size, and the disproportion of his form; for the elephant is, at the same time, a miracle of intelligence, and a monster of matter. His body is very thick, without any suppleness; his neck short and stiff, his head small and deformed, his ears and nose exceedingly large; his eyes, mouth, genital members, and tail, very small in proportion; his legs are like massive pillars, straight and stiff; his feet so short and small, that they are hardly perceptible, and his skin hard, thick, and callous; all these deformities are more remarkable, from being exhibited on a large scale, and most of them being peculiar to himself alone, no other animal having either the head, feet, nose, ears, or tusks, placed like those of the elephant.

From this singular conformation he suffers several inconveniences; he can scarcely move his head, or turn back without making a circuit. The hunters who attack him behind, or on the flanks, avoid the effects of his vengeance by circular motions, and they have sufficient time to strike him again whilst he is turning against them. His legs, which are not so stiff as his neck and body, yet bend very slowly, and with difficulty; their articulation with the thighs is very strong. His knee is situated like that of a man, and his feet as low; but his foot has no strength nor elastic power, and the knee is hard, without suppleness; yet whilst the elephant is in his youth and vigour, he bends it to lay down, to let himself be loaded, or to help his leaders to mount him; but when he is old or infirm, this motion becomes so difficult that he sleeps standing; and, if he is compelled to lay down, the use of engines are necessary to raise him. His tusks, which become of an enormous weight when he grows old, not being seated in a vertical position, as the horns of other animals, form two long levers, and being in an almost horizontal direction, fatigue his head prodigiously, and draw it downwards, so that the animal is sometimes obliged to make holes in the wall of his lodge to support them, and ease himself of their weight. He has the disadvantage of having the organ of smelling far distant from that of tasting; and likewise the inconvenience of not being able to seize any thing on the ground with his mouth, because his neck is too short to let his head reach the earth; he is forced, therefore, to take his food, and even his drink with his nose; and to carry it not only to the entrance of his mouth, but to his very throat; and when his trunk is full of water, he thrusts the extremity of it to the very root of the tongue, probably to push back the epiglottis, and to prevent the liquor which passes through with impetuosity, from entering into the larynx; for he thrusts out the water by the strength of the same air which he had employed to suck it up, and it goes out of the trunk with noise, and enters into the throat with precipitation. Neither the tongue, the mouth, nor the lips, are of any service to him, as to other animals, in sucking or lapping their drink. From this description seems to result the singular consequence, that the young elephant must suck with his nose, and afterwards carry the milk to his throat. Yet the ancients have written that he sucks with the mouth, and not with the trunk; but they were not, probably, witnesses of the fact, and have founded their opinion on the analogy with all other animals. If the young elephant had once been used to suck with his mouth, how could he lose that habit the remainder of his life? Why does he never use the mouth to take water within his reach? Why does he constantly employ two actions, where one would be sufficient? Why does he never take any thing with his mouth, but what is thrown in when it is open? It appears probable, therefore, that the young elephant sucks with his trunk only. This presumption is not only proved by the subsequent facts, but is also founded on a better analogy than that which decided the opinion of the ancients. We have said, that animals in general, at the instant they are brought forth, can have no indication of the food they want, from any other sense but that of smelling: the ear is certainly of no use in that respect; neither is the eye, since the eyes of most animals are not open when they begin to suck: feeling can give but a vague idea of all the parts of the mother's body, or rather indicates nothing relative to the appetite. Smelling alone directs him: it is not only a sort of taste, but a species of fore-taste, which precedes, accompanies, and determines the other. The elephant, like other animals, perceives by this fore-taste the presence of his food; and as the seat of smelling is united with the power of suction at the extremity of his trunk, he applies it to the teats, sucks the milk, and conveys it afterwards to his mouth to satisfy his appetite. Besides, the two paps being seated on the breast, like those of women, and the teats being very small in proportion to the size of the mouth of the young elephant, who cannot bend his neck, he could not reach the teat of his mother with his mouth, unless she laid upon her back, or on her side, and even in that situation he would find it very difficult to suck her, on account of the largeness of the mouth, and the smallness of the nipples. The margin of the trunk, which the elephant contracts as much as he pleases, is easily proportioned to the nipple, and the young elephant may suck his mother with it, either when she stands, or lies on her side. Thus, every thing agrees to confute the opinion of the ancients on this subject, for none of them, nor even any of the moderns, pretend to have seen the elephant sucking, and I think, I may affirm, that whenever that observation is made, it will appear, that he does not suck with his mouth, but with his trunk. I likewise believe, that the ancients have been mistaken in telling us, that elephants couple like other quadrupeds, the position of the parts seeming to make it almost impossible. The female has not, like other quadrupeds, the orifice of the vagina near the anus, being near three feet distance from it, and seated almost in the middle of the belly. Besides, naturalists and travellers agree that the male elephant has not the genital member longer than a horse, and therefore it is impossible for them to copulate like other quadrupeds, and that the female must necessarily lie on her back, and which De Feynes and Tavernier positively affirm must be the fact, though I should not pay much attention to their testimony were it not in conformity with the physical conformation; they require, therefore, for this operation, more time and conveniences, than other animals; and it is, perhaps, for this reason they never couple, but when at full liberty. The female must not only consent, but even place herself in an indecent situation, to provoke the male, which probably, she never assumes but when she thinks herself without witnesses. Is not modesty then a physical virtue of which animals are susceptible? It is at least like softness, moderation, temperance, a general attribute of the female sex.

Thus the elephant neither sucks, eats, or drinks, like other quadrupeds. The sound of his voice is also very singular. If we believe the ancients, he has, as it were, two voices: the one issuing from the trunk, which is rough, and from the length of the passage is somewhat like that of a trumpet; and the other coming from his mouth, which is interrupted by short pauses and hard sighs. This fact, advanced by Aristotle and afterwards repeated by naturalists and some travellers, is at least doubtful. M. de Bussy affirms positively, that the elephant does not utter any sounds through the trunk; yet as in shutting the mouth close, man can make a sound through the nose, it is possible that the elephant, with so long a nose may issue sounds in the same manner. From wherever it proceeds, the cry of the elephant is heard at more than a league's distance; and yet, it is not so terrifying as the roaring of the lion or the tiger.

The elephant is yet more singular in the conformation of his feet, and the texture of his skin. He is not clothed with hair like other quadrupeds, but his skin is perfectly bare; some bristles issue out in different parts, they are thinly scattered on the body, but more thick on the eye-lids, on the back part of the head, within the ears, the thighs, and the legs. The epidermis has two sorts of wrinkles, which are hard and callous, some sinking, others prominent, which gives a divided appearance, like the bark of an old oak. In man, and in other animals, the epidermis sticks every where close to the skin, but in the elephant, it is only fastened by some points, like two quilted stuffs one above the other. This epidermis is naturally dry, and soon acquires three or four lines of thickness, by the divers crusts, which are regenerated one above the other, drying up. It is this thickness of the epidermis which produces the _elephantiasis_, or dry leprosy, to which man, whose skin is bare like that of the elephant, is sometimes subject. This distemper is very common to elephants, and to prevent it the Indians rub them often with oil, to preserve the skin clean and supple. It is very tender wherever it is not callous; in the fissures, and other places, where it is neither dry nor hard, the elephant is so sensible of the sting of the flies, that he not only employs his natural motions, but even the resources of his intelligence to get rid of them. He makes use of his tail, ears, and trunk, to strike them; he contracts his skin and squeezes them to death betwixt his wrinkles; he takes branches of trees, boughs, and handfuls of straw, to drive them away, and when all this does not answer the purpose, he gathers dust with his trunk, and covers with it all the tender parts of his body. He often covers himself with dust several times in a day, particularly after bathing. The use of water is almost as necessary to these animals as air. When at liberty they seldom leave the banks of rivers, but often go into them, and remain for hours together up to the belly. In India, where they are treated most suitable to their nature and constitution, they wash them with care, and give them all the necessary time and opportunity to wash themselves. They clean their skins by rubbing it with pumice-stones, and afterwards they pour on them perfumed oil, and paint them with various colours.

The conformation of the elephant's feet and legs is also different from that of other animals; the fore legs seem to be higher than those behind, yet the hind legs are the longest; they are not bent in two places, like the hind legs of a horse, or an ox, the thigh-bones of which seem to be of the same piece with the buttock, the knee very near the belly, and the bones of the foot so high and so long that they seem to make a great part of the leg; in the elephant, on the contrary, the foot is very short, and rests on the ground; he has the knee like man, in the middle of the leg; his short foot is divided into five toes, which are all covered with a skin, so as not to appear outwardly; we are only able to perceive a kind of nails, the number of which varies, though that of the toes is constant, for he has always five toes to each foot, and commonly five nails, but sometimes he has no more than four, or even three, and in this case they do not correspond exactly with the extremities of the toes. However, this variety, which has only been observed in young elephants transported to Europe, seems to be merely accidental, and depends, probably on the treatment the elephant has received in his youth. The sole of the feet is covered with a skin, as hard as the hoof, which projects all round; the nails are formed of the same substance.

The ears of the elephant are very long; he makes use of them as a fan, and moves them as he pleases: his tail is not longer than his ears, being commonly near three feet in length; it is rather thin, sharp, and garnished at the extremity with a tuft of large black, shining, and solid bristles; these bristles are as big and as strong as wire, and a man cannot break them by pulling with his hands, though they are elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an ornament which the negro women are particularly partial to, from superstitious notions. An elephant's tail is sometimes sold for two or three slaves, and the negroes often hazard their lives to cut and snatch it from the living animal. Besides this tuft at the extremity, the tail is covered throughout with hard bristles, bigger than those of a wild boar; some are also found on the convex part of the trunk, and on the eye-brows, where they sometimes are a foot in length. The hairs on the eye-lids are peculiar to men, monkeys, and elephants.

The climate, food, and condition, have great influence on the growth and size of the elephant. In general those who are taken young, and early lose their liberty, never come to their full growth. The biggest elephants of India, and the eastern coasts of Africa, are fourteen feet high; the smallest, which are found in Senegal, and in the other western parts of Africa, are not above ten or eleven feet; and those which are brought young into Europe acquire not that height. That which was in the menagerie of Versailles, which came from Congo, was but seven feet and a half high, in his seventeenth year. During thirteen years that he lived in France he did not grow above a foot, so that at the age of four, when he was sent he was only six feet and a half high, and as the growth gradually diminishes as animals advance in years, if he had lived thirty years, which is the ordinary term of their full growth, he would not have been more than eight feet high. Thus a domestic state reduces the growth of the animal at least one third, not only in height but in all other dimensions. The length of the body, measured from the eye to the tail, is very near equal to his height; an elephant of the Indies, therefore, of fourteen feet high, is seven times bigger and heavier than was the elephant of Versailles. In comparing the growth of this animal with that of man we shall find, that an infant, being commonly thirty-one inches, that is half his height when he is two years old, and coming to his full growth at twenty, the elephant, who increases in height and bulk to his thirtieth year, should come to half his height in three years. In the same manner, if we judge of the enormity of the bulk of the elephant, it will be found, that the volume of a man's body being supposed to be two cubic feet and a half, the body of an elephant of fourteen feet in length, allowing him only three feet in thickness, and of a middling breadth, would be fifty times as big, and, consequently, an elephant ought to weigh as much as fifty men.

"I have seen (says father Vincent Marie) some elephants who were fourteen or fifteen feet high, long and thick in proportion. The male is always larger than the female. The price of these animals increases in proportion to their size, which is measured from the eye to the extremity of the back, and after exceeding certain dimensions, the price increases like that of precious stones."

"The elephants of Guinea (says Bosman) are ten, twelve, or thirteen feet in height, and yet they are incomparably smaller than those of the East Indies, since those who have written the history of that country, give to those more cubits in height, than the others have feet."

"I have seen elephants thirteen feet high, (says Edward Terry) and I have met with many, who affirmed they have seen elephants fifteen feet high[AG]."

[Footnote AG: These authors probably referred to different measures, the first meaning Roman, the second Rhenish, and the last English feet.]

From these, and many other attestations, we may conclude, that the most common size of the elephant is from ten to eleven feet; that those of thirteen or fourteen feet are very scarce, and that the smallest are at least nine feet high when they come to their full growth in a state of liberty. These enormous lumps of matter, as we have observed, move with much celerity; they are supported by four members, which are more like pillars, or massive columns, than legs, and are from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, and five or six feet in height; their legs are therefore twice as long as those of a man; thus, though the elephant took but one step to a man's two, he would overtake him in running. The common pace of the elephant is not swifter than that of the horse; but when he is pressed, he goes a sort of amble, equivalent for quickness to a gallop. He executes with speed, and even with ease, all direct motion; but he has no facility for oblique or retrograde motions. It is commonly in narrow and deep roads, where he can hardly turn, that the negroes attack him, and cut off his tail, which they value as much as the whole animal. He cannot go down a steep declivity without much difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind legs, in order to keep the fore part of his body on a level with the hind, and that his own weight may not throw him down. He swims well, though the form of his legs and feet seem to indicate the contrary; but as the capacity of his breast and belly is very large, as the volume of the lungs and intestines is enormous, and as those parts are full of air, or matter lighter than water, he sinks less deep than any other animal; he finds less resistance to overcome, and, consequently, can swim faster in making less efforts with his limbs. Thus, he is very useful for crossing rivers; besides two field-pieces, each of them four-pounders, with which he is loaded on these occasions, he carries heavy baggage, and several persons holding him by the ears and tail. When thus loaded, he swims deep in the water, and nothing is seen but his trunk, which he keeps erect to enable him to breathe.

Though the elephant commonly feeds on herbs and young branches, and requires prodigious quantities of these aliments, to extract from them the nutrition necessary to such a body, yet he has not many stomachs, like most animals who feed on the same substances. He has but one stomach, does not ruminate, and is formed more like the horse than the ox, or other ruminating animals. The want of a paunch is supplied by the bigness and length of his intestines, and especially of the colon, which is two or three feet in diameter, and fifteen or twenty in length. The stomach is much smaller than the colon, being but four feet, at the most, in length, and a foot and a half in diameter. To fill such a capaciousness, the animal must eat almost continually, especially when he has no food more substantial than herbage; therefore the wild elephants are almost always employed in grubbing up trees, gathering herbs, or breaking young boughs; and those that are tame, though fed with great quantities of rice, pluck up herbs whenever they find an opportunity. However great the appetite of the elephant, he eats with moderation, and his taste for cleanliness gets the better of his wants. His dexterity in parting, with his trunk, the good leaves from the bad, and the care he takes to shake off the sand or insects, are convincing marks of his delicacy. He is very fond of wine, spirituous liquors, brandy, and arrack. He is prevailed upon to exert his greatest efforts, and to undertake the most arduous task, by shewing him a vessel full of these liquors, and promising it to him as the reward of his labours. He seems also to like the smoke of tobacco, but it stupifies and intoxicates him: he has a natural aversion to bad smells, and such an antipathy for hogs, that the cry of that animal disorders and puts him to flight.

To give a complete idea of the nature and intelligence of this singular animal, I shall insert here some particulars communicated to me by the Marquis de Montmirail, President of the Royal Academy of Sciences, who has taken the trouble to translate from some Italian and German books, which were not known to me, whatever relates to the history of the animal creation. His taste for arts and sciences, his zeal for the advancement of them, his exquisite judgment, and a very extensive knowledge of all the parts of Natural History, entitle him to the greatest respect, and it is with pleasure and gratitude I refer to the information he has given me, and which I shall have frequent occasion to refer to in the subsequent part of this work:--"They make use of the elephant to carry artillery over mountains; and it is then that he gives the greatest proofs of his intelligence: when the oxen, yoked together, endeavour to draw a piece of artillery up a mountain, the elephant pushes the breech of the cannon with his forehead, and at every effort he supports the carriage with his knee, which he places against the wheel. He seems as if he understood what is said to him. When his leader employs him in some hard labour, he explains what is his work, and the reasons which ought to engage him to obey. If the elephant shews any repugnance to comply, the _cornack_, so his leader is called, promises to give him arrack, or some other thing that he likes; then the animal agrees to every thing proposed; but it is dangerous to break a promise with him, as many cornacks have fallen victims by such conduct. An instance of this happened at Dekan, which deserves to be recorded; and which, however incredible it may appear, is perfectly true. An elephant, in revenge, killed his cornack; the man's wife being witness of this dreadful catastrophe, took her two children and threw them to the feet of the still enraged animal, saying, _Since thou hast killed my husband, take also my life and that of my children_. The elephant stopped short, grew calm, and, as if moved with regret and compassion, took with his trunk the biggest of the two children, placed him on his neck, adopted him for his cornack, and would never suffer any other to mount him afterwards.

"If the elephant be vindictive he is no less grateful. A soldier at Pondicherry, who commonly gave one of these animals a certain measure of arrack every time he received his pay, having one day drank more than common, and seeing himself pursued by the guard, who wanted to conduct him to prison, took refuge under the elephant, and there fell asleep. In vain did the guard attempt to draw him out from this asylum, the elephant firmly defending him with his trunk. The next day, when the soldier became sober, he was struck with terror to find himself under an animal of such enormous bulk. The elephant, who no doubt perceived his consternation, caressed him with his trunk, and made him understand that he might depart freely.

"The elephant sometimes falls into a sort of phrenzy, which deprives him of his tractability, and makes him so formidable that it is frequently thought necessary to kill him, though they generally tie him with heavy chains, in hopes that he will come to himself; but when in his natural state the most acute pains cannot provoke him to do any harm to those who have not offended him. An elephant, made furious by the wounds he had received in the battle of Hambour, ran about the field crying out in the most hideous manner. A soldier, notwithstanding the warning of his companions, was unable to fly, perhaps from being wounded; the elephant coming up to him appeared afraid of trampling him under his feet, took him up with his trunk, placed him gently on one side, and continued his march." These particulars were given to the Marquis Montmirail by M. de Bussy, who lived ten years in India, and served the state with reputation. He had several elephants in his service; he mounted them often, saw them every day, and had frequent opportunities of observing many others.

The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have also communicated to us the following facts, which they learned from those who governed the elephant at Versailles, and which deserve to be mentioned here. "The elephant seemed to discern when any body made a fool of him, and he remembered the affront to be revenged the first opportunity. A man deceived him by feigning to throw something into his mouth, upon which the animal gave him such a blow with his trunk as broke two of his ribs; having knocked him down, he trampled him under his feet, and broke one of his legs, and then kneeling down, he tried to thrust his tusks into the man's belly, which, however, went into the ground on both sides of his thigh, without hurting him. He bruised another man, by squeezing him against the wall, for a little mockery. A painter was desirous to draw him in an unusual attitude, with his trunk erect and his mouth open; the servant of the painter, to make him remain in that attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, but often deceived him, which provoked his indignation, and, as if he knew the painter was the cause of his being thus insulted, without taking any notice of the servant, he threw such a quantity of water with his trunk upon the paper, the master was drawing on, as totally to spoil the design. The elephant made less use of his strength than of his address, which was such that he untied with great facility a double leather string which fastened his leg, and as this buckle had a small string twisted around it with several knots, he untied them all without breaking either the strings or the strap. One night, having thus disentangled himself from his leather strings, he dexterously broke open the door of his lodge, so that his keeper was not awakened by the noise; he went from thence into several courts of the menagerie, breaking open the doors that were shut, and pulling down the stone work when the passage was too narrow for him to pass; by this means he got into the lodges of other animals, terrifying them to that degree, that they hid themselves in the remotest parts of the inclosures." In fine, to omit nothing that may contribute to make all the natural and acquired faculties of this animal so superior to all others, perfectly known, we shall add some facts, extracted from the most credible authors. "The elephant, even when wild (says Father Vincent Marie), has his virtues. He is generous and temperate; and when tamed he is esteemed for gentleness and fidelity to his master, and friendship for his governors. If destined to the immediate services of princes he knows his fortune, and preserves a gravity agreeable to the dignity of his employ. If, on the contrary, he is employed in mean labours, he evidently grieves and laments his being thus debased. In war he is impetuous and proud at the first onset; he is equally so when surrounded by hunters, but he loses courage when he is conquered. He fights with his tusks, and fears nothing so much as losing his trunk, which, by its consistence, is easily cut off. He is naturally mild, never attacks any person, unless he has been offended; he seems to delight in company, is particularly fond of children, caresses them, and seems to be sensible that they are harmless and innocent."

"The elephant, (says F. Pyrard) is an animal of so much judgment and knowledge, that one should think him endowed with rational faculties; besides being of infinite service to man. If wanted to be ridden, he is so supple, and obedient, that he conforms to the conveniency and quality of the person he serves: he bends his knees, and helps his leader to mount him with his trunk. He is so tractable, that he does whatever he is required, provided he is treated with gentleness. He performs all that he is commanded, and caresses those whom he is directed to use with civility."

"By giving the elephants, (says the Dutch travellers) whatever can please them, they are as easily tamed and rendered as submissive as men. It may be said they want no other faculty, but that of speech. They are proud and ambitious, but they remember good offices, and are so grateful for them, that they never fail to incline their head as a mark of respect, when they pass before a house where they have been well used. They may be conducted at the command of a child, but they love to be praised and cherished. No person can affront, or injure them without their notice; and those who have treated them with disrespect, may think themselves happy if they escape without being sprinkled with the water from their trunks, or thrown into the dirt."

"The elephants, (says Father Philip) come very near the human species in judgment and reasoning. Monkeys are stupid brute animals compared to them. The elephants are so modest, that they cannot bear being seen when they couple; and if by chance, any person were to see this operation they would infallibly be revenged of them. They salute by bending the knees, and inclining their head; and when their master shews his intention to mount them, they so dexterously present to him their foot, that he may use it as a step. When a wild elephant is taken, and his feet are tied, one of the hunters comes near, salutes, makes an apology for having tied him, and protests that his intention is not to do him any harm; tells him that in his savage state he often wanted food, but now he will be treated with tenderness, and which he promises to do constantly. The hunter has no sooner finished this soothing discourse, than the elephant follows him as gently as a lamb. We must not, however, conclude from this, that the elephant understands languages, but only having a particular discerning faculty, he knows the motions of esteem from contempt, friendship from hatred, and all other sentiments of man towards him, for which cause he is more easily tamed by reasoning than by blows. He throws stones to a great distance, and very straight with his trunk; which he also makes use of to pour water over his body when bathing."

"Of five elephants, (says Tavernier) which the hunters had taken, three escaped, although their bodies and legs were fastened with chains and ropes. These men told us the following surprising circumstance, if it can be believed, that when an elephant has been caught, and escaped the snare, he becomes very mistrustful and breaks off a large branch with his trunk, with which he sounds the ground before he puts his foot upon it, to discover if there are any holes, by which he may be caught a second time; for this reason the hunters, who related this singularity, despaired of catching again the three elephants who had escaped. The other two which they had caught, was each of them placed betwixt two tame elephants, and around them were six men, holding torches, who spoke to the animals, and presented them something to eat, saying, in their language, 'take this and eat it.' What they gave them consisted of small bundles of hay, bits of black sugar, and rice boiled in water, with pepper. When the wild elephant refused to do what he was ordered, the men commanded the tame elephants to beat him, which they did immediately; one striking his forehead, and when he seemed to aim at a revenge, the other struck him on the side, so that the poor creature soon perceived he had nothing to do, but to obey."

"I have several times observed, (says Edward Terry) that the elephant does many things which seemed to be more the result of a rational than an instinctive faculty. He does whatever his master commands him. If he wishes him to frighten any body, he advances towards him with the same fury as if he would tear him to pieces, and when near he stops short, without doing him any harm. If the master is inclined to affront another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes up dirty water with his trunk, and throws it over the person pointed out to him. His trunk is made of a cartilage, hangs betwixt his tusks, and by some called his hand, because on many occasions it is as serviceable to him as the hand is to men. The Mogul keeps elephants for the execution of criminals condemned to death. If their leader bids them dispatch the wretched creatures quickly, they tear them to pieces in a moment with their feet; but if commanded to make the criminals languish, they break their bones one after another, and make them suffer torments as cruel as those of the wheel."

We might quote several other facts equally curious and interesting, but we should exceed the limits of this work; we should not have even entered into so many particulars, if the elephant (_fig. 133._) were not, of all animals, the first in every respect, and that which consequently deserves most attention.

We have said nothing respecting the production of his ivory because M. Daubenton has made several useful observations upon the nature and quality of it, but he has at the same time assigned to the elephant the tusks, and prodigious bones attributed to the mammoth. I confess I was long doubtful on this subject; I had several times considered those enormous bones, and compared them with the skeleton of an almost adult elephant preserved in the king's cabinet, and before writing the history of those animals, I could not persuade myself that elephants six or seven times bigger than the one whose skeleton I had seen, could exist; more especially, as the large bones had not the same proportions with the corresponding ones of the elephant, I thought with the generality of naturalists that these enormous bones had belonged to an animal much larger, whose species was lost or annihilated. But it is certain, as we have mentioned before, that some elephants exist who are fourteen feet high, that is, six or seven times bigger (for the bulk is in proportion to the cube in height) than the elephant, of whose skeleton we have spoken, and which was not more than seven feet and a half in height. It is also certain, for the observations of M. Daubenton, that age changes the proportion of the bones and when the animal is adult, they grow considerably thicker, though they are come to their full height: in fine, it is certain, from the relations of travellers, that of some elephants, the tusks weigh more than 120lbs.[AH] From these observations, we cannot doubt that those tusks and bones we have already noticed for their prodigious size, actually belonged to the elephant. Sir Hans Sloane was of that opinion, but he did not prove it. M. Gmelin said it still more affirmatively, and gave on this subject several curious facts[AI]; but M. Daubenton is the first who has proved them unquestionably by exact measures and comparisons, and reasons founded on the great knowledge that he has acquired in the Science of Anatomy.

[Footnote AH: Mr. Eden says, that several elephant's tusks which he measured, were no less than nine feet long, and as big as a man's thigh in circumference, some of them weighing more than nine pounds; and that he saw a head in the possession of a Mr. Jude, which had been brought from Guinea by some English ships, of which the mere bones, without the tusks, weighed upwards of 200lbs. and it was supposed that when the head was entire it could not weigh less than 500lbs. Lopes affirms he met with several tusks that weighed 200lbs. _Hist. Gen. des Voyages._ This magnitude of the tusks is also confirmed by Drake, Holbe, and the Dutch travellers.]

[Footnote AI: The Czar, Peter, being curious in Natural History, issued orders in the year 1722, that wherever any bones of the mammoth should be found, search should be made after the remainder, and the whole of them sent to Petersburg, and which orders were made public in all the towns of Siberia. In consequence of this several persons applied to the Woywode of Jakutzk to be sent off to two different places, where they affirmed they had seen these bones; their demands were complied with, and many of them returned with heads and various bones, which were transmitted to Petersburg, and placed in the imperial cabinet; but it will be found upon examination that all the bones placed there, under the denomination of the Mammoth bones, are perfectly similar with the elephant's. And as to their being found under the earth and in Siberia, it may fairly be presumed that in the great revolutions which have happened to the earth, a great number of elephants might be driven from their native climates; many have been destroyed by the inundations, and those who wandered so far into the North must necessarily have perished from the rigours of the climate. _Voyage a Kamtschatka par M. Gmelin._]

SUPPLEMENT.

The female elephant, as in all other animals, is more gentle than the male, at least we found it so, for the male which we saw in 1771, was more fierce and untractable than a female we witnessed in 1773; he would frequently lay hold of, and tear the clothes of those who approached too near him, and even his keepers were always obliged to be on their guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and always ready to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition to be perverse but when they wanted to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose of conveying her from one town to another; upon which occasion she would refuse to go forward, and they had no means of making her advance but by pricking her behind; this would make her very angry, and being unable to turn, the only way she had of revenge was to take up water in her trunk and throw it over them, and which she would do in pretty large quantities.

I formerly remarked, there was a probability, from the situation of the sexual organs, that these animals did not copulate in the same manner as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I understand is not warranted in fact, for M. Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the subject: "The comte de Buffon, in his excellent work, is deceived in respect to the copulation of the elephants. In many parts of Asia and Africa they certainly, during their season of love, retire into the most secret recesses of the forests; but in the island of Ceylon which is almost in every part inhabited, and where I have lived twelve years, they have not that opportunity of concealing themselves. I have frequently examined them, and from the female organ being nearly in the middle of the belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de Buffon has done; however, when inclined to admit the male, I have seen the female bend her two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering, at the same time, her head and neck, and keeping her hind legs erect, which gave the male an opportunity of acting in the same manner as other quadrupeds. They never copulate but in a state of freedom. The males are very furious in the rutting season, and it is very dangerous to go near them; during which the females will sometimes make their escape, and seek the wild males in the woods. A few days after her cornack goes into the woods in search of her, and she will come to him upon hearing him call her by name, and quietly suffer herself to be led home again. It was from these excursions discovered that the females bring forth at the end of nine months."

I certainly am ready to give full credit to the first remark of M. Marcel Bless, because he assures us that he has seen the elephant perform the operation; but I cannot think we ought so perfectly to acquiesce as to the time of their going with young, since it is the opinion of all travellers that they do not bring forth in a less period than two years.

THE RHINOCEROS.

After the elephant the Rhinoceros (_fig. 124._) is the most powerful of quadrupeds; he is at least twelve feet in length, from the extremity of the snout to the tail; six or seven feet in height, and the circumference of his body is nearly equal to his length. In bulk, therefore, he nearly resembles the elephant, and if he appears smaller, it is because his legs are shorter in proportion than those of the elephant. But he differs widely from that sagacious animal by his natural faculties and intelligence, having received from Nature merely what she grants in common to all animals. He is deprived of all feeling in his skin; he has no organ to answer the purpose of hands, to give him a distinct sense of touching; instead of a trunk he has only a moveable lip, in which centres all his dexterity. He is superior to other animals only in strength, magnitude, and the offensive weapon, which he carries upon his nose, and which is peculiar to him. This weapon is a very hard horn, solid throughout, and placed more advantageously than the horn of ruminating animals; those only protect the superior parts of the head and neck, whilst the horn of the rhinoceros defends all the exterior parts of the muzzle, the mouth, and the face, from insult. For this reason the tiger attacks more readily the elephant, whose trunk he can seize, than the rhinoceros, which he cannot attack in front without running the danger of having his inside torn out; for the body and limbs are covered with so impenetrable a skin that he fears neither the claws of the tiger nor lion, nor the fire and weapons of the huntsman. His skin is blackish, of the same colour, but thicker and harder than that of the elephant; nor does he feel the sting of flies. He cannot contract nor extend his skin; it is folded by large wrinkles on the neck, shoulders, and rump to facilitate the motion of his head and legs, which last are massive, and terminated by large feet, armed with three great toes. His head is larger in proportion than that of the elephant, but his eyes are still smaller, which he seldom opens entirely. The upper jaw projects above the lower, and the upper lip is moveable, and may be lengthened six or seven inches; it is terminated by a sharp edge, which gives the animal the power to gather grass and divide it into handfuls, as the elephant does with his trunk. This muscular and flexible lip is a sort of imperfect trunk which is equally capable of seizing with force, and feeling with delicacy. Instead of those long ivory tusks, which form the weapons of the elephant, the rhinoceros has a powerful horn, and two strong incisive teeth in each jaw: these teeth, which the elephant has not, are placed at a great distance, one in each corner or angle of the jaws; the under jaw is square before, and there are no other incisive teeth in all the interior part, which is covered by the lips; but, independently of these four incisive teeth, placed in the four corners of the mouth, he has twenty-four smaller teeth, six on each side of each jaw. His ears are always erect; they are in form like those of the hog, only they are smaller in proportion to his body, and they are the only hairy parts about him. The end of the tail, like that of the elephant, is furnished with a tuft of large bristles, very hard and very solid.

Mr. Parsons, a celebrated physician in London, to whom the republic of letters is indebted for several discoveries in Natural History, and to whom I am under obligations for the marks of esteem and friendship he has honoured me with, published in 1744, a Natural History of the Rhinoceros, of which I shall give an extract with more willingness, because whatever Mr. Parsons has written deserves credit and attention.

"Though the rhinoceros was often seen at the spectacles at Rome, from the time of Pompey to that of Heliogabalus, though many have been transported into Europe in these last ages, and though Bontius, Chardin, and Kolbe, have drawn this figure, both in the Indies and Africa, yet he was so badly represented, and his description was so incorrect, that he was known very imperfectly, until those which arrived in London in 1739 and 1741, were inspected, when the errors or caprices of those who had published figures of him became very visible. That of Albert Durer, which was the first, is the least conformable to Nature; it has, nevertheless, been copied by most naturalists; and some of them have loaded it with false drapery, and foreign ornaments. That of Bontius is more simple and more true; but the inferior part of the legs is badly delineated. On the contrary, that of Chardin represents naturally the foldings of the skin and feet, but in other respects does not resemble the animal. That of Camerarius is not better; nor is that drawn from the rhinoceros which was in London in 1685, and which was published by Carwitham in 1739. Those which were engraved on the ancient pavement of Præneste, or on the medals of Domitian, are very imperfect; but they have not the imaginary ornaments given to that of Albert Durer." Dr. Parsons has taken the trouble to draw this animal himself in three different views, before, behind, and in profile; and particular parts from other rhinoceroses which are preserved in the cabinets of Natural History.