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THIS extraordinary animal is no where spoken of in sacred scripture, unless, as some think, it is the behemoth of the book of Job. Of this, however, we have strong doubts, as may be seen in the article Behemoth. In the book of Maccabees, we have an account of the manner in which the elephants were employed in the field of battle, and also of the methods adopted to excite them to a furious contest with the enemy. Ivory, too, the well-known production of the elephant, is twice distinctly mentioned in the canonical books, 1 Kings x. 22 2 Chron. ix. 21 On these accounts, it must find a place in this work.

The elephant is in every respect the noblest quadruped in nature,

not less remarkable for its size than its docility and understanding. All historians concur in giving it the character of the most sagacious animal next to man; and yet, were we to take our idea of its capacity from its outward appearance, we should be led to conceive very meanly of its abilities. At first view it presents the spectator with an enormous mass of flesh, that seems scarcely animated. Its huge body, covered with a callous hide, without hair; its large misshapen legs, that seem scarcely formed for motion; its little eyes, large ears, and long trunk, all give it an air of extreme stupidity. But our prejudices will soon subside when we come to examine its history; they will even serve to increase our surprise, when we consider the various advantages it derives from so clumsy a conformation.

The elephant is seen from seven to fifteen feet high. Whatever care we take to imagine a large animal beforehand, yet the first sight of this huge creature never fails to strike us with astonishment, and in some measure to exceed our idea. Having been used to smaller animals, we have scarcely any conception of its magnitude; for a moving column of flesh, fourteen feet high, is an object so utterly different from those we are constantly presented with, that to be conceived it must be actually seen. It would, therefore, be impossible to give an idea of this animal's figure by a description; which, even assisted by the art of the engraver, will but confusedly represent the original. In general it may be observed, that the forehead is high and rising, the ears very large and dependent, the eyes extremely small, the proboscis, or trunk, long, the body round and full, the back rising in an arch, and the whole animal short in proportion to its height. The feet are round at the bottom; on each foot there are five flat horny risings, which seem to be the extremities of the toes, but do not appear outwardly. The hide is without hair, full of scratches and scars, which it receives in its passage through thick woods and thorny places. At the end of the tail there is a tuft of hair, a foot and a half long.

Of all quadrupeds, the elephant is the strongest, as well as the largest; and yet, in a state of nature, it is neither fierce nor formidable. Mild, peaceful, and brave, it never abuses its power or its strength, and only uses its force for its own protection, or that of its community. In its native deserts the elephant is seldom seen alone, but appears to be a social friendly creature. The oldest of the company conducts the band: that which is next in seniority brings up the rear. The young, the weak, and the sickly, fall into the centre; while the females carry their young, and keep them from falling by means of their trunks. They maintain this order only in dangerous marches, or when they desire to feed in cultivated grounds: they move with less precaution in the forest and solitudes, but without ever separating or removing so far asunder as to be incapable of lending each other any requisite assistance. It now and then happens, that one or two is found lingering behind the rest, and it is against these that the art and force of the hunters are united; but an attempt to molest the whole body would certainly be fatal. They

go forward directly against him who offers the insult, strike him with their tusks, seize him with their trunks, fling hin into the air, and then trample him to pieces under their feet. But they are thus dreadful only when offended, and do no manner of personal injury when suffered to feed without interruption. It is even known that they are mindful of injuries received; and, when once molested by man, seek all occasions for the future to be revenged. They smell him with their long trunks at a distance; follow him with all their speed upon the scent; and, though slow to appearance, they are soon able to come up with and destroy him.

In their natural state, they delight to live along the sides of rivers, to keep in the deepest vales, to refresh themselves in the most shady forests and watery places. They cannot live far from the water; and they always disturb it before they drink. They often fill their trunk with it, either to cool that organ, or to divert themselves by spirting it out like a fountain.

Their chief food is of the vegetable kind, for they loathe all kind of animal diet. When one among their number happens to light upon a spot of good pasture, he calls the rest, and invites them to share in the entertainment; but it must be a very copious pasture indeed that can supply the necessities of the whole band. As with their broad and heavy feet they sink deep wherever they go, they destroy much more than they devour; so that they are frequently obliged to change their quarters, and to migrate from one country to another. The Indians and Negroes, who are often incommoded by such visitants, do all they can to keep them away; making loud noises, and large fires round their cultivated grounds. But these precautions do not always succeed; the elephants often break through their fences, destroy their whole harvest, and overturn their little habitations. When they have satisfied themselves and trodden down or devoured whatever lay in their way, they then retreat into the woods, in the same orderly manner in which they made their irruption.

Such are the habits of this animal, considered in a social light: if we regard it as an individual, we shall find its powers still more extraordinary. With a very awkward appearance, it possesses all the senses in great perfection, and is capable of applying them to more useful purposes than any other quadruped. The elephant, as we observed, has very small eyes, when compared to the enormous bulk of its body. But though their minuteness may at first sight appear deformed, yet, when we come to examine them, they are seen to exhibit a variety of expression, and to discover the various sensations with which it is moved. It turns them with attention and friendship to its master: it seems to reflect and deliberate; and as its passions slowly succeed each other, their various workings are distinctly seen. Nor is it less remarkable for the excellence of its hearing. Its ears are extremely large, and greater in proportion than even those of an ass. They are usually dependent; but it can readily raise and move them. They serve

also to wipe its eyes, and to protect them against the dust and flies, that might otherwise incommode them. It appears delighted with music, and very readily learns to beat time, to move in meas ure, and even to join its voice to the sound of the drum and the trumpet.

Its sense of smelling is not only exquisite, but in a great measure pleased with the same odors that delight mankind. The elephant gathers flowers with great pleasure and attention ; it picks them up one by one, unites them into a nosegay, and seems charmed with the perfume. The orange-flower seems to be particularly grateful both to its sense of taste and smelling; it strips the tree of all its verdure, and eats every part of it, even to the branches them selves. It seeks in the meadows the most odoriferous plants to feed upon; and in the woods it prefers the cocoa, the banana, the palm, and the sago-tree, to all others. As the shoots of these are tender and filled with pith, it eats not only the leaves and the fruits, but even the branches, the trunk, and the whole plant, to the very roots. But it is in the sense of touching that this animal excels all others of the brute creation, and, perhaps, even man himself. The organ of this sense lies wholly in the trunk, which is an instrument peculiar to this animal, and which serves for it all the purposes of a hand. The trunk is, properly speaking, only the snout lengthened out to a great extent, hollow like a pipe, and ending in two openings, or nostrils, like those of a hog. An elephant of fourteen feet high has the trunk about eight feet long, and five feet and a half in circumference at the mouth, where it is thickest. It is hollow all along, but with a partition running from one end of it to the other; so that though outwardly it appears like a single pipe, it is inwardly divided into two. This fleshly tube is composed of nerves and muscles, covered with a proper skin of a blackish color, like that of the rest of the body. It is capable of being moved in every direction, of being lengthened and shortened, of being bent or straightened, so pliant as to embrace any body it is applied to, and yet so strong that nothing can be torn from its gripe.

To aid the force of this grasp, there are several little eminences like a caterpillar's feet, on the underside of this instrument, which, without doubt, contribute to the sensibility of the touch, as well as to the firmness of the hold. Through this trunk the animal breathes, drinks, and smells, as through a tube; and at the very point of it, just above the nostrils, there is an extension of the skin, about five inches long, in the form of a finger, and which in fact answers all the purposes of one: for, with the rest of the extremity of the trunk, it is capable of assuming different forms at will, and, consequently, of being adapted to the minutest objects. By means of this, the elephant can take a pin from the ground, untie the knots of a rope, unlock a door, and even write with a pen. I have myself seen,' says Ælian, 'an elephant writing Latin characters on a board, in a very orderly manner, his keeper only showing him the figure of each letter. While thus employed, the eyes might be observed studiously cast down upon the writing, and exhibiting an appear

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