ORDER PROBOSCIDEA (ELEPHANTS).

SKELETON OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.ORDER PROBOSCIDEA (ELEPHANTS).

SKELETON OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.

Order Proboscidea—Antiquity of the Elephant—Referred to in the Bible—Mentioned in the Apocrypha—War Elephants—Their Accoutrements—Hannibal’s Elephants—Elephants amongst the Romans—Skull—Dentition—Vertebræ—Odd Delusion about its Legs—Proboscis—Species—THEINDIANELEPHANT—Size—Range—Habits—Various Modes of Capture—Keddah—Used as a Labourer or Nurse—Sagacity—White Elephants—THEAFRICANELEPHANT—Characteristics—Range—Habits and Haunts—Hunting—Pitfalls—Aggageers Chasing—Elephant-Shooting—How the Natives Cut it up—FOSSILELEPHANTS AND THEIRALLIES—Absurd Stories—MAMMOTH—How it was first Found—Story of the Fourth or Benkendorf’s Discovery—Range—MASTODON—DINOTHERIUM.

THEElephants, Horses, Rhinoceroses, Tapirs, Coneys, Pigs, and Hippopotami, were all grouped together by the older naturalists under the order of Pachyderms,[256]or thick-skinned animals provided with hoofs, but not furnished with a complex stomach for rumination, or chewing of the cud. They are now divided into three different orders—the Proboscidea, Hyracoidea, and Ungulata—which we shall define and describe each in its proper place.

The order Proboscidea, or animals possessed of a proboscis, or trunk, consists of two living species, the Indian and African Elephant, and two extinct genera known as Dinotherium and Mastodon. The Elephant, from its large size and its singular sagacity, attracted the attention of man in the earliest times, and was always looked upon with feelings of awe and reverence. At the present time the African savage, in the region of the Congo, compasses its death with the mysterious aid of the medicine-man, according to Mr. Winwood Reade, as well as by the ordinary means of hunting. The animal, in early times, was used both for purposes of war and peace, and figures, at the present time, alike in the gorgeous retinues of Indian princes, and ministers to the more humble and more useful services of the husbandman. The ivory furnished by its tusks was known in the remotest antiquity. The firstundoubted mention of the Elephant in the Bible relates to the use of ivory, which certainly was employed by the ancient Greeks, Assyrians, and Egyptians early in their history.

King Solomon had a throne of ivory, which was obtained through the Phœnician traders probably from Africa. “For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish (Cilicia) with the navy of Hiram; once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks” (1 Kings x. 22). Elephants are also mentioned in 2 Chron. ix. 21; and at considerable length in the first and second books of Maccabees, where their use in war is described (1 Macc. vi. 28–30; 43–46).

The Elephants were used in war also by the Indian nations, and were looked upon as most formidable engines in battle. By the aid of these huge creatures, to a large extent, they conquered and held possession of the region of Central Asia west of the Indus.

It appears that the relative force of Elephants in a great army corps was one to each chariot of war, with three horsemen and five archers, the latter being perched on the Elephant’s back within a houdah of a defensible nature, denominated a castle, the whole forming what was termed a patti, or squad, comprising altogether not more than eleven men, with the drivers or attendants. This shows that in India, which furnished Elephants and the manner of arming them, only four or five archers, with or without the mahout, or driver, were told off to each animal; consequently, when the successors of Alexander introduced them in their wars in Syria, Greece, and Italy, they were not encumbered with more than one or two additional persons before a charge. Indeed, considerable trouble appears to have been taken that a war Elephant should not be nearly as heavily laden as one simply used for carrying burdens; therefore the number of thirty-two soldiers given in Maccabees as seated upon each Elephant must somehow or other be a mistake. These Elephants were well trained, and taught to hold out one of their hind legs horizontally, when it was necessary to mount them in a hurry. They appeared to take considerable delight and satisfaction in the gaudy trappings with which they were usually decorated. In some cases, Elephants have proved more dangerous to the army in whose ranks they were serving than to the enemy, by being suddenly confronted with objects previously unobserved. On such occasions they turn in haste, and spread terror and death into their own ranks. Careful, judicious, and long-continued training was the only remedy against these sudden surprises.

African Elephants probably were never so well trained and subdued as the Indian; nevertheless, they were used by the Carthaginians in the first Punic War (264–241B.C.) with much success, and to the discomfiture of the Romans. In the second Punic War (218–216B.C.) Hannibal performed the most astounding and remarkable feats of crossing the Pyrenees, making his way through Gaul, crossing the Alps with thirty-seven Elephants, and defeating the Romans at the Ticinus. Most of the Elephants, however, died shortly afterwards from the excessive coldness of the weather and the fatigue they had undergone. Various accounts are given in Roman history regarding the manner in which the Elephants crossed the Rhone. One story goes that they were assembled together on the bank, and the fiercest of them being provoked by his keeper, pursued him as he swam across the water, to which he had run for refuge, and that the rest of the herd followed. There is, however, more reason to believe that they were conveyed across on rafts. It is said that one raft two hundred feet long and fifty broad was extended from the bank to the river, and was then secured higher up by several strong cables to the bank, that it might not be carried down by the stream. The soldiers then covered it over with earth, so that the animals might tread upon it without fear, as on solid ground. Another raft one hundred feet long, and of the same breadth as the other, was joined to this first. The Elephants were driven along the stationary raft as along a road, and then, the females leading the way, passed on to the other raft, which was fastened to it by lashings. This, on being cut, was drawn by boats to the opposite shore. The Elephants gave no signs whatever of alarm, while they were driven along as it were on a continuous bridge; but a few became infuriated when the raft was let loose, and fell into the river, finding their way, however, safely to the shore.

The trappings and armour of a war Elephant have been described by the author of the “Ayeen Akbery” as follows:—“Five plates of iron, each one cubit long and four fingers broad, are joined together by rings, and fastened round the ears of the Elephant by four chains, each an ell in length; and betwixt these another chain passes over the head, and is secured beneath; and across it are four iron spikes, with ratasses and iron knobs. There are other chains with iron spikes and knobs, hung under the throat and over the breasts, and others fastened to the trunk; these are for ornament and to frighten Horses. Pakher is a kind of steel armour that covers the body of the Elephant; there are other pieces of it for the head and proboscis.”

SECTION OF SKULL OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.s, Air Sinuses;n, Nostrils;b, Brain;m, Molar;t, Tusk.

SECTION OF SKULL OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.

s, Air Sinuses;n, Nostrils;b, Brain;m, Molar;t, Tusk.

History informs us that when Timour, or Tamerlane, attacked the dominions of the Sultan Mahmoud (A.D.1399), the Elephants, of which the latter had a considerable number, caused great terror and alarm; and that the preparations made by Timour to overcome the Elephants were of the most extraordinary nature, for not only did he surround his camp with a deep ditch and bucklers, but also had Buffaloes tied together round the ramparts, with huge brambles on their heads, which were to be set on fire at the approach of the Elephants. The forces of the Sultan, besides the Elephants, consisted of a large number of horse and foot soldiers armed with swords and poisoned daggers. Attendant upon the Elephants were men armed with fire, melted pitch, and other horrid missiles, to be hurled at the invaders. The Elephants also, besides being armed, were decorated with all sorts of articles, such as cymbals and bells, and other objects likely to create a noise and confusion. Notwithstanding all this terrific display, Timour’s forces fought with great courage, actually defeating the Sultan’s forces, and putting the Elephants to flight, the unfortunate creatures undergoing severe usage to their trunks by the swordsmen, who appeared soon to find out the more vulnerable parts. It is said that the trunks of many of the Elephants were left scattered on the battle-field, having been severed by the sword. The belief in the invincibility of the Elephants was then for ever gone; and it is even said of Timour’s grandson, then quite a boy, that he himself wounded an Elephant, and drove it in as a captive to his grandfather’s camp.

We are told that in ancient times the number of Elephants annually brought from Africa to Rome, to be trained for the cruel and disgusting practice of fighting in the theatre, was very great. It is said of Pompey that, at the dedication of his theatre, no less than five hundred Lions, eighteen Elephants, and a number of armed men, were all at one time in the circus. In the second consulate of Pompey (54B.C.) Elephants were opposed, in the circus, to Getulian archers; and, according to Pliny, this exhibition was characterised by some uncommon circumstances. One of the Elephants, although furious from a wound, is recorded to have seized upon the shields of his adversaries, and to have thrown them in the air with a peculiar movement, doubtless the effect of training, which caused the shields to whirl round before their fall. It is also stated that an Elephant, having been killed by a thrust of a javelin through the eye, the others rushed forward in a general charge to save him, and that on their coming with terrific force against the iron railings, the latter gave way, and several of the spectators were either injured or killed. On another occasion, when some Elephants, with other wild animals, were fighting together in the arena, the spectators so compassionated the unfortunate creatures, who were raising their trunks to heaven and roaring piteously, as if imploring aid of the gods, that they rose from their seats, and, disregarding Pompey’s presence, demanded that the Elephants might be spared. The destruction of Elephants in sport by the Romans, as well as the increased demands of the ivory trade, have caused the African Elephants to disappear from those regions of Northern Africa which they once inhabited. In the days of the Carthaginians, the animal was found north of the Sahara, where at present it is unknown.

The skull of the Elephant is remarkable for its great size, and the comparatively small cavity occupied by the brain. The latter is small in comparison to the size of the animal, in bulk not muchexceeding that of man. Although the bones of the skull are so large, they are not solid, their interior being occupied by hollows divided from each other by thin partitions, by which means the skull is rendered lighter than might be supposed; and altogether it forms a beautiful instance of a provision for increasing the surface for attachment of muscles, without being too great a burden to its possessor. The skull of the Indian Elephant is of a much more pyramidal and less shapely form than that of the African.

The dentition in the Elephants presents several points of considerable interest. In the Indian species, the males alone have well-developed incisors; while both sexes of the African species are provided with them. These—more commonly known as tusks—grow to an enormous size, sometimes reaching the weight of from a hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. There are no lower incisors, and only two of the molar teeth are to be seen at each side of the jaw at one time. There are six of these in each side, or four-and-twenty in all, in the lifetime of the Elephant, and these present a gradual increase in size as they successively appear. These teeth move forward into their working place in the jaw in regular succession, from behind forwards, each being pushed out by its successor as it gradually becomes worn away. The teeth are worn away, not merely by the food on which the animal lives, but also by the particles of sand and grit entangled in the roots of the herbs torn up for food, and their wear is compensated by the growth and development of the succeeding teeth. In a state of captivity, however, where the food is much more free from extraneous substances than in a state of nature, the teeth are not worn away fast enough to make room for the development of the successors, and it therefore frequently happens that the tooth is deformed by a piling over of the plates of which it is composed.

SIDE VIEW OF MOLAR TOOTH OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.A, Upper; B, Lower.

SIDE VIEW OF MOLAR TOOTH OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.

A, Upper; B, Lower.

The molar or grinding-teeth of the Elephant are for the most part buried in the socket, and present little more than a surface for mastication above the gum. Each is composed of a number of transverse perpendicular plates, built up of a body of dentine, covered by a layer of enamel, and this again by a layer of cement, which fills the interspaces of the plates, and binds together the divisions into one solid mass. Each of these enamel plates, however, in the perfect tooth is united at the base. When these plates of enamel—which stand out in the transverse plates on account of their superior hardness, and cause the grinding surface to be uneven—are worn out, the animal either dies of indigestion, or more often becomes weak, and falls a prey to wild beasts.

LAST LOWER TOOTH OFAFRICAN ELEPHANT.LAST LOWER TOOTH OFINDIAN ELEPHANT.

LAST LOWER TOOTH OFAFRICAN ELEPHANT.

LAST LOWER TOOTH OFINDIAN ELEPHANT.

The difference between the grinders of the Indian and African Elephants is well defined. In the former, the transverse ridges of enamel are narrower, more undulating, and more numerous than in the African, in which latter species the ridges are less parallel, and enclose lozenge-shaped spaces. The cervical vertebræ form a short and stiff series, allowing but a limited motion of the head from side to side, a more extended action being rendered unnecessary by the flexibility of the trunk. With regard to the dorsal vertebræ, they appear to vary in number in both species. In the African species the number varies from twenty to twenty-one, and in the Indian species from nineteen to twenty. As might be expected, the limbs of the Elephant are massive and powerful. In ancient times it was a popular delusion that the legs of an Elephant possessed no joints; and even now people are to be found who believe that the Elephant’s joints move in a contrary direction to that of other quadrupeds. Shakspere evidently enjoyed thepopular belief. InTroilus and Cressida, Ulysses, speaking of the stiff demeanour of Ajax towards Achilles, says:—

“The Elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy,His legs are legs for necessity, not for flexure.”

“The Elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy,

His legs are legs for necessity, not for flexure.”

And so in Chapman’s drama (1605) ofAll Foolswe read:—

“I hope you are no Elephant, you have joints.”

These ideas originated from the peculiar gait of the Elephant.

The shape of the Elephant is so familiar to every one that it is only necessary to remark that the ponderous body, clad in a thick and almost hairless skin, has the fore-quarters higher than the hinder parts, and that the thigh in the hind leg is long and straight when the animal is standing. The knee is visible below the body, and bends so as to bring the foot in the rear. On comparing an Elephant and a Carnivore, and their skeletons as well, the arrangement of the joints of the hind quarters will be noticed to be different. In fact, the bend of the Elephant’s knee gives the gait of the huge creature an appearance unlike that of any other animal. It stands on the ends of its five toes, each of which is terminated by comparatively small hoofs, and the heel-bone is a little distance from the ground. Beneath comes the wonderful cushion, composed of membranes, fat, nerves, and blood-vessels, besides muscles, which constitutes the sole of the foot. The fore-foot is larger than the hind one, and as the creature does not require to climb, or to lift its fore-limb very high, there is no collar-bone. In the young there is more hair on the body than might have been expected, and they have a set of milk teeth.

The brain is greatly convoluted on the surface, but the little brain, or cerebellum, is not covered by the brain proper.

TRUNK OR PROBOSCIS OF ELEPHANT.A, Muscles and Tendons; B, Transverse Section.

TRUNK OR PROBOSCIS OF ELEPHANT.

A, Muscles and Tendons; B, Transverse Section.

The trunk or proboscis of the Elephant, from which the name of the order to which this animal belongs is derived, is certainly a remarkable and wonderful organ. It is really a prolongation of the nose, of a sub-conical form, consisting of two tubes divided by a septum. At the extremity on the upper side, above the opening of the nostrils, is a lengthened process to be looked upon in the light of a finger; beneath this finger is a tubercle, opposable to it, and acting, so to speak, as a thumb. With this organ, which is nearly eight feet in length, of considerable stoutness, and extreme sensibility, the Elephant is enabled to uproot or shake trees, lift a cannon, or pick up a pin. By its aid, food and water are carried to the mouth, and when necessary, it can be converted into a syringe or a shower-bath. The length of the organ does away with the necessity of a long neck, a short and muscular neck being absolutely required for the support of the enormous head and tusks.

The principal characters of the Indian species, as compared with the African, are the small ears, concave forehead, small eye, lighter colour, and the possession of four instead of three nails or hoofs on the hind foot. There is also a very remarkable difference in the teeth, those of the Indian species being built up of a series of plates much more numerous and more closely packed together than in the African species.

THEINDIANELEPHANT.[257]—There are but two living species of Elephant—the Indian (Elephas indicus) and the African (Elephas africanus), although some naturalists have considered the Elephantof Sumatra and Ceylon to be a distinct species, and Schlegel has separated it from both the Indian and African, and defined it asE. sumatrensis. It has been, however, shown by Dr. Falconer and others, that although certain differences are to be noticed, they are not of sufficient value to create a new species; but they are still of sufficient importance to form a variety.

In size, notwithstanding the differences of opinion to be found between certain writers on this subject, some saying that the Indian and others that the African Elephant is the larger, it seems perfectly clear that there cannot be much difference between the two species, and that the maximum height is about eleven feet.

The Indian Elephant (where the progress of civilisation has not interfered with it) is found over the greater part of the forest lands of India, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Cochin-China, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra; but it is doubtful whether it is indigenous to any of the other islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Unlike the African species, to a certain extent, it appears to have a partiality for coolness and shade; indeed, Sir J. Emerson Tennent says that “although found generally in warm and sunny climates it is a mistake to suppose that the Elephant is partial either to heat or to light. In Ceylon, the mountain tops, and not the sultry valleys, are its favourite resort. In Oovah, where the elevated plains are often crisp with the morning frost, and on Pedura-talla-galla, at the height of upwards of eight thousand feet, they are found in herds, whilst the hunter may search for them without success in the hot jungles of the low country.”

In some parts of the country Elephants are exceedingly destructive to crops of grain. And in various parts of India, notwithstanding the care and trouble taken to watch the crops, they do much injury. When the rice approaches maturity it is necessary to place watchers throughout the night in places which they frequent. Stages are erected on posts twelve or fourteen feet high, and on one side of the stage a small shed is made for the watchmen, two of whom always mount the same stage. One feeds a fire kept constantly burning on the open part, while the other in his turn is allowed to sleep, and when any Elephants come into the field, he is awakened and both join in shouting and making all the noise they can with sticks and drums.

The food of the Elephant appears to be considerably varied, and chosen by the animal with no small amount of daintiness; sweet-tasting fruits, seeds, and blossoms he has the greatest partiality for, and in their selection much destruction is occasioned by a herd of these huge animals. Tennent says that in Ceylon, where the food of the Elephant is most abundant, the animal never appears to be in a hurry to eat; but amuses himself with playing with the leaves, shaking the trees, tearing the bark, and now and then pausing to eat, altogether taking the whole affair in a very leisurely sort of way. He is especially fond of the fruit of the palmyra palm, and never fails to make his appearance in the districts where these trees grow when the fruit begins to fall to the ground. Although the amount of food consumed by Elephants in their wild state is very large, there is reason to believe that many stories told of their extraordinary eating capabilities are much exaggerated. It by no means follows that because an Elephant in a tame state will eat so much bread, turnips, hay, &c., that it consumes the same quantity of its natural food in a wild state. The Elephants are believed to drink nightly in very hot weather, but in cool weather only every third or fourth day, and for this purpose they travel long distances to their watering-places, even as far as ten or twenty miles, refreshing themselves by a bath and a drink at the same time when they reach their destination.

Various modes are used for catching Elephants; but the usual practice is to drive them into what is termed a keddah. The keddah is a large area surrounded by a broad ditch, and towards the entrance is a similar construction to the main body, but smaller, acting as a sort of funnel, into which the Elephants enter when driven from the jungle, and which assists in getting them into the keddah itself.

On discovering a large herd of Elephants, a body of men, often numbering six or eight thousand, are collected to surround them, carrying all sorts of instruments likely to create a noise, such as firearms, drums, trumpets, &c., Elephants being exceedingly alarmed by any unusual noises. By this means they are gradually driven into the keddah, sometimes from a distance of thirty or forty miles, which frequently occupies some days. When the Elephants find themselves fairly entrapped, they become violent and use their utmost endeavours to break down the barriers.

INDIAN ELEPHANT.❏LARGER IMAGE

INDIAN ELEPHANT.

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Formerly, it was the practice to starve these captured Elephants into submission; now, however, by means of two tame ones, trained for the purpose, they can be captured without injury, one by one,and afterwards bound to a tree. To accomplish this the trained animals are sent into the enclosure, and on a wild Elephant being singled out, the two trained ones place themselves one on each side, and attract its attention while the attendants are occupied in binding its legs, which having been satisfactorily accomplished, the captive is dragged to a tree and fastened firmly, where it remains until reduced to submission and obedience by kindness and good feeding.

“The vast jungles in the south-eastern portion of the Mysore territory are infested with herds of wild Elephants, whose depredations on the adjacent lands have retarded agriculture to a serious extent. A project was set on foot by Mr. G. P. Sanderson, a young and energetic officer in the service of the Mysore Government, to convert these Elephants to some use by capturing and taming them. Mr. Sanderson’s design was to drive a herd into a strongly embanked channel leading out of the Houhole river, escape being cut off at one end by it deep ditch, and the other opening on the river, guarded by Elephant chains supported by strong posts. On the 9th June, 1874, the Elephants being reported in the neighbourhood, a large party of natives, led by Mr. Sanderson and two other ardent sportsmen, hurried to the spot, and quietly drove the animals towards the channel. The leading Elephant being pushed from behind by his companions, tumbled over the bank, and the latter soon followed. This having been effected, the embankment was quickly strengthened, large fires lighted at intervals along it, and watchers placed for the night. The next point was to move the Elephants into a still smaller enclosure, which was prepared close by. It was funnel-shaped at the mouth, and formed of trunks of trees, firmly fixed in the ground, the snare being disguised by branches and brushwood. Over the neck of the funnel, so to speak, a drop formed of two large cocoa-nut trees lashed together was suspended by a rope, to be severed at a stroke when the Elephants were all in. The herd, terrified by firebrands, rockets, and guns, were driven towards the keddah, and led by a troublesome tusker, who had long kept the others at bay, marched majestically one by one through the gate. After a short pause, owing to a stand being made by a few of the most refractory, the last of the herd went in with a rush, closely followed by a frantic native waving a firebrand. An officer sitting ready on a branch of a tree now cut the rope, and the drop fell amid loud cheers, thus capturing the rich prize of fifty-three Elephants, which were brought out one by one with the assistance of tame Elephants. The latter advance in a body and gradually cut one off from the herd. While amusing it, and distracting its attention, its legs are warily tied by trained men. After this no difficulty is encountered. The capture described included twelve valuable tuskers, and its value was estimated at over £4,000.”[258]

Indian Elephants are also sometimes captured by means of pitfalls formed in a similar manner to those used in Africa. There is, however, one great objection to this mode of capture, which is, that the animal is rendered very liable, from the heavy fall it sustains, of being seriously hurt, and indeed injuries thus received have often proved fatal.

Another way of catching these animals in some districts of India is by means of the lasso. Two trained females are procured for the purpose; these are provided with a long rope which is fastened to their girdle, and then coiled on their backs. Its end forms a noose, which a man, who sits on the back of the trained female, throws round the neck of the wild Elephant; the tame one then walks away until the captured one is almost strangled. In the meantime, the people, assisted by another tame female, endeavour to fasten ropes to his legs, and he is dragged to a place where there are trees, to which he is fastened until he becomes tame. The Elephants caught in this manner are usually small, and the majority, for some reason or other, die, probably from the rough usage they have undergone.

Elephant shooting, especially in Ceylon, was considered to be the acme of sport; but from the number that were wantonly destroyed, an order was issued by the Governor prohibiting their destruction. The Elephant is invaluable as a labourer; its assistance in road-making, bridge-building, ploughing, piling logs, lifting weights, and other similar operations, is of the utmost service. Even as a nurse for young children, its services, we are told, are sometimes required. An Indian officer relates that he has seen the wife of a mahout (for the followers often take their families with them to camp), give a baby in charge of an Elephant, while she went on some business, and has been highly amused in observing the sagacity and care of the unwieldy nurse. The child, which, like mostchildren, did not like to be at rest in one position, would, as soon as left to itself, begin crawling about, in which exercise it would probably get among the legs of the animal, or entangled in the branches of the trees on which he was feeding, when the Elephant would in the most tender manner disengage his charge, either by lifting it out of the way with his trunk, or by removing the impediments to its free progress. If the child had crawled to such a distance as to verge upon the limits of his range (for the animal was chained by the leg to a peg driven in the ground), he would stretch out his trunk and lift it back as gently as possible to the spot whence it had started.

ELEPHANT IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, LONDON.(From a Photograph by Symmons and Co., Chancery Lane, expressly taken for this work.)❏LARGER IMAGE

ELEPHANT IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, LONDON.(From a Photograph by Symmons and Co., Chancery Lane, expressly taken for this work.)

❏LARGER IMAGE

Endless other stories are told of the sagacity of this noble animal, some of them, however, probably not ungarnished with considerable exaggeration. However, this creature does undoubtedly possess a most wonderful amount of intelligence, and it is believed that the Indian species, both in sagacity and docility, surpasses the African.

The White Elephants, held in reverence in Siam, and extremely rare, are not distinct from the rest; they are merely albinoes, or white varieties, and are to be viewed in the same light as white Blackbirds or white Sparrows.

THEAFRICANELEPHANT[259]is distinguished at once from the Indian species by the great size of its ears, its larger eye, convex forehead, darker colour of its skin, and by possessing only three instead of four nails or hoofs in the hind foot. It is indigenous to Africa, being found south of the Sahara as far as Cape Colony, and from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. It formerly lived north of the Sahara, and in the Pleistocene age of geologists was found in Europe, in Italy, and in Spain, to which points it probably crossed at the time when the submerged barriers between Sicily and Africa, and Gibraltar and Africa, were above the level of the water.

Unlike the Indian species, both the males and the females are provided with tusks. The African differs also considerably in his habits, for while the Indian enjoys coolness and shade, the African is more or less exposed to the burning sun.

According to Sir Samuel Baker, “in Africa the country being generally more open than in Ceylon, the Elephant remains throughout the day either beneath a solitary tree, or exposed to the sun in the vast prairies, where the thick grass attains a height of from nine to twelve feet. The general food of the African Elephant consists of the foliage of trees, especially of mimosas. Many of the mimosas are flat-headed, about thirty feet high, and the richer portion of the foliage confined to the crown. Thus, the Elephant, not being able to reach to so great a height, must overturn the tree to procure the coveted food. The destruction caused by a herd of Elephants in a mimosa forest is extraordinary, and I have seen trees uprooted of so large a size that I am convinced no single Elephant could have overturned them. I have measured trees four feet six inches in circumference, and about thirty feet high, uprooted by Elephants. The natives have assured me that they mutually assist each other, and that several engage together in the work of overturning a large tree. None of the mimosas have tap roots; thus the powerful tusks of the Elephants applied as crowbars at the roots, while others pull at the branches with their trunks, will effect the destruction of a tree so large as to appear invulnerable.”

The following account by Gordon Cumming, which, on some points as to the habits and haunts of the African Elephant does not agree with that of Sir Samuel Baker, may be explained by the different nature of the country hunted by him:—“The Elephant is widely diffused through the vast forests, and is met with in herds of various numbers. The male is much larger than the female. He is provided with two enormous tusks. These are long, tapering, and beautifully arched; their length averages from six to eight feet, and they weigh from sixty to a hundred pounds each. In the vicinity of the Equator the Elephants attain to a larger size than to the southward; and I am in possession of a pair of tusks of the African bull Elephant, the larger of which measures ten feet nine inches in length, and weighs one hundred and seventy-three pounds.

“Old bull Elephants are found singly or in pairs, or consorting together in small herds, varying from six to twenty individuals. The younger bulls remain for many years in the company of their mothers, and these are met together in large herds of from twenty to a hundred individuals. The food of the Elephant consists of the branches, leaves, and roots of the trees, and also of a variety of bulbs, of the situation of which he is advised by his exquisite sense of smell. To obtain these he turns up the ground with his tusks, and whole acres may be seen thus ploughed up. Elephants consume an immense quantity of food, and pass the greater part of the day and night in feeding. Like the Whale in the ocean, the Elephant on land is acquainted with, and roams over, wide and extensive tracts. He is extremely particular in always frequenting the freshest and most verdant districts of the forests, and when one district is parched and barren, he will forsake it for years and wander to great distances in quest of better pasture.”

AFRICAN ELEPHANT.❏LARGER IMAGE

AFRICAN ELEPHANT.

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“The Elephant entertains an extraordinary horror of man, and a child can put a hundred of them to flight by passing at a quarter of a mile to windward; and when thus disturbed they go a long way before they halt. It is surprising how soon these sagacious animals are aware of the presence of a hunter in their domains. When one troop has been attacked, all the other Elephants frequenting the district are aware of the fact within two or three days, when they all forsake it, and migrate to distant parts, leaving the hunter no alternative but to inspan his wagons, and remove to fresh ground.

“This constitutes one of the greatest difficulties which a skilful Elephant-hunter encounters. Even in the most remote parts, which may be reckoned the head-quarters of the Elephant, it is only occasionally, and with inconceivable toil and hardship, that the eye of the hunter is cheered by the sight of one. Owing to habits peculiar to himself, the Elephant is more inaccessible and much more rarely seen than any other game quadruped, excepting certain rare Antelopes. They choose for their resort the most lonely and secluded depths of the forest, generally at a very great distance from the rivers and fountains at which they drink. In dry and warm weather they visit these waters nightly; but in cool and cloudy weather they drink only once every third or fourth day. About sundown the Elephant leaves his distant midday haunt, and commences his march towards the fountain, which is probably from twelve to twenty miles distant. This he generally reaches between the hours of nine and midnight, when, having slaked his thirst and cooled his body by spouting large volumes of water over his back with his trunk, he resumes the path to his forest solitudes. Having reached a secluded spot, I have remarked that full-grown bulls lie down on their broadsides about the hour of midnight and sleep for a few hours. The spot which they usually select is an ant-hill, and they lie around it with their backs resting against it. These hills, formed by the white Ants, are from thirty to forty feet in diameter at their base. The mark of the under tusk is always deeply imprinted in the ground, proving that they lie upon their sides. I never remarked that females had thus lain down, and it is only in the more secluded districts that the bulls adopt this practice; for I observed that, in districts where the Elephants were liable to frequent disturbance, they took repose standing on their legs beneath some shady tree. Having slept, they then proceed to feed extensively. Spreading out from one another, and proceeding in a zigzag course, they smash and destroy all the finest trees in the forest which happen to lie in their course. The number of goodly trees which a herd of bull Elephants will thus destroy is utterly incredible. They are extremely capricious, and on coming to a group of five or six trees they break down, not unfrequently, the whole of them, when, having perhaps only tasted one or two small branches, they pass on and continue their wanton work of destruction. I have repeatedly ridden through forests where the trees thus broken down lay so thick across one another that it was almost impossible to ride through the district; and it is in situations such as these that attacking the Elephant is attended with most danger. During the night they will feed in open plains and thickly-wooded districts, but as day dawns, they retire to the densest covers within reach, which nine times in ten are composed of the impracticable wait-a-bit thorns; and here they remain drawn up in a compact herd during the heat of the day. In remote districts, however, and in cool weather, I have known herds to continue pasturing throughout the whole day.”

The African Elephant is not now hunted for domestic purposes, but for the sake of the flesh and of the ivory; and its death is a grand affair for the natives, since it affords opportunity not merely for a feast, but for obtaining fat for internal and external uses. There are various methods of killing them. Pitfalls are most common, and are generally placed in the neighbourhood of a drinking-place, the natives showing great skill in felling trees, so as to turn the Elephants into them. According to Sir Samuel Baker,“the pits are usually about twelve feet long, and three feet broad, by nine deep; these are artfully made, decreasing towards the bottom to the breadth of a foot. The general Elephant route to the drinking-places being blocked up, the animals are diverted by a treacherous path towards the water, the route intersected by numerous pits, all of which are carefully concealed by sticks and straw, the latter being usually strewn with Elephants’ dung, to create a natural effect. Should an Elephant during the night fall through the deceitful surface, his foot becomes jammed in the bottom of the narrow grave, and he labours shoulder-deep, with two feet in the pitfall so fixed that extrication is impossible. Should one animal be thus caught, a sudden panic seizes the rest of the herd, and in their hasty retreat one or more are generally victims to the numerous pits in the vicinity. Once helpless in the pit, they are easily killed with lances.”

AGGAGEERS HUNTING AN ELEPHANT.

The same author also relates that sometimes the Elephant-hunters, or aggageers, of the Hamram tribe, use swords for killing Elephants. They follow the tracks of the animal,“so as to arrive at their game between the hours of 10 and 12A.M., at which time it is either asleep or extremely listless, and easy to approach. Should they discover the animal asleep, one of the hunters would creep stealthily towards the head, and with one blow sever the trunk while stretched upon the ground; in which case the Elephant would start upon his feet, while the hunters escaped in the confusion of the moment. The trunk severed would cause a loss of blood sufficient to insure the death of the Elephant within about an hour. On the other hand, should the animal be awake upon their arrival, it would be impossible to approach the trunk. In such a case, they would creep up from behind, and give a tremendous cut at the back sinew of the hind leg, about a foot above the heel. Such a blow would disable the Elephant at once, and would render comparatively easy a second cut to the remaining leg. These were the methods adopted by poor hunters, until by the sale of ivory they could purchase Horses for the higher branch of the art. Provided with Horses, the party of hunters should not exceed four. They start before daybreak, and ride slowly throughout the country in search of Elephants, generally keeping along the course of a river until they come upon the tracks where a herd, or a single Elephant, may have drunk during the night. When once upon the track, they follow fast towards the retreating game. The Elephants may be twenty miles distant, but it matters little to the aggageers. At length they discover them, and the hunt begins. The first step is to single out the bull with the largest tusks; this is the commencement of the fight. After a short hunt, the Elephant turns upon his pursuers, who scatter and fly from his headlong charge until he gives up the pursuit; he at length turns to bay when again pressed by the hunters. It is the duty of one man in particular to ride up close to the head of the Elephant, and thus to absorb its attention upon himself. This insures a desperate charge. The greatest coolness and dexterity are then required by the hunter, who, now thehunted, must so adapt the speed of his Horse to the pace of the Elephant that the enraged beast gains in the race, until it almost reaches the tail of the Horse. In this manner the race continues. In the meantime, two hunters gallop up behind the Elephant, unseen by the animal, whose attention is completely directed to the Horse almost within his grasp. With extreme agility, when close to the heels of the Elephant, one of the hunters, while at full speed, springs to the ground with his drawn sword, as his companion seizes the bridle, and with one dexterous two-handed blow he severs the back sinew. He immediately jumps out of the way, and remounts his Horse; but if the blow is successful, the Elephant is hamstrung, and, as it cannot run rapidly on three legs, is easily killed.”

The Fans in the neighbourhood of the Gaboon settlements, according to Mr. Winwood Reade, are in the habit of employing the same mode of capturing Elephants as the natives of India, namely, by enticing them within an enclosure or fence of posts and rails, where they are afterwards killed with cross-bows, spears, and trade-guns.

Elephant shooting, although not unattended by danger, appears to be on the whole accomplished with considerable success, five or six Elephants having been killed occasionally in a very short space of time by one man; and many are the tales of hair-breadth escapes related to us by Gordon Cumming, Tennent, Baker, and others. But it appears the forehead-shot, so much in favour in shooting Indian Elephants, does not answer with the African species, the form of the head and the position of the tusks preventing the bullet from reaching the brain.

“The only successful forehead-shot,” says Sir S. Baker, “that I made at an African Elephant was shortly after my arrival in the Abyssinian territory, on the Settite River; this was in thick, thorny jungle, and an Elephant from the herd charged with such good intention that, had she not been stopped, she must have caught one of the party. When within about five yards of the muzzle of my rifle, I killed her dead by a forehead-shot with a hardened bullet, and we subsequently recovered the bullet in thevertebræ of the neck! This extraordinary penetration led me to suppose that I should always succeed as I had done in Ceylon, and I have frequently stood the charge of an African Elephant until close upon me, determined to give the forehead-shot a fair trial, but I havealwaysfailed, except in the instance now mentioned. It must be borne in mind that the Elephant was a female, with a head far inferior in size and solidity to that of the male. The temple-shot, and that behind the ear, are equally fatal in Africa as in Ceylon, provided the hunter can approach within ten or twelve yards; but altogether the hunting is far more difficult, as the character of the country does not admit of an approach sufficiently close to guarantee a successful shot. In the forests of Ceylon, an Elephant can be stalked to within a few paces, and the shot is seldom fired at a greater distance than ten yards. Thus accuracy of aim is insured; but in the open ground of Africa an Elephant can seldom be approached within fifty yards, and should he charge the hunter escape is most difficult. I never found African Elephants in good jungle, except once, and on that occasion I shot five quite as quickly as we should kill them in Ceylon.”

Gordon Cumming gives us the following information as to how the natives cut up an Elephant for food and other purposes. “The rough outer skin is first removed, in large sheets, from the side which lies uppermost. Several coats of an under skin are then met with. This skin is of a tough and pliant nature, and is used by the natives for making water-bags, in which they convey supplies of water from the nearest ‘vley,’ or fountain (which is often ten miles distant), to the Elephants. They remove this inner skin with caution, taking care not to cut it with the assegai; and it is formed into water-bags by gathering the corners and edges, and transfixing the whole on a pointed wand. The flesh is then removed in enormous sheets from the ribs, when the hatchets come into play, with which they chop through, and remove individually, each colossal rib. The bowels are thus laid bare; and in the removal of these the leading men take a lively interest and active part, for it is throughout and around the intestines that the fat of the Elephant is mainly found.

“There are few things which a Bechuana prizes so highly as fat of any description. They will go an amazing distance for a small portion of it. They use it principally in cooking their sun-driedbiltong, and they also eat it with their corn. The fat of the Elephant lies in extensive layers and sheets in his inside, and the quantity which is obtained from a full-grown bull, in high condition, is very great. Before it can be obtained, the greater part of the intestines must be removed. To accomplish this, several men eventually enter the immense cavity of his inside, where they continue mining away with their assegais, and handing the fat to their comrades outside until all is bare. While this is transpiring with the sides and intestines, other parties are equally active in removing the skin and flesh from the remaining parts of the carcass.

“The natives have a horrid practice on these occasions of besmearing their bodies, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, with the black and clotted gore; and in this anointing they assist one another, each man taking up the fill of both his hands, and spreading it over the back and shoulders of his friend. Throughout the entire proceeding, an incessant and deafening clamour of many voices and confused sounds is maintained, and violent jostling and wrestling are practised by every man, elbowing the breasts and faces of his fellows, all slippery with gore, as he endeavours to force his way to the flesh through the dense intervening ranks, while the sharp and ready assegai gleams in every hand. The angry voices and gory appearances of these naked savages, combined with their excited and frantic gestures and glistening arms, presented an effect so wild and striking that, when I first beheld the scene, I contemplated it in the momentary expectation of beholding one-half of the gathering turn their weapons against the other.

“The trunk and feet of the Elephant are considered a great delicacy, and are baked in holes in the earth, which have been heated by fires burnt in them. The flesh of the Elephant is then cut into strips, varying from six to twenty feet, and about two inches in breadth and thickness. It is then placed on poles, and allowed to dry in the sun for two or three days, after which it is packed into bundles, each man carrying off his share to his wife and family.”

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