Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/528

520 ELEPHANT feeding at morning and evening ; easily alarmed, they retire to the woods at the approach of man, but if pursued will turn and attack him with the greatest fury. Only two species are described, the Asiatic and the African elephant. The Asiatic elephant (elephas Indicus, Cuv.), extensively distributed over S. India and the E. Asiatic islands, has an oblong head, concave forehead, and the crowns of the molars pre- senting transverse undulating ridges ; the ears are small compared with those of the African species. The skin is hard and thick, wrinkled about the legs, neck, and breast; the general color is a brownish gray, mottled sometimes with lighter spots ; pure white albinos are very rarely seen ; the hairs are few and rigid, most abundant on the head ; the feet have five toes, the nails of which are seen beyond the cutane- ous envelope. The usual height is from 7 to 10 ft., that of the females a foot or two less ; speci- mens are on record considerably larger than Asiatic Elephant. this, some having a length of 15 ft. and a height of over 12 ft. The period of gestation is about 20 months ; the new-born animal is 3 ft. high, with all its senses perfect ; sucking is performed by the mouth, the trunk being turned back, and is continued for a period of nearly two years. The young grow rapidly, being 4 ft. high in the second year, and are said to be suckled indis- criminately by any female in the herd ; they attain maturity at about the age of 30 years, and live certainly for 150 years, and probably for 200. The weight of a full-grown elephant is from three to five tons. One kept in London for many years, between 10 and 11 ft. high, consumed daily three trusses of hay and about 200 Ibs. of carrots and fresh vegetables, drink- ing from 60 to 80 gallons of water. Though the elephant will breed in captivity, the supply for domestic and warlike purposes must be kept up by hunting the wild animals and re- ducing them to servitude. The favorite way in India is to capture the wild by the aid of tame animals, especially females ; these display as much treachery, ingenuity, perseverance, and courage as ever did human seducer to compass the destruction of a victim. Follow- ing in the track of the male wild animals, the wily females move gradually toward them, grazing with the same complacency and indif- ference as if they were inhabitants of the for- est ; while the females are cajoling a male, the hunters cautiously approach and fasten his legs by ropes to trees, the former distracting the attention of the intended captive, and even as- sisting in binding the cords; the females then leave him, when he has discovered his condi- tion, to vent his useless rage to his own ex- haustion ; further reduced by hunger and thirst, he will soon allow himself to be led by his treacherous companions to stations appoint- ed for the training of elephants, where, after a few months' discipline, he becomes quite docile and contented. There are various other modes of taking elephants by female decoys, by strat- agem, and by driving. Elephants, both Asiatic and African, frequently figure in the history of the wars of the Greeks and Romans. Darius III. had a small number of them in his war against Alexander ; Porus of India brought a large number into the field against the same conqueror. Seleucus had hundreds of them in his army at the great battle of Ipsus. Pyrrhus of Epirus, Hannibal, and Antiochus the Great fought with elephants against the Romans, who themselves soon made use of them in their campaigns, and also exhibited them at their public shows, triumphs, and combats of wild animals in the theatres. In the ancient Indian empires elephants formed a necessary appendage to the royal retinue; they were used for show, for warlike purposes, and for carrying burdens. In the East at the present time elephants are employed for transporting baggage, dragging artillery over difficult places, and otherwise in connection with army move- ments, but without entering into the actual manoeuvres of battle ; they exercise their strength and sagacity in lifting, dragging, and pushing with their leather-protected foreheads. When the elephant gets under full headway, his speed is considerable, and his momentum overcomes all ordinary obstacles ; though able to carry an immense weight on a level surface, he is liable to totter and fall backward when forced up considerable elevations ; a strong animal can travel 50 miles a day with a burden weighing a ton. The anecdotes illustrating the docility, affection, sagacity, irritability, ca- priciousness, and revengeful spirit of the ele- phant are innumerable. The natural enemies of the elephant, besides man, are the tiger and the rhinoceros, and the nasal horn of the latter often proves a mbre formidable weapon than the trunk and tusks of the elephant ; the sight of even a dead tiger is enough to ex- cite most elephants into a transport of fury. The African elephant (E. Africanus, Cuv. ; genus loxodonta, F. Cuv.) has a more round- ed head, a rather convex forehead, enormously