THE ELEPHANT. 73 



and in the vast regions of Monomotapa, Monocmuci, and other 

 parts of the interior of Africa, they are probably still more nu- 

 merous. 



A creature so extraordinary in its structure and qualities, 

 merits to be somewhat particularly described, although no de- 

 scription can convey an adequate idea of its magnitude, unless 

 the animal itself has been presented to the view. 



At the Cape, the height of the elephant is from twelve to fif- 

 teen feet. His eyes are, in proportion to his size, very small, but 

 lively, brilliant, and full of expression : his ears are very large, 

 long and pendulous ; but he can raise them with great facility, 

 and make use of them as a fan to cool himself, and drive away 

 the flies, or insects. His hearing is remarkably fine : he delights 

 in the sound of musical instruments, to which he is easily brought 

 to move in cadence. His sense of smelling is equally delicate; 

 for he is highly delighted with the scent of odoriferous herbs. In 

 each jaw he has four grinders, one of which sometimes measures 

 nine inches in breadth, and weighs four pounds and a half. The 

 texture of the skin is uneven and wrinkled, and full of deep fis- 

 sures, resembling the bark of an old tree. The colour is tawny, 

 inclining to grey. The legs of this animal are massy columns 

 of three or four feet in circumference, and five or six in height. 

 Its feet are rounded at the bottom, divided into five toes, covered 

 with skin, so as not to be visible, and terminated in a nail or 

 hoof of a horny substance. His body is remarkably round and 

 bulky, and nearly destitute of hair. ^ 



The proboscis, or trunk, is the most singular and peculiar 

 characteristic of this extraordinary quadruped ; and of all the 

 instruments which the superabundant wisdom and goodness of 

 the Creator has bestowed on the various forms of animal life, this 

 is perhaps the most complete and the most admirable. -It is com- 

 posed of nerves, membranes, and sinews, and is the organ of 

 smelling, feeding, and action, as the animal can bend, contract^ 

 lengthen, and turn it in every direction. 



This fleshly tube terminates in a protuberance, which stretches 

 out on the upper side in the form of a finger, and possesses, in 

 a considerable degree, the dexterity of that useful member of the 

 human body. With this instrument, the animal can lift from the 

 ground the smallest piece of money, select herbs and flowers, 

 untie knots, and grasp any thing so firmly, that no force can tear 

 it from his grasp. 



At the end of this trunk are placed the nostrils through which 

 he draws in water, for the purpose of quenching his thirst, or of 

 washing and cooling himself, whLh he performs by taking in a 

 large quantity, and then spouting it out over his whole body, as 

 if it issued from a fountain. 



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