226 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



their way from the condyles of the humerus to the 

 carpus, the radius keeping in front. The ulna is the 

 larger bone of the two. The carpal bones number 

 eight, and are placed in two rows, one above the 

 other. They articulate with each other and with ad- 

 jacent bones above and below, by means of flat sur- 

 faces. Of the phalanges there are two in the first, 

 and three in the other four digits. Each lingual pha- 

 lanx is incased in a hoof, and all, as before indicated, 

 terminate in a thick sole. 



The pelvic girdle slopes downward so rapidly 

 from the normal axis of the vertebral column, that 

 the outspreading ilia look upward as in the human 

 pelvis. The sacrum consists of four blended vertebrae, 

 and the caudal appendage has thirty-three distinct 

 bones. When any of the bones are comparatively 

 small others in the same region seem to be expanded 

 at their expense. The obturator foramen is smaller 

 than the acetabulum. The head of the femur is globu- 

 lar, and free from a ligament urn teres. The trochanter 

 major does not rise so high as the head of the bone, 

 and the lesser trochanter is comparatively small. The 

 bone is shaped so much like the human femur that 

 sharpers have exhibited it as that of a giant. The 

 tibia and fibula compare so well with those in the 

 human leg that they might pass among the unwary 

 as relics of a giant fifteen feet high. The seven tarsal 

 bones in the elephant's foot bear a close resemblance 

 to corresponding bones in man, but the inner digit 

 which represents the hallux is a dwarfed affair, espe- 

 cially in the African species. 



The elephant lies down and rises up with com- 

 parative ease, but in a very clumsy manner. The 

 creature in settling down allows the hind legs to ex- 



