Chap. I.] 



STRUCTUEE AND FUNCTIONS. 



279 



of tlie dog are offensive to the gravity of the elephant, 

 and incompatible "svdtli his love of sohtude and ease. 

 Or may it be assumed as an e\^dence of the sagacity 

 of the elephant, that the only two animals to which 

 he manifests an antipathy, are the two Avhicli he lias 

 seen in the company of his enemy, man? 



Major Skinner, whose official duties in tracing roads 

 involved the necessity of Ms being in the jungle for 

 months together, always found that, by niglit or by day, 

 the barldng of a dog which accompanied him, was suffi- 

 cient to put a whole herd to flight. On the whole, 

 therefore, I am of opinion that the elephant hves on terms 

 of amity with every quadruped in the forest, that he 

 neither regards them as his foes, nor provokes their 

 hostihty by his acts ; and that, with the exception of 

 man, his greatest enemy is a fly ! 



These statements of the supposed animosity of the 

 elephant to minor animals, originated ^vith iEhan and 

 Phny, who had probably an opportunity of seeing, what 

 may at any time be observed, that when a captive ele- 

 phant is picketed beside a post, the domestic animals, 

 goats, sheep, and cattle, will annoy and kritate him by 

 their audacity in making free with his provender ; but 

 this is an evidence in itself of the little instinctive dread 

 wliich such comparatively puny creatures enteitain of 

 one so powerfid and yet so gentle. 



Amongst elephants themselves, jealousy and other causes 

 of irritation frequently occasion contentions between indi- 

 viduals of the same herd ; but on such occasions it is 

 their habit to strike with their tnmks and to bear down 

 their opponents with their heads. It is doubtless correct, 

 that an elephant, when prostrated by the force and 

 fury of an antagonist of his own species, is often 



presence of a dog, it has been sug- 

 gested that he is .al.armed lest tlic lat- 

 ter slioidd attack /i/.s fed, a portion 

 of his body of which the elephant is 

 peculiarly careful. A tame elephant 



has been observed to regard with in- 

 difierence a spear directed towards 

 his head, but to sliriuk timidly from 

 the same weapon when pointed at liis 

 foot. 



T 4 



