392 



THE ELEPHANT. 



[Part YIII. 



paper read before theEoyal Irish Academy in 1847, has 

 stated that on a careful examination of the head of an 

 elephant which he had dissected, he could " see no evi- 

 dence of the muscular structure of the membrana tyni- 

 pani so accurately described by Sir Eyerakd Home," 

 whose deduction is clearly inconsistent with the fact that 

 the power of two elephants may be steadily combined by 

 singing to them a measured chant, somewhat resembhng 

 a sailor's capstan song ; and in labour of a particular 

 kind, such as hauhng a stone with ropes, they will thus 

 move conjointly a weight to which their divided strength 

 would be unequal. ^ 



Nothing can more strongly exhibit the impulse of 

 obedience in the elephant, than the patience with which, 

 at the order of the keeper, he swaUows the nauseous 

 medicines of the native elephant-doctors ; and it is im- 

 possible to witness the fortitude with whicli (without 

 shrinking) he submits to excruciating sm^gical opera- 

 tions for the removal of tumours and ulcers to which 

 he is subject, without conceiving a vivid impression of 

 his gentleness and intelhgence. On such occasions one 

 might almost imagine that comphance was induced by 

 some perception of the object to be attained by tempo- 

 rary endurance ; but this is inconsistent with the touch- 

 ing incident which took place during the slaughter of 

 the elephant at Exeter Change in 1826, when after re- 

 ceiving ineffectually upwards of 120 balls in various 



' I have already noticed the strik- 

 ing etiect produced in the captive 

 elephants in the corral, by the har- 

 monious notes of an i\'ory flute ; and 

 on looking to the gi-aphic description 

 which is given by yElian of the ex- 

 ploits which he witnessed as per- 

 formed by the elephants exhibited 

 at liome, it is remarkable how very 

 large a share of tlioir training appears 

 to have been ascribed to the employ- 

 ment of music. 



Phile, in the account which he 

 has given of the elephant's fondness 



for music, would almost seem to 

 have versified the prose naiTative of 

 yEuAN, as he describes its excite- 

 ment at the more animated portions, 

 its step regulated to the time and 

 movements of the harmony; the whole 

 " siirprisiiif/ in a creature tvhose limbs 

 are tcithoid Joi)ds 1 " 

 '' \ktnr6v Ti m iMviii'iV('((<B(yMVop-/(lfi<>i\ ' 



— PiiiLK, Expos, de Eleph., 1. 210, 



For an accoimt of the ti-aining iuid 

 performances of the elepliants at 

 Rome, as narrated by ^'Elian, see the 

 appendix to this chapter. 



