558 



13 P II ANT. 



This last circumstance must have influence! tin- fonrt 

 i the trunk, and given to iu bust.' a thickneM and t\r.e 

 widely different from those of the existing species, hi 

 general height seems to have been little more than the 

 Aiuc species snsnrtimft attains, but its form i:.ust 

 have been more rounded and thick. 



Viewing all the circunatmoes in connection, it ap- 

 pear* certain that the fossil bones belong to a s[ 

 lit' elephant which formerly iuli.tl'ii. .! llurope in 

 siderablc numbeni, hot which has become extinct, in 

 consequence of the revolutions which the earth has un- 

 dergone. Nor has dais extinction extended to the < !- 

 pliant alone: species of the genus Rhinoceros, Ilipp.i- 

 potamus, and Tapir, besides nmny genera of fishes, shells, 

 and canisj have shared the same fate. The crust of the 

 earth appears to have been inhabited by very different 

 noes of beings, during the different periods of its for- 

 mation and progress. Thus, during the period of the 

 deposition of the fluetz rocks, the then existing ani- 

 mals appear to have been very different from those 

 wliich we find in the subsequent formations of chalk 

 and gypsum. And the organic remains which occur 

 in the older alluvial strata, differ from the species which 

 now exist, in form, habit, and geographical distribution. 



It may surprise some, perhaps, to be told, that spe- 

 cies of the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and ta- 

 pir, animals confined at present to the warmest re- 

 gions, formerly ranged our forests, and lived on the 

 continent of Europe. But why be deceived merely by 

 the name? The European ox, and the Indian arnee, 

 our horse and the African zebra, are species of the 

 same genera, yet they inhabit very different regions. 

 It is not unreasonable therefore to conclude, that the 

 elephants which formerly lived in Europe possessed a 

 constitution anil covering which fitted them to dwell 

 on the shores of the Tanais, the Lina, the Rhine, and 

 thePo. 



It is fortunate that we are not left to conjecture on 

 this subject The rhinoceros found on the banks of 

 the Lina, with its skin and part of its flesh preserved, 

 had, according to the observation of Pallas, more hair 

 on one of its feet than is to be found on the whole bo- 

 dy of any of the existing species ; thus indicating its 

 aptitude to endure the cold of a northern climate. And 

 the following curious discovery of a fossil elephant 

 places beyond a doubt the fact, that it was adapted to 

 live .in high latitudes, and endure the rigours of a 

 northern winter. 



" In the year 1 799, a Tungusian fisherman obser- 

 ved a strange shapeless mass projecting from an ice- 

 bank near the mouth of a river in the north of Siberia, 

 the nature of which he did not understand, and which 

 was so high in the bank as to be beyond his reach. 

 The next year, he observed the same object, which was 

 then rather more disengaged from among the ice, but 

 he was still unable to conceive what it was. Towards 

 the end of the following summer, 1801, he could dis- 

 tinctly see that it was the frozen carcase of an enor- 

 mous animal, the entire flank of which, and one of its 

 tusks, had become disengaged from the ice. In conse- 

 quence of the ice beginning to melt earlier, and to a 

 greater degree than usual, in 1803, the fifth year of 

 this discovery, the enormous carcase became entirely 

 disengaged, and fell tJown from the ice-crag on a sand- 

 bank forming part of the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In 

 the month of March of that year, the Tungusian car- 

 ried away the two tusks, which he sold for the value 

 of 50 rubles ; and at this time (says Cuvicr, whose re- 

 lation we quote ) a drawing was made of the animal, of 





i I posses! a copy. Two years afterward.-, ei" i: 

 1806, Mr Afiunt went to examine this anin " " ~*~ 



still remained on the sand-hank where it I; 

 from the i( body was then ^rcitly nu Minted. 



The Tuckuts of the in i'^hbourhood had taken away 



ralile quantities of its flesh to feed (' 

 and the wild animals, particularly the white hear.-, 

 also feasted on the carcase : yet the skeleton remained 

 quite entire, except that one of the fore legs was gone. 

 1 he entire spine, the pelvis, one shoulder-blade.and three 

 legs, were still held together by their ligaments and by 

 some remains of the skin ; and the other shoulder-blade 

 was found at a short distance. The head remained co- 

 vered by the dried skin, and the pupil of the eye was 

 still distinguishable. The brain also remained within 

 the scull, but a good deal shrunk and drii-d up, and 

 one of the ears was in excellent preservation, still re- 

 taining a tuft of strong bristly hair. The upper lip 

 was a good deal eaten away, and the under lip was en- 

 tirely gone, so that the teeth were distinctly seen. The 

 animal was a male, and had a long mane on its neck. 

 The --kin was extremely thick and heavy, and as much 

 of it remained as required the exertions of ten men to 

 carry away, which they did with considerable difficul- 

 ty. More than thirty pounds weight of the hair and 

 bristles of this animal were gathered from the wet sand- 

 bank, having been trampled iiuo the mud by the white 

 bears while devouring the carcase. Some of the hair 

 was presented to our Museum of Natural History, by 

 M. Targe, censor in the Lyceinn of Charlemagne. It 

 consists of three distinct kinds. One of these is stiff 

 black bristles, a foot or more in length ; another is thin- 

 ner bristles, or coarse flexible hair, of a reddish brown 

 colour ; and the third is a coarse reddish brown wool, 

 which grew among the roots of the long hair. These 

 afford an undeniable proof that this animal had belong- 

 ed to a race of elephants inhabiting a cold region, with 

 which we are now unacquainted, and by no means fit* 

 ted to dwell in the torrid zone. It is also evident, that 

 this enormous animal must have been frozen up by the 

 ice at the moment of its death. Mr Adams, who be- 

 stowed the utmost care in collecting all the parts of 

 the skeleton of this animal, proposes to publish an ex- 

 act account of its osteology, which must be an exceed, 

 ingly valuable present to the philosophical world. In 

 the menn time, from the drawing (says Cuvier) which 

 I have now before me, I have every reason to believe 

 that the sockets of the teeth of this northern elephant 

 have the same proportional lengths with those of other 

 fossil elephants, of which the entire sculls have been 

 found in other places." 



The geographical distribution of this species, pre- 

 sents many curious and important facts. Its remains 

 have been dug up in all the countries of Europe from 

 the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Circle. In Asiatic 

 Russia they occur in the greatest abundance. They 

 have likewise been found in the European isles, as Ice- 

 land, and various parts of Great Britain and Ireland. Its 

 bones have even been dug up in South and in North 

 America, and in Hudson's Bay. 



SECT. III. Method of Catching and Training the Wild 

 Elephant. 



THE elephant has long been disturbed in his native Mode of 

 haunts by the enterprising sportsman . In Southern Afri- ensnaring, 

 ca, the ignorant Hottentot pursues him for the sake of his 

 flesh, the equally ignorant boor prizes the ivory of his 

 tusks, and the planter regards him as the enemy of hi* 



