THE ELEPHANT. 5 



all comparison less than that of the horse, who seems to 

 enjoy the clamour of battle, and will carry his rider un- 

 flinchingly through the heaviest fire. As a beast of burden 

 the elephant has his uses, and in countries impassable to 

 wheeled vehicles he is very valuable, especially in the 

 carriage of pieces of artillery that could not be transported 

 by any other available means. Upon a level road, however, 

 he possesses no advantage whatever over smaller animals, 

 which will not only drag larger weights in proportion to the 

 food they consume, but will do so at much greater speed. 



The elephant, in fact, appears to have been built up with 

 a single eye to his own advantages, and altogether without 

 reference to the use he might be to man. He is admirably 

 fitted for sustaining the struggle for existence. The mechan- 

 ism of his feet is such as to sustain to a nicety his enormous 

 weight. His thick skin enables him to push his way through 

 the thickest and thorniest jungles with impunity, and his flat 

 ears closely set to his head also facilitate his passage. The 

 great strength and pliability of his prehensile trunk, with its 

 finger-like termination, enables him either to break off the 

 massive limb of a tree or to pick up the smallest tuft of herb- 

 age. By its power of suction he can pour volumes of water 

 down his throat, or cool himself by spurting it .over his coat 

 of mail. In his natural state, before man appeared upon the 

 scene, he had few enemies, and it was therefore unnecessary 

 to cultivate the attribute of courage. His bulk imposed upon 

 smaller though fiercer creatures, and his thickness of skin 

 protected him from their assaults. As for intelligence, he 

 needed but a small degree of it, his food lay everywhere 

 within his reach, and he had no occasion for either craft 

 or speed in obtaining it. He was a huge perambulating 



