398 



ELEPHANT. 



continent We mention these few particulars in the 

 meantime to show that the elephant has a longer and 

 more interesting tale to tell, than is to be found in all 

 the anecdotes which are repeated of it as a living 

 animal, and which even though we discount the ex- 

 aggerations and the misrepresentations respecting 

 qualities which the animal does not and cannot pos- 

 sess, but still is not entirely divested of interest, 

 passing over these in a great measure, we shall first 

 give some account of the appearance and characters 

 of the living elephant, without any distinctions as to 

 species, and then very briefly point out how the 

 Asiatic and the African differ from each other, and 

 how the northern or fossil elephant differs from both. 



Generally speaking, the skin of the elephant is of a 

 dusky black, with only a few hairs scattered over the 

 general surface ; but on the top of the head the hairs 

 are much closer, and about the same length as hogs' 

 bristles, to which indeed they bear no inconsiderable 

 resemblance. A very imperfect notion of the appear- 

 ance and texture of the skin of the elephant is obtained 

 from examining the specimens which are shut up in 

 menageries in this country, even in those places where 

 they are treated with the greatest kindness and care. 

 Their skin is invariably callous, and often apparently 

 chapped or cracked into pieces, which have little or 

 no sensibility. But when the animal is in good health 

 and in its proper climate, and at its freedom, the skin 

 is smooth and soft, and is probably almost as sensitive 

 to the bite, even of a small insect, as the thinnest skin 

 that can be imagined. When the animal is in this con- 

 dition, there is indeed a wonderful power in the mus- 

 cles of the skin, so that by the agitation of that alone 

 an elephant is often capable of shaking off a wild 

 beast. Tliere is another difference of appearance 

 between the elephant of the European shores and the 

 elephant in its native forests, which it is necessary to 

 attend to for the purpose of not being misled. The 

 confined elephant has the skin loose and wrinkled, 

 and apparently too big for it, whereas in a state of 

 nature the skin is comparatively tight, and there is 

 considerable plumpness in the appearance of the ani- 

 mal. It is probable that this difference, by means of 

 which the confined elephant shows to so little advan- 

 tage, is owing to the action of the colder climate on 

 the skin ; and this is another proof that the skin of 

 the elephant possesses a good deal of sensibility when 

 the animal is in proper health. This is indeed the 

 case with the greater number of the Pachydei mata, 

 which 'really have the skin more sensitive than many 

 of the thin-skinned animals ; and thus, in so far as 

 they are concerned, the usual associating of the 

 epithet " thick-skinned " with the fact of want of feel- 

 ing is incorrect. 



The head of the elephant appears rather small in 

 proportion to the size of the animal, but the form of 

 the outline (in the Asiatic elephant particularly, which 

 has the front-line nearly straight,) gives it an expres- 

 sion of intelligence. The eye adds considerably to 

 this expression ; for though very small in proportion 

 to the s-ize of the animal, it is bright and expressive. 

 The ears are large and pendulous, though smaller in 

 the Asiatic than in the African. The body is thick 

 in proportion to its length and considerably arched in 

 the line of the back, which gives the animal great 

 strength in carrying. The legs are also very stout 

 and massy. The feet are not divided into toes ex- 

 ternally visible ; but there are five short flat nails on 

 each of the fore-feet, and four on each of the hind 



ones. The feet and legs, though apparently stiff and 

 awkward, are not so in reality. The fore-foot can 

 be used with considerable adroitness as a sort of 

 hand, in conjunction with the trunk, and both feet 

 are used in stamping the enemies of the animal to 

 death. The tail is slender and nearly naked for the 

 greater part of its length ; but it has a thick brush at 

 the point, which, in the healthy animal, reaches nearly 

 to the ground. 



In size, elephants differ considerably ; but when 

 full grown they are rarely less than seven feet in 

 height at the shoulders, or more than twelve. When 

 they are below seven feet they are not considered fit 

 for hard service, and none are purchased for the use 

 of the British army in India, which do not stand this 

 measure. The females, which are the most docile, 

 are very seldom above eight feet ; but the males are 

 often considerably more. The following are the 

 dimensions of a male measured in India, which was 

 considered to have attained its utmost growth : from 

 the line of the forehead to the insertion of the tail, 

 fifteen feet eleven inches ; perpendicular height at the 

 shoulder, ten feet and a half; measure across the 

 shoulders from the ground on the one side to the 

 same on the other, twenty-two feet two inches and a 

 half; and height of the crown of the head from the 

 ground, set up as it is when the animal inarches in 

 state, twelve feet two inches. As the proportions of 

 these measures to each other may be considered as 

 pretty constant in adult elephants of all sizes, they 

 will serve to give a general notion of the form of the 

 animal. 



The most singular organ in the elephant, and the 

 one which most distinguishes it from all other living 

 animals, is the proboscis or trunk, which, though one 

 would not be apt to believe so from seeing it in a 

 state of repose, is probably, the human hand only ex- 

 cepted, the most curious mechanical instrument in the 

 whole animal kingdom. This proboscis is an ex- 

 tension of the snout of the animal, of a tapering or 

 subconical form, and sometimes as much as ei.uht 

 feet in length. The two perforations in it, which 

 answer the purpose of nostrils, can draw in water, 

 or spout it to a considerable distance ; and as the 

 elephant cannot drink directly with the mouth, unless 

 when immersed in water as far as the opening, the 

 trunk answers the purpose of a drinking horn, as the 

 animal can suck it full, and then, elevating the head 

 and the basal part, and recurving the extremity down- 

 wards and inwards, blow the whole contents into the 

 mouth. The extremity of the proboscis is on the 

 upper side formed into a sort of rounded lip, which 

 bears some analogy to the fingers of a hand, while 

 the underside terminates in a single elongated tuber- 

 cle, which has the same analogy to a thumb. The 

 body of the trunk is made up of an immense number 

 of muscles with their tendons, amounting in all to 

 not less than four thousand, which is considerably 

 greater than the number in the whole human body. 

 Those muscles have their insertions in the external 

 and internal coverings of the trunk ; and they lie in 

 a great variety of directions, some longitudinal, some 

 nearly circular, and some oblique. The variety of 

 motions which may result from the union of so many 

 moving forces, so differently placed with regard to 

 each other, and of which we may suppose, any num- 

 ber, from one to the whole, capable of moving at one 

 time, is far greater than any ordinary arithmetic can 

 sura up. The most powerful motion of the trunk 13 



