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160 THE ELEPHANT. 



becomes completely tame, acquires an attachment for 

 the person who attends it, and thoroughly compre- 

 hends the different sounds of his voice. 



There was a time when the elephant in the East was 

 considered as one of the most valuable auxiliaries in the 

 time of war ; and in Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, and 

 Pegu, they are still highly estimated for their destructive 

 powers. When led into the field of battle, they are de- 

 fended with a coat of mail, and upon their back is erect- 

 ed a square tower which contains from five to seven 

 combatants, who, from their elevation, throw their 

 darts advantageously upon their foes. Upon the neck 

 fits the conductor, who drives the animal forward into 

 the thickest of the ranks, and encourages it by his voice 

 to increase the carnage. Wherever it goes, nothing can 

 withstand its fury ; it levels the ranks with its immense 

 bulk, fTings those who oppose it into the air, or crushes 

 them to death under its feet; yet this method of fight- 

 ing is rather more formidable than effectual, as, in the 

 dreadful scene of consternation, the animals sometimes 

 defy constraint, and, instead of turning their force 

 against their adversaries, run wildly amongst those 

 ranks they were intended to defend, destroying those 

 who venture to oppose their might. 



Although these animals * are most plentiful in Africa, 

 yet they seldom attain more than ten feet in height; arid 

 as they are always estimated according to their size, those 

 of Asia produce the highest price, as in that country they 



* Aristotle tells ns, that the elephant goes about two years with young, 

 never brings forth but one at a time, and continues to suckle it three 

 years : but as these animals were never known to breed in a state of sub- 

 jection, no positive reliance can be placed upon the account ; and it is 

 said to live two hundred years. 



