56 EXAGGERATIONS IlV MEASURENG ELEPHANTS. 



Government animals in Bengal. His paper on the elephant was read before 

 the Eoyal Society in 1799. 



"During the war with Tippoo Sultan, of the 150 elephants imder the 

 management of Captain Sandys, not one was 10 feet high, and only a few 

 males 9-^- feet high. ]\Ir Corse was very particular in ascertaining the height 

 of the elephants used at ]\Iadras, and with the army under Marquis Corn- 

 wallis, wliere there were both Bengal and Ce}'lon elephants, and he was 

 assured that those of Ceylon were neither higher nor superior to those of 

 Bengal." 



" The Madras elephants have been said to be from 17 to 20 feet high. 

 Now let us see how dimensions shrink before the severity of measurement. 

 Mr Corse hea^d from several gentlemen who had been at Dacca that the 

 Nabob there had an elephant about 14 feet high. Mr Corse was desirous 

 to measure him, especially as he had seen tlie elephant often at a former 

 period, and then supposed him to be 12 feet high. He accordingly went 

 to Dacca. At first he sent for the mahout or driver, wlio without liesita- 

 tion assured him that the elephant was from 10 to 12 cubits — that is, from 

 15 to 18 feet high. Mr Corse measured the elephant exactly, and was 

 rather surprised to find that the animal did not exceed 10 feet in height." 



Twice round an elephant's foot is his height, within one or two inches ; 

 more frequently it is exactly so. Persons unacquainted with elephants not 

 imfrequently guess from ten to fifteen times round the foot as the height. 

 As the diameter of a large male elephant's foot is 18 inches, ten circum- 

 ferences would make his height 47 feet. 



The height of African elephants is greater than that of Asiatic elephants, 

 both in the males and females. Sir Samuel Baker, in his Nile Tributaries 

 of Ahijssinia, says both sexes average about one foot taller than the 

 Asiatic elephant. 



The age to which the elephant lives is, as must ever be the case with 

 denizens of the jungle, uncertain. The general opinion of experienced 

 natives is that it attains 120 years in exceptional cases, but more generally 

 to about 80 years. This view, however, is based on observations of 

 elephants in captivity ; under the more favourable conditions of a natural 

 life the elephant must attain a greater age than when confined. My own 

 opinion is that the elephant attains at least to 150 years. 



One of the best instances I have seen from which to form conclusions 

 is the case of a female elephant, Blieemruttee, belonging to his Higlniess 

 the Mahari'ijah of ]\Iysore. This elephant was ca})tured in Cooi'g in 1805, 



