THE ELEPHANT. 339 



ment is useful in most of the purposes of life ; 

 it is an organ of smelling, of touching, and of 

 suction ; it not only provides for the animal's 

 necessities and comforts, but it also serves for its 

 ornament and defence. 



But, though the elephant be thus admirably 

 supplied by its trunk, yet, with respect to the rest 

 of its conformation, it is unwieldy and helpless. 

 The neck is so short, that it can scarcely turn the 

 head, and must wheel round in order to discover 

 an enemy from behind. The hunters that attack 

 it upon that quarter, generally thus escape the 

 effects of its indignation ; and find time to renew 

 their assaults, while the elephant is turning to 

 face them. The legs are, indeed, not so inflexi- 

 ble as the neck, yet they are very stiff, and bend 

 not without difficulty. Those before seem to be 

 longer than the hinder ; but, upon being mea- 

 sured, are found to be something shorter. The 

 joints by which they bend are nearly in the mid- 

 dle, like the knee of a man ; and the great bulk 

 which they are to support makes their flexure 

 ungainly. While the elephant is young, it bends 

 the legs to lie down or to rise ; but when it grows 

 old, or sickly, this is not performed without hu- 

 man assistance ; and it becomes, consequently, so 

 inconvenient, that the animal chooses to sleep 

 standing. The feet upon which these massy 

 columns are supported, form a base scarcely 

 broader than the legs they sustain. They are 

 divided into five toes, which are covered beneath 

 the skin, and none of which appear to the eye ; 

 a kind of protuberance like claws are only ob- 



