W6 HISVORY OF 



drinking sonne have been led into an opinion that the young eie- 

 phant sucks with its trunk, and not with its mouth ; this, how- 

 ever, is a fact which no traveller has hitherto had an opportunity 

 of seeing, and it must be referred to some future accident to de- 

 termine,' 



The hide of the elephant is as remarkable as any other part. 

 It is not covered over with hair, as in the generality of quadru- 

 peds, but is nearly bare. Here and there indeed a few bristles 

 are seen growing in the scars and wrinkles of the body, but very 

 thinly scattered over the rest of the skin ; but in general the 

 head is dry, rough, and wrinkled, and resembling more the bark 

 of an old tree than the skin of an animal. This grows thicker 

 every year; and by a constant addition of substance, it at length 

 contracts that disorder well known by the name of elephantiasis, 

 or Arabian leprosy ; a disease to which man, as well as the ele- 

 pliant, is often subject. In order to prevent this, the Indians 

 rub the elephant with oil, and frequently bathe it, to preserve its 

 pliancy. To the inconveniencies of this disorder is added an- 

 other, arising from the great sensibility of those parts that are 

 not callous. Upon these the flies settle in great abundance, 

 and torment this animal unceasingly ; to remedy which, the ele- 

 phant tries all its arts ; using not only its tail and trunk in the 

 natural manner to keep them off, but even takes the branch of 

 a tree, or a bundle of hay to strike them oif with. When this 

 fails, it often gathers up the dust with its trunk, and thus covers 

 all the sensible places. In this manner it has been seen to dust 

 itself several times a-day, and particularly upon leaving the bath. 

 Water is as necessary to this animal as food itself. When in a 

 state of nature, the elephant rarely quits the banks of the river, 

 and often stands in water up to the belly. In a state of servi- 

 tude, the Indians take equal care to provide a proper supply ; 

 they wash it with great address; they give it all the conveni- 

 cncies for lending assistance to itself; they smooth the skin 

 with a pumice-Stone, and then rub it over with oils, essences, 

 and odours. 



It is not to be wondered at, that an animal furnished with so 



) The young elephant., it is now known, does not suek by the trunk, but 

 by tlie month only as in all other quadrupeds ; durinj^ winch the tiiiuk of 

 thf yoimy^ is thrown bark over the head. 



