WAR ELEPHANTS. 



275 



SECTION OF SKULL OF INDIAN ELEPHANT. 

 s, Air Sinuses; n, Nostrils; 6, Braiu; in, Molar; t, Tusk. 



four iron spikes, with ratasses and iron knobs. There are other chains with iron spikes and knobs, 

 hung under the throat and over the breasts, and others fastened to the trunk ; these are for ornament 

 and to frighten Horses. Pakher is a kind of steel armour that covers the body of the Elephant ; there 

 are other pieces of it for the head and proboscis." 



History informs us that when Tirnour, or Tamerlane, attacked the dominions of the Sultan 

 Mahmoud (A.D. 1399), the Elephants, of which the latter had a considerable number, caused great 

 terror and alarm ; and that the preparations made 

 by Timour to ovei*come the Elephants were of the 

 most extraordinary nature, for not only did he 

 surround his camp with a deep ditch and bucklers, 

 but also had Buffaloes tied together round the 

 ramparts, with huge bi-ambles on their heads, 

 which were to be set on fire at the approach of the 

 Elephants. The forces of the Sultan, besides the 

 Elephants, consisted of a large number of horse 

 and foot soldiers armed with swords and poisoned 

 daggers. Attendant upon the Elephants were men 

 armed with fire, melted pitch, and other horrid 

 missiles, to be hurled at the invaders. The Ele- 

 phants also, besides being armed, were decorated 

 with all sorts of articles, such as cymbals and bells, 

 and other objects likely to create a noise and con- 

 fusion. Notwithstanding all this terrific display, 

 Timour's forces fought with great courage, actually 

 defeating the Sultan's forces, and putting the 

 Elephants to flight, the unfortunate creatures 

 undergoing severe usage to their trunks by the 

 swordsmen, who appeared soon to find out the more vulnerable parts. It is said that the trunks of 

 many of the Elephants were left scattered on the battle-field, having been severed by the sword. The 

 belief in the invincibility of the Elephants was then for ever gone ; and it is even said of Timour's 

 grandson, then quite a boy, that he himself wounded an Elephant, and drove it in as a captive to his 

 grandfather's camp. 



We are told that in ancient times the number of Elephants annually brought from Africa to 

 Rome, to be trained for the cruel and disgusting practice of fighting in the theatre, was very great. 

 It is said of Ponipey that, at the dedication of his theatre, no less than five hundred Lions, eighteen 

 Elephants, and a number of armed men, were all at one time in the circus. In the second consulate 

 of Pompey (54 B.C.) Elephants were opposed, in the circus, to Getulian archers; and, according to 

 Pliny, this exhibition was characterised by some uncommon circumstances. One of the Elephants, 

 although furious from a wound, is recorded to have seized upon the shields of his adversaries, and to 

 have thrown them in the air with a peculiar movement, doubtless the effect of training, which caused 

 the shields to whirl round before their fall. It is also stated that an Elephant, having been killed by 

 a thrust of a javelin through the eye, the others rushed forward in a general charge to save him, and 

 that on their coming with terrific force against the iron railings, the latter gave way, and several 

 of the spectators were either injured or killed. On another occasion, when some Elephants, with other 

 wild animals, were fighting together in the arena, the spectators so compassionated the unfortunate 

 creatures, who were raising their trunks to heaven and roaring piteously, as if imploi-ing aid of the 

 gods, that they rose from their seats, and, disregarding Pompey's presence, demanded that the Elephants 

 might be spared. The destruction of Elephants in sport by the Romans, as well as the increased 

 demands of the ivory trade, have caused the African Elephants to disappear from those regions of 

 Northern Africa which they once inhabited. In the days of the Carthaginians, the animal was 

 found north of the Sahara, where at present it is unknown. 



The skull of the Elephant is remarkable for its great size, and the comparatively small cavity 

 occupied by the brain. The latter is small in comparison to the size of the animal, in bulk not much 



