181 



CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



afterwards of " beuehe.-. MIH! horus"* of the siinu; substance, as it formed part of the merchandise of 

 " the proud city" of Tyre. 



The Israelites, however, were most likely unacquainted with the animal itself, until its introduc- 

 tion, at a hit IT |>eriil, into the armies of Greece and Rome, when its use in the wars of neighbouring 

 nation* must have rendered it, in some degree, familiar. 



Haifa century after the death of Alexander, in the battle of Heniclea (li.c. 280), were 



"Cuirassiers all in steel for standing tight, 

 Chariots, and elephants indorsed with towers 

 Of archers." 



It is stated in the history of the Maccabees, that in the army of Antiochus " to every elephant they 

 appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of mail, and five hundred horsemen of the best ; these 

 were ready on every occasion ; wherever the beast was, and whithersoever he went, they went also ; 

 and upon the elephants were strong towers of wood, filled with armed men, besides the Indian that 

 mled them." 



Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants, considering them indispensable to the conduct of the 

 war; and when they perished he was supplied with large reinforcements from Carthage. At the 

 battle of Canute (B.C. 216), the incidents occurred which are thus given by Siluis Italicus : 



" The yet prevailing Roman, to withstand 

 The fury of these monsters, gives command 

 That burning torches, wheresoe'er they go, 

 Should be opposed, and sulph'rous Barnes to throw 

 Into their towers. This, with all speed, obey'd, 

 The elephants they suddenly invade ; 

 Whose smoking backs with flames collected ahined, 

 That, driven on by the tempestuous wind, 

 Through their high bulwarks fire devouring spread, 

 As when on Rhodope or Pindus' head 

 A shepherd scatters fire, and through the groves 

 And woods, like a hot plague, it raging moves, 

 The Irafy rocks are fired, and all the hills, 

 Leaping now here, now there, bright Vulcan fills. 



In stately show these animals bore a conspicuous part ; 



But when the burning sulphur once begun 

 To parch their skins, th' unruly monsters run 

 Like mad, and drive the cohorts from their stand ; 

 Neither durst any undertake at hand 

 To fight them ; but their darts and javelins thruw 

 At distance : burning, they impatient grow, 

 And, through the heat of their vast bodies, here 

 And there, the flames increasing bear; 

 Till, by the smooth adjoining stream, at last 

 Dtceiv'd themselves, into 't they headlong cast ; 

 And with them all their flames, that still appear 

 'Bove the tall banki, till, both together, there, 

 }n the deep channel of the flood, expire " 



4< Trampling the snows 



The war-horse reared, and the towered elephant 

 Upturned his trunk into the murky sky." ' 



In the year 802 an elephant was sent to Charlemagne by Haroun Al Raschid, caliph of the Saracens. 



Milton has said : 



" The unwieldy elephant 



To make them mirth used all his might, and wrcalh'd 

 His lithe proboscis ;" 



and, according to ^Elian, the elephants of Germanicus were trained to take part in the per- 

 formances of the Roman theatre. On one occasion twelve 

 of the most sagacious and well-trained were selected, 

 who marched into the theatre with a regular step at 

 the voice of their keeper, sometimes in a circle, and 

 sometimes divided into parties, scattering flowers over 

 the pavement. The Romans, after this display, feasted 

 the elephants with prodigal luxury. Splendid couches 

 were placed in the arena, ornamented with paintings, 



and covered with tapestry. Before the couches, upon tables of ivory and cedar, was spread the 



banquet of the elephants, in vessels of gold and silver. 



On the preparations being completed, the twelve elephants marched in, six males clad in the 



IJiST LOWER TOOTH OF AN KLKFHAST OF SUMATRA. 



E/,ek. xxvii. C, 15. 



