260 WILD ANIMALS. 



Tennent ' came to the conclusion that they were useless appendages 

 to an elephant, and even of little service for offence ; this opinion 

 has, however, been contradicted, and the fact proved that they 

 rank among the most formidable weapons with which nature has 

 furnished any of her creatures, and none are employed with more 

 address. They can be used almost at any angle, and in a herd of 

 elephants the tuskers maintain the height of discipline. " Every 

 individual gives way before them," writes Mr. Sanderson, " and 

 in serious fights amongst themselves one or other is frequently 

 killed outright. So great is the dread entertained by all elephants 

 of a tusker, that our staunchest tame females shrank if any of the 

 tame tuskers turned suddenly in their direction. Superiority in a 

 herd appears to attach to the different tuskers in proportion to 

 the size of their tusks ; no tusker thinks of serious rivalry with 

 one of heavier calibre than himself." 



The domesticated animal uses his tusks in various ways, such as 

 the lifting of weights, carrying timber, piling stones, &c., and the 

 strength they possess can be imagined when it is stated that a 

 powerful animal will carry upon them a log weighing half a ton or 

 more. 



Although lions are frequently alluded to in the Bible, and 

 the Psalmist describes their habits accurately, yet, strange to 

 say, no mention is made of elephants, although ivory is often 

 spoken of, and we learn therein that Solomon in all his glory 

 deemed it no unworthy material for his throne. Ahab built a 

 palace of it, and the Phoenicians of Tyre, those merchant princes 

 of antiquity, had their couches made of it. The Assyrians used 

 it for works of art and for their ornaments, and the specimens 

 brought to light by Layard, which are to be seen in the British 

 Museum, elicit admiration for their skill and beauty, even when 

 compared by the standard of the present day. The Romans used 

 ivory and the Greeks delighted in employing it. At the hands 

 of their sculptor Phidias, it was converted into a statue of 

 Olympian Jupiter, the masterpiece of his productions and one 

 of the wonders of the world. The exposed parts of the figure 

 were of ivory and the drapery of gold. The god was seated on a 



3 "The Elephant." 



