APPENDIX. 203 



ving it ever was accomplished. Tractable as the elephant, 

 is, the Abyffinians never either tamed or inftructed him ; 

 they never made ufe of beafts in war, nor would their coun- 

 try permit this training ; fo much the contrary, as we have 

 already feen, that Ptolemy Philadelphus, and his fuccefTor 

 Ptolemy Evergetes, did every thing in their power to per- 

 fuade them to take the elephant alive, that they might tame 

 them; but, as he was a principal part of their food, they never 

 could fucceed; and the latter prince, for this very purpofe, 

 made an expedition into Abyflinia,and was obliged to extir- 

 pate thefe huntersjand fettle in|their place a colonyof his own 

 at Arkeeko near Mafuah, which he called Ptolemais Theron 

 for that very reafon ; after which, he himfelf tells us in the 

 longGreek inscription he left in thekingdom of Adel, that he 

 had fucceeded fo far, by means of his colony of Greeks, as to 

 train the Ethiopic elephant foas to make him fuperior tothofe 

 in India; but this he couldneverdo by employing Abyffinians. 



It is a general observation made in every part where 

 this animal refides, that he is indocile, and wants talents ; 

 his fiercenefs may be conquered, and we fee, with a moderate 

 degree of attention, he is brought to be quiet enough ; but 

 it is one thing to tame or conquer his fiercenefs, and ano- 

 ther to make him capable of inftruction ; and it feems ap- 

 parently allowed to be his cafe, that he has not capacity. A 

 Heady, uniform fiercenefs in the brute creation, is to be fub- 

 dued by care and by hunger, this is not the cafe with 

 him, his violent tranfports of fury upon being hungry, or 

 not being ferved in the inftant with food, feems to bar this 

 manner of taming him. His behaviour is not that of any 

 other animal ; his revenge and fury are directed as much 

 againft himfelf as againit an enemy ; he knocks his head 



againffc 



