172 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



phant has been of little ufe in deciding the contefts of 

 hoftile nations ; for, being terrified with the flafli of the 

 powder, and the report that immediately fucceeds, they 

 are foon thrown into confufion, and then become dan- 

 gerous to their employers. — They are now chiefly ufed 

 for the purpofes of labour or magnificent parade. 



The Indian princes, in their travels, are attended by 

 hundreds of thefe animals : Some are employed to con- 

 vey the ladies which compofe the feraglio, in latticed 

 cages made for that purpofe, and covered with branches 

 of trees ; whilfl others tranfport immenfe quantities of 

 baggage, with which the fovereigns of the Eaft are al- 

 ways accompanied in their marches from one place to 

 another. — They are likewife made ufe of as the dreadful 

 inftruments of executing condemned criminals — a talk 

 which they perform with great dexterity. At the word 

 of command, they break the limbs, of the criminal with 

 their trunks; they fometimes trample him to death, or 

 impale him on their enormous tulks, juft as they are di- 

 rected by their more barbarous keeper. 



It is a fingular circumftance in the hiftory of this ex- 

 traordinary animal, that, in a ftate of fubjection, it is 

 unalterably barren ; and, though it has been reduced un- 

 der the dominion of man for ages, it has never been 

 known to breed, — as if it had a proper fenfe of its de- 

 graded condition, and obftinately refufed to increafe the 

 pride and power of its conqueror, by propagating a race 

 of flaves. It therefore follows, that of all the numerous 

 bands of Elephants that are trained to fervjce, there is 

 not one that has not been originally wild, nor one that 

 has not been forced into a ftate of fubje&ion. To re- 

 cruit, therefore, the numbers that are unavoidably con- 

 fumed by difeafe, accident, or age, the eaftern princes 



