126 
ELEPHANT, 
the head, and must wheel round in order to dis- 
cover an enemy from behind. The hunters that 
attack it upon that quarter , generally thus escape 
the effects of. its indignation ; and find time to re- 
new their assaults while the elephant is turning to 
face them. The legs are, indeed, not so indexible 
as the neck, yet they are very stiff, and bend 
not without difficulty. Those before seem to be 
longer than the hinder ; but upon being measured, 
are found to be something shorter. The joints, 
by which they bend, are nearly in the middle, 
like the knee of a man; and the great bulk 
which they are to support makes their flexure 
ungainly. While the elephant is young, it bends 
the legs to lie down or to rise; but when it gfcovvs 
old or sickly, this is not performed w ithout human 
assistance ; and it becomes, consequently, so in- 
convenient, that the animal chooses to sleep stand- 
ing. The feet, upon which these massy columns 
are supported, form a base scarce broader than 
the legs they sustain. They are divided into five 
toes, which are covered beneath the skin, and 
none of which appear to tiny eye ; a kind of pro- 
tuberance like claws are only observed, which 
vary in number from three to five. The appa- 
rent claws vary ; the internal toes arc constantly 
the same. The sole of the foot is furnished with 
a skin as thick and hard as horn, and which com- 
pletely covers the whole under part of the foot. 
To the rest of the elephant's incumbrances may 
be added its enormous tusks, which are unservice- 
able for chewing, and are only weapons of de- 
fence. These, as the animal grows old, become 
so heavy, that it is sometimes obliged to make 
holes in the walls of its stall to rest them in, and 
ease itself of the fatigue of their support. It is 
well known to what an amazing size these tusks 
grow ; they are two in number, proceeding from 
