466 
E L E P H A S. 
weight of their bones, was necefiary to the elephant, in 
order to lighten its head, which would have othervvife 
been much more heavy than the animal could have been 
able to fupport.” 
What ha; been here dated of the procefs of dentition 
in the elephant, we have endeavoured to illudrate by the 
annexed Engraving. Fig. i, reprefents the deciduous or 
milk grinder , worn down to the fangs, with the action of 
abforption or decay going on both in the fang and body 
of the grinder. Where the abforption has taken place, 
the grinders and roots have a rough ulcerated appearance. 
Fig. 2, is intended to reprefent a deciduous or milk 
tu/Ii of an elephant, with the procefs of abforption or de¬ 
cay taking place in the fang of the tufk, in order to its 
being died. A, the deciduous tufk, projefting from its 
focket. 8, the middle of the tufk, where the decay has 
commenced. C, the crooked fang, which mud be ab- 
forbed, before the body of the deciduous tufk can be 
died, to make way for the permanent one. D, the fmai) 
rounded cavity, which is the incipient focket for the per¬ 
manent tufk, which is now to take place. 
Fig. 3, exhibits the fird and fecond grinders in the 
lower jaw ; A, is the anterior or milk grinder, reprefented 
above; this is feen to confift of four laminae ; and as this 
is abforbed, the others come forward to fupply its place. 
B B, the two fangs not yet full grown, but being dill hol¬ 
low at the points. C C, the fecond grinder, confiding of 
nine teeth. D, the fang common to the three anterior 
ones, partly formed. E, the hony lamellae or incipient 
roots, partly added to the next three teeth. F, the three 
poderior teeth or laminae, jud beginning to unite. 
Fig. 4, diews the inferior parts of the grinder in the 
lowdr jaw, and the manner in which each tooth or lamina is 
joined to the one next it. The three anterior teeth are 
completely joined to each other, and are partly feen within 
their common fang ; but the jundfion of the three pof- 
terior ones is not complete, except at the centre. The 
roots of thefe, at the lower part, are beginning to be 
formed ; but, anteriorly, are farther advanced, and join 
the fang common to the three foremod teeth, as being 
fird to cotne into ufe. A A, the nine teeth of which the 
grinder is compofed. B, the three anterior teeth, com¬ 
pletely joined to each other. C, three of the poderior 
teeth, where the union is completed only in the middle. 
D D, the fpace between the lamellae of the feparate teeth, 
where they are approaching to join each other, and cover 
the enamel. EEE, the centres of the different teeth, 
which will afterwards be filled up, as the oflification of 
the fangs advances. 
Fig. 5, diews the grinder of the lower jaw in its ma¬ 
tured date, and reprefents the gradual mode in which one 
fet or cafe of teeth fucceeds another, in proportion as the 
anterior ones are worn away and abforbed. F F, diews 
the uneven furface of the grinder, with the enamel fur¬ 
rounding the bony matter of each tooth which has cut 
the gum, and come into ufe. GG, the fluted appearance 
of the grinder, by the junction of the different teeth of 
which it is compofed. 
Fig.'6, reprefents a grinder of the upper jaw, worn 
away almoft to the fangs, even at the poderior part: the 
anterior part completely worn away, and great part of 
the roots and their alveolar proceffes abforbed. In this 
grinder, the indented puckered form of the enamel is 
finely (hewn, and alfo its ribbed furface. Of the three 
teeth of the lucceeding grinder, which had lad cut the 
gum, the aftermod tooth thews eight denticuli or points, 
each furrounded with its proper enamel: the ne.xt diews 
five denticuli; but the anterior tooth of this grinder has 
the centre completely furrounded with enamel. The 
appearance of this grinder is very happily reprefented ; 
the poderior teeth neared the gum being covered with a 
whitilh bony crud above the enamel; but, nearer the 
roots, they are not yet joined together. H H, the alveolar 
procelfes, which proceed from the alveolus, between the 
>oots of the grinders. I, the fmooth bony furface of the 
three anterior layers of the grinder, without enamel, 
which has been completely-worn away. KKK, the ena¬ 
mel of the dilferent teeth, ftirrounding their bony cen¬ 
tres. LLL, the centres of the teeth of which a grinder 
is compofed. MM, the bony matter which joins the 
teeth to each other. N N, the denticuli or points of the 
teeth, before they are much worn down ; each point fur¬ 
rounded with its proper enamel. 
There is an obvious variation between the teeth of the 
African and Afiatic elephants. In the African elephant, 
the procelfes of which the tooth is compofed are not Rat¬ 
tened ovals, as in the Afiatic, but are in the form of an 
oblong fquare or parallelopipedon, fo that, in the middle 
line of the tooth, the procelfes are in contaft with each 
other, although at no other part; by this means, the mid¬ 
dle line of the tooth is the harded ; the whole furface 
therefore does not wear regularly, as in the Afiatic ele¬ 
phant, but with a ridge in the middle. To fhew the true 
lhape of each procefs, it is necelfary that the points fiiould 
be worn down to fome depth, as reprefented in the grinder 
of an African elephant, at fig. 7, where indeed this is 
only the cafe with the four larged; the other three, 
which are lefs worn, (hew the different thickneffes of the 
procelfes, nearer their termination on the tipper furface 
of the tooth, having not been brought fo much into ufe. 
I11 remote ages great pains were taken in taming ele¬ 
phants for war. When Alexander penetrated into In¬ 
dia, the natives oppofed him upon the tame elephants, 
which they had trained to military difeipiine. The ma- 
jedic elephant, on which Porus rode in his battle with 
Alexander, difplayed a drong attachment to his niader. 
When the Indian monarch, exhauded with fatigue, and 
covered with wounds, obdinately refufed to retire or 
yield himfelf a prifoner, and the Grecian foldiers prefled 
hard upon him, his elephant dill obeyed his direction ; 
and, though all his companions had fled, he dill defend¬ 
ed, his mailer, and attacked thole who approached againft 
him, with firm and ardent courage. The Greeks, who 
at fird beheld the elephant with terror, after triumphing 
over the nations of the ead, introduced them into their 
own armies. Either a part of thofe very elephants which 
Alexander had brought from India, or others introduced 
foon after into Greece, were carried by Pyrrhus.into Italy, 
when he went to oppofe the Romans. His elephants, 
with the Macedonian tadtics, rendered him, at fird, no 
unequal match to the warriors of Rome. But Roman 
difeipiine, and Roman magnanimity, foon triumphed over 
liis military dull, and his gigantic cavalry. The Cartha¬ 
ginians, as well as Pyrrhus, found them but weak aids 
againlt Roman valour. Elephants were often after that 
exhibited at Rome. In the circus they were at fird 
driven about, and (lain with darts. They were after¬ 
wards oppofed to bulls, and to the rhinoceros. Pliny 
relates that a number of elephants, exhibited in the cir¬ 
cus by Pompey, when they found themfelves dedined to 
immediate death, made a vigorous, but inefteftual, ef¬ 
fort to break through the iron railing in which they were 
inclofed : frullrated in the attempt, they, with a wailing 
tone, and, in a fuppliant podure, feemed to implore the 
compafiion of the (peftators : and fo impulfively were the 
whole people faid to be attested with the didrefs and the 
fe'nfibility (hewn by thofe majefiic animals, that they with 
one affent arole, and imprecated dedrudtion on the head 
of the magnificent general vyho had entertained them with 
fuch an affecting Ipectacle; imprecations, fays the hifto- 
rian, which foon after took eftedt. 
The fuccelfors of Alexander appear to have long con¬ 
tinued the ufe of elephants in their armies. One of the 
brave Jewilh brothers, the Maccabees, terminated his 
life in a glorious manner, by piercing the belly of an ele¬ 
phant, in the army of one of thofe monarchs fighting 
againlt his countrymen, with a deadly wound, and lufier- 
ing himfelf to be crulhed-to death under the falling mafs. 
Elephants trained to war among the Greeks, had turrets 
raifed on their backs, from which troops of armed men 
annoyed 
