Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/907

* ELEPHANT. 789 ELEPHANT. AiRlc.x Elepii.xt. This species [Elephos Alricaiiiisl is coiilined to Africa, iiiul until the settlement of !Soulh and East Africa during the last half of the nineteenth century it ranged over every part of the continent south of the Sahara and Xile deserts, in surprising abundance. It disappeared south nf the Zaniliezi and from near the coast as the century closed, but throughout t!ie equatorial regions it is still numerous and is likely to remain in fair iiunibcrs, as European governnents have agreed ujion various laws, in- cluding a close season for females, and an ex- port duty on the tusks, by which it is hoped to prevent rapid extermination. This species is frequently 10 feet in height, the males surpass- ing the average height of the Asiatic species, but the females are smaller. Both sexes have tusks, a fact which contributes to the diminution of the species, as the females are as liable as the males to be killed for the sake of their ivory. The crowns of the molar teeth exhibit a lozenge pattern of grinding surfaces and the teeth differ in structure from those of the Indian elephant. There are but three toes on the hind feet. This elephant was familiar to the ancient Egyptians, and is believed to have been used by them in war at an early period. Those which Hannibal took with him upon his famous expedi- tion against Kome are presumed, rather than known, to have been of this kind, but pos- sibly were Asiatic. At any rate African ele- phants were never, or very rarely, seen in Europe from the show days of Imperial Rome until about 1800, since which perlyips 100 have been taken there alive, nearly all of which soon died of disease. There seems to be no reason •why the African elephant may not be tamed and educated as well as the Asiatic species. That the African savages, who frequently might cap- ture calves, do not rear them is to be explained not only by the animal's uselessness to them, but by the impossibility, in the case of most tribes, of keeping the calf alive until it is able to quit a milk diet and live upon grass and leaves. This elephant, then, is of service to mankind only as the source of nearly all the living ivory that conies to the market. Asi.Tic Elephant. The more familiar Indian elephant is prominently distinguished from the African by having a rather high, oblong head with a concave forthcad, ears hardly more than half as large, and the eye smaller. Tusks are present only in the males and are only about half as large or heavy as African tusks; and the molar teeth are different. There are four and sometimes five toes on the hind feet, and the trunk terminates in the flexible finger like pro- longation already described. 1 tie height of tlie average male is about feet, and of the average female about 8 feet, weighing from 2 to 3 tons: but specimens exceeding 10 feet in height are not very rare. They become fully grown at the age of twenty-five, but their teeth do not show- complete maturity until some years later. Sev- eral captive specimens have been known to live a century, and it seems likely that in a wild state they may sometimes reach an age of 150 years. Their distribution is somewhat less ex- tensive than formerly, hut the species ranges at the present day through the forested regions from Ceylon, the western Ohats. and Himalayan foot- hills eastward to Cochin China and southward to Sumatra and Borneo; but Blanford believes that their presence in Borneo may be due to human agency. They keep to the shady forests, rarely showing themselves in the open except at night or on cloudy or rainy days, for they soon feel great distress from exposure to the sun. Kliphants breed not rarely in a state of domes- ticalion, although where owned for breeding pur- poses, as m Siam. the studs are kept up by the capture and addition of new individuals. They are generally tamed within a few months after they are captured; some degree of severity being employed at first, which, however, as soon as the animal has begun to respect the power of man, is exchanged for kindness and gentleness of treatment. Elephants intended for domestica- tion are captured in various ways. It was for- merly common to take them in pitfalls, but in this way they were often much injured. Another method frequently practiced is by the aid of tame elephants. Male elephants chiefly are cap- tured in this way, the decoy elephants employed being females, trained for the purpose. With these the hunters very cautiously a|)proaeh the animal they mean to capture. Two of the fe- males take their places, one on each side of him, while the men contrive to get beneath their bodies, and to pass ropes round the legs of the intended captive. His two hind legs are fastened together by six or eight ropes, another rope keeping them tight at the intersections, and a strong cable with a running noose is attached to each hind leg. About twenty minutes are usually spent in fixing the necessary ropes, pro- found silence being maintained if the process goes on unobserved, or some of the other hunters distracting the attention of the elephant from those who are engaged in this work ; and when at last, becoming sensible of his danger, he tries to retreat, nn opportunity is soon found of tying him, by means of the long cables which trail be- hind him, to some tree strong enough for the purpose. His fury then becomes ungovernable, and it is not until he has thoroughly exhausted himself, and begins to suffer severely from fatigue, thirst, and hunger, that the next steps are taken toward taming him. But these huge animals are not always cap- tured singly; whole herds are often taken at once. This is accomplished by means of an in- closure, toward which the elephants are driven by great numbers of men encircling a consider- able space, and contracting the circle by slow degrees. Weeks, or even months, are spent in this operation, and at last the elephants, hemmed in on every side except the mouth of the in- closure, enter' it. and the gate is immediately closed. The modes of constructing the inelosure are different in different parts of the East. Tame elephants are sometimes sent into it. and the captives are is succession made fast to trees there, in a way somewhat similar to that prac- ticed in capturing single elephants. These elephants first became known in Europe from their employment in the wars of the East. They have been taught to cut and thrust with a kind of scimitar carried in the trunk, and it was formerly usual for them to be sent into battle, covered with armor, and bearing towers on their backs, which contained warriors. But the prin- cipal use of the elephant in war is for carrying baggage and for dragging guns. Elephants are used in the East for carrying persons on their backs, a number being seated together in a