xxvii, 15), carried luxury so far as to make the row- ers' benches of their ships of boxwood inlaid with ivory. For the estimation in which ivory was an- ciently held, and its various uses among the Greeks and Romans, see Hej'ne, Antiquar. Aufs. ii, 149 sq. (also in the Nov. commentatt. Soc. Goetting. I, ii, 96 sq.); Schlegel, ut sup. p. 137 sq. ; Kype, Observe, ii, 461 sq. ; Miiller, Archdol. p. 418 sq. ; Bottiger, Ar- chliol. Andeut. i, 1'08 sq. Solomon brought it by sea from Ophir (1 Kings x, 22 ; comp. ver. 11). — Winer, i, 315.
Asiatic KlepUant.
The animals of this genus consist at present of two very distinct species, one a native of Southern Asia, once spread considerably to the westward of the Up- per Indus, and the other occupying southern iind mid- dle Africa to the edge of the great Sahara. In a fossil state, however, there are six more species clearly dis- tinguished. The elephant is the largest of all teiTes- trial animals, sometimes attaining above eleven feet of vertical height at the shoulders, and weighing from five to seven thousand pounds : he is of a black or slaty-ash color, and almost destitute of hair. The head, which is proportionabh' I'lrg^) is provided with two broad pendulous ears, particularlj' in those of the African species, which are occasionally six feet in length. This species has also two molar teeth on each side of the jaw, both above and below, and only three toe-nails on each of the hind feet, whereas the Asiatic species is provided with only one tooth on each side above and below, and, though both have tusks or de- fences, the last mentioned has them confined solel}' to the males : they are never of more than 70 pounds in weight, often much less, and in some breeds even to- tally wanting ; while in the African both sexes are armed with tusks, and in the males they have been known seven feet in length, and weighing above 150 pounds each. The forehead of the African is low, that of the Asiatic high ; in both the eyes are compar- ativel}' small, with a malevolent expression, and on the temples are pores which exude a viscous humor ; the tail is long, hanging nearly to the heels, and dis- tichous at the end. But the most remarkable organ of the elephant, that which equalh' enables the animal to reach the ground and to grasp branches of trees at a considerable height, is the proboscis or trunk — a cylindrical elastic instrument, in ordinary condition reaching nearly down to the ground, but contractile to two thirds of its usual length, and extensile to one third bej'ond it; provided with nearly 4000 muscles crossing each other in such a manner that the probos- cis is flexilile in everj^ direction, and so abundantly supplied with nerves as to render the organ one of the most delicate in nature. Within is the double canal of the nostrils, and at the terminal opening a finger- like process, with which the animal can take up very minute objects and grasp others, even to a writing
ELEPHANT
134 ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES
pen, ami mark paper with it. By means of the pro- | boscis tlie elepliiiiit has a jjower of suction capable of ; raising neatly 200 pounds' weight; and with tliis in- strument he gathers food from trees and from the earth, draws up drink to scjuirt it down his throat, draws corks, unties small knots, and performs num- berless other minute operations; and, if necessary, tears down branches of trees more than five inches in diameter with no less dexterity than strength. The g;iit of an elephant is an enormous stride, performed witli his higli and ponderous legs, and sufficiently rap- id to re(iuire brisk galloping on horseback to outstrip him. Elephants are peaceable towards all inoffensive animals; sociable among tliemselves, and ready to help each other; gregarious in grassy plains, but more inclined to frequent densely-wooded mountain glens ; at times not unwilling to visit the more arid wastes, but fond of rivers and pools, where they wallow in mud and water among reeds and under the shade of trees. They are most assuredly more sagacious than observers, who, from a few visits to menageries, com- pare them with dogs, are able to appreciate, for on this question we must take into account, on the one hand, the physical advantages of the proboscis added to the individual experience gained by an animal slow in gro^^ th, and of a longevity exceeding a century, but still placed in contact with man after a birth free in every sense, where his powers expand without human education ; while, on the other hand, dogs are the off- spring of an immense number of generations, all fash- ioned to the will of a master, and consequently with innate dispositions to acquire a certain education. In Griffith's Cuvier are found several anecdotes illustra- ting the sagacity of these animals, to which we shall add only a single one, related by the late Captain Hobson, 1!.N., as observed by himself at Travancore, where several of these animals were employed in stacking teak-timber balk. Thej' had scarcely any human aid or direction, but each beam being successive!}' noosed and slung, they dragged it to the stack, raised one end up, contrived to shove it forward, nicely watching when, lieing poised by its own weight, the lower end would rise, and then, placing their forelieads against the butt end, they pushed it even on the stack ; the sling they unfastened and carried back to have it fit- ted again. In a wild state no other animal has the sagacity to break off a leaf}' branch, hold it as a fan, and use it as a brush to drive away Hies.