Book VIII. The Nature of the Terrestrial Animals.

Chaps. 1-9.

Chap. 1. (1.)—Elephants; Their Capacity.

Let us now pass on to the other animals, and first of all to the land animals. The elephant is the largest of them all, and in intelligence approaches the nearest to man. It understands the language of its country, it obeys commands, and it remembers all the duties which it has been taught. It is sensible alike of the pleasures of love and glory, and, to a degree that is rare among men even, possesses notions of honesty, prudence, and equity; it has a religious respect also for the stars, and a veneration for the sun and the moon. [Cuvier remarks, that this account of its superior intelligence is exaggerated, it being no greater than that of the dog, if, indeed, equal to it. The opinion may perhaps have arisen from the dexterity with which the animal uses its trunk; but this is to be ascribed not to its own intelligence, but to the mechanical construction of the part. The Indians, from whom we may presume that Pliny derived his account, have always regarded the elephant with a kind of superstitious veneration.—B.] It is said by some authors, that, at the first appearance of the new moon, herds of these animals come down from the forests of Mauritania to a river, the name of which is Amilo; [Some would read this “Amilo,” and others “Annulo.” Hardouin considers it the same with the river Valo, which is mentioned by Ptolemy, B. iv. c. 1, and said to have its rise in the mountains known as the Seven Brothers, and mentioned in B. v. c. 1.] and that they there purify themselves in solemn form by sprinkling their bodies with water; after which, having thus saluted the heavenly body, they return to the woods, carrying before them [“Præ se ferentes,” probably alluding to the use which the animal makes of its trunk in seizing and carrying bodies.—B.] the young ones which are fatigued. They are supposed to have a notion, too, of the differences of religion; [“Alienæ religionis.” The meaning of this is doubtful. It may mean “differences in religion,” or “religious feeling in others,” or perhaps, to judge from the context, “the religious regard for their oath which others feel.”] and when about to cross the sea, they cannot be prevailed upon to go on board the ship, until their keeper has promised upon oath that they shall return home again. They have been seen, too, when worn out by disease, (for even these vast masses are liable to disease,) lying on their back, and throwing the grass up into the air, as if deputing the earth to intercede for them with its prayers. [“Veluti tellure precibus alligata,” one of the harsh metaphorical expressions occasionally occurring in Pliny, which it is very difficult to translate, and even perhaps fully to comprehend.—B.] As a proof of their extreme docility, they pay homage to the king, fall upon their knees, and offer him the crown. Those of smaller growth, which the Indians call bastards, [“Nothi.”] are employed by them in ploughing. [Cuvier remarks, that there are two kinds of elephants, one of which attains sixteen feet, and is chiefly known in Cochin China and Tonquin, while those that are domesticated in India are seldom more than half that height. They are supposed, however, to be only varieties of the same species. Pliny, in B. vi. c. 22, gives an account of the uses which the Indians made of the elephant, and of their different sizes, but he does not state there that it is the smaller ones only that are employed in agriculture.—B.]

Chap. 2. (2.)—When Elephants Were First Put into Harness.

The first harnessed elephants that were seen at Rome, were in the triumph of Pompeius Magnus over Africa, when they drew his chariot; a thing that is said to have been done long before, at the triumph of Father Liber on the conquest of India. Procilius [Plutarch informs us, that Pompey had resolved to have his chariot drawn by four elephants, but finding the gate too narrow, he was obliged to use horses.—B.] says, that those which were used at the triumph of Pompeius, were unable to go in harness through the gate of the city. In the exhibition of gladiators which was given by Germanicus, [See an account of this, and of the feats performed by the elephants, in Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. ii. c. 11.—B.] the elephants performed a sort of dance with their uncouth and irregular movements. It was a common thing to see them throw arrows with such strength, that the wind was unable to turn them from their course, to imitate among themselves the combats of the gladiators, and to frolic through the steps of the Pyrrhic dance. [The Pyrrhic dance has been referred to in the last Book, c. 57. p. 231. It is not improbable that the elephants employed in this dance were caparisoned with armour.] After this, too, they walked upon the tight-rope, [However ill adapted the elephant may appear, from its size and form, for this feat, we have the testimony of Seneca, Suetonius, Dion Cassius, and Julian, to the truth of the fact.—B.] and four of them would carry a litter in which lay a fifth, which represented a woman lying-in. They afterwards took their places at table, reclining upon couches which were filled with people; and so nicely did they manage their steps, that they did not so much as touch any of those who were drinking there.

Chap. 3. (3.)—The Docility of the Elephant.

It is a well-known fact, [Plutarch, in his treatise on the Shrewdness of Animals, tells us that this wonderful circumstance happened at Rome.] that one of these animals, who was slower than usual in learning what was taught him, and had been frequently chastised with blows, was found conning over his lesson in the night-time. [“Eadem illa meditantem,” is the expression. It would be curious to know in what way the elephant showed that he was “conning” over his lesson.] It is a most surprising thing also, that the elephant is able not only to walk up the tight-rope backwards; but to come down it as well, with the head foremost. [Suetonius is supposed to allude to this circumstance.—B. He tells us that a horseman ascended a tight rope on an elephant’s back.] Mutianus, who was three times consul, informs us that one of these animals had been taught to trace the Greek letters, and that he used to write in that language the following words: “I have myself written these words, and have dedicated the Celtic spoils.” [Ælian informs us, that he had seen an elephant write Latin characters. Hardouin remarks, that the Greek would be Αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τάδ’ ἔγραψα, λαφυρά τε Κελτ’ ἀνέθηκα.] Mutianus states also, that he himself was witness to the fact, that when some elephants were being landed at Puteoli [See B. iii. c. 9.] and were compelled to leave the ship, being terrified at the length of the platform, which extended from the vessel to the shore, they walked backwards, in order to deceive themselves by forming a false estimate of the distance.

Chap. 4.—Wonderful Things Which Have Been Done by the Elephant.

These animals are well aware that the only spoil that we are anxious to procure of them is the part which forms their weapon of defence, by Juba, called their horns, but by Herodotus, a much older writer, as well as by general usage and more appropriately, their teeth. [As to the tusks of the elephant, no doubt the opinion of Herodotus, B. iii. c. 97, is correct, that they are teeth, and not horns. They are essentially composed of the same substance with the other teeth, and, like them, are inserted into the jaw, and not into the os frontis, as is the case with horns.—B.] Hence it is that, when their tusks have fallen off, either by accident or from old age, they bury them in the earth. [Not improbably, the great quantity of fossil ivory which has been found, may have given rise to this tale. We have in Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 581, a long extract from Cuvier’s “ Recherches sur les ossements fossiles,” in which he gives an account of the parts of the world in which the bones of the elephant have been discovered.—B.] These tusks form the only real ivory, and, even in these, the part which is covered by the flesh is merely common bone, and of no value whatever; though, indeed, of late, in consequence of the insufficient supply of ivory, they have begun to cut the bones as well into thin plates. Large teeth, in fact, are now rarely found, except in India, the demands of luxury [Tables and bedsteads were not only covered or veneered with ivory among the Romans, but, in the later times, made of the solid material, as we learn from Ælian and Athenæus.] having exhausted all those in our part of the world. The youthfulness of the animal is ascertained by the whiteness of the teeth. [Plutarch, in his treatise on the Shrewdness of Animals, gives the same statement respecting the whiteness of the teeth in the young animal.—B.] These animals take the greatest care of their teeth; they pay especial attention to the point of one of them, that it may not be found blunt when wanted for combat; the other they employ for various purposes, such as digging up roots and pushing forward heavy weights. When they are surrounded by the hunters, they place those in front which have the smallest teeth, that the enemy may think that the spoil is not worth the combat; and afterwards, when they are weary of resistance, they break off their teeth, by dashing them against a tree, and in this manner pay their ransom. [It is scarcely necessary to remark, that these statements respecting the sagacity of the elephant in connection with their teeth, are without foundation.—B.]

Chap. 5. (4.)—The Instinct of Wild Animals in Perceiving Danger.

It is a wonderful thing, that most animals are aware why it is that they are sought after, and what it is, that, under all circumstances, they have to guard against. When an elephant happens to meet a man in the desert, who is merely wandering about, the animal, it is said, shows himself both merciful and kind, and even points out the way. But the very same animal, if he meets with the traces of a man, [The word employed is vestigium; it is explained by Ælian to refer to the herbage, which has received both the visible impression as well as the odour of the foot.—B.] before he meets the man himself, trembles in every limb, for fear of an ambush, stops short and scents the wind, looks around him, and snorts aloud with rage; and then, without trampling upon the object, digs it up, [In the case of a footstep, this must mean the ground with which the foot has come in contact.] and passes it to the next one, who again passes it to the one that follows, and so on from one to the other, till it comes to the very last. The herd then faces about, returns, and ranges itself in order of battle; so strongly does the odour, in all cases, attach itself to the human footstep, even though, as is most frequently the case, the foot itself is not naked. In the same way, too, the tigress, which is the dread of the other wild beasts, and which sees, without alarm, the traces even of the elephant itself, is said at once, upon seeing the footsteps of man, to carry off her whelps. How has the animal acquired this knowledge? And where has it seen him before, of whom it stands in such dread? Doubt there can be none, that forests such as it haunts are but little frequented by man! It is not to be wondered at, if they are astonished at the print of a footstep before unknown; but how should they know that there is anything that they ought to dread? And, what is still more, why should they dread even the very sight of man, seeing that they are so far superior to him in strength, size, and swiftness? No doubt, such is the law of Nature, such is the influence of her power—the most savage and the very largest of wild beasts have never seen that which they have reason to fear, and yet instantly have an instinctive feeling of dread, when the moment has come for them to fear. [It is a general opinion, and one founded upon observations of daily occurrence, that animals have an instinctive dread of man. We have, however, facts stated by travellers of undoubted veracity, which would lead to an opposite conclusion. One of the most remarkable is the account which Denham gives of the tameness of the birds in Lake Tchad.—B.]

(5.) Elephants always move in herds. [Cuvier observes, that this is correct; see Ajasson, vol. vi. p. 408, and Lemaire, vol. iii. p. 338.—B.] The oldest takes the lead, and the next in age brings up the rear. When they are crossing a river, they first send over the smallest, for fear lest the weight of the larger ones may increase the depth of the channel, by working away the bed of the river. We learn from Antipater, that King Antiochus had two elephants, which he employed in his wars, and to which he had given the names of celebrated men; and that they were aware too of this mark of distinction. [“Novere ea.” It is doubtful whether these words do not mean something more than merely “knew their names,” as Hardouin explains it, for that would be nothing wonderful in an elephant. On the other hand, to say that they were aware of the honour which had been conferred on them, in giving the names of famous men, would be to make a statement which exceeds belief; for how could the elephants show that they appreciated this honour, even supposing that they did appreciate it? Pliny’s elliptical style repeatedly gives rise to doubts of this nature.] Cato, in his Annals, while he has passed over in silence the names of the generals, has given that of an elephant called Surus, which fought with the greatest valour in the Carthaginian army, and had lost one of its tusks. When Antiochus was sounding the ford of a river, an elephant named Ajax, which on other occasions had always led the van, refused to enter the stream; upon which proclamation was made, that the first rank should belong to the one which should take the lead in passing over. One called Patroclus hazarded the attempt, and as a reward, the king presented it with some silver pendants, [“Phaleris.” See Notes to B. vii. c., p. 170.] a kind of ornament with which these animals are particularly delighted, and assigned it all the other marks of command. Upon this, the elephant that had been degraded refused to take its food, and so preferred death to ignominy. Indeed their sense of shame is wonderful, and when one of them has been conquered, it flies at the voice of the conqueror, and presents him with earth and vervain. [Pliny informs us, in B. xxii. c. 4, that this was done by those conquered in battle.—B.]

These animals are sensible to feelings of modesty; they never couple but in secret: [We may conclude, from the account given by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v. c. 2, and by Ælian, B. viii. c. 17, that this opinion was generally adopted by the ancients.—B. We learn from Cuvier, who mentions the results of M. Corse’s observations, that there is no such modesty in the elephant, and that the two at the Museum of Natural History at Paris gave proof of the fact.] the male after it has attained its fifth year, the female after the age of ten. [This is erroneous; the males do not arrive at puberty before the females, which takes place about the fourteenth or fifteenth year. In the elephant which was under the inspection of M. Corse, the period of gestation was between twenty and twenty-one months, so that there may be some foundation for the biennial period, but the term of five days is entirely imaginary. Aristotle makes the interval three years.—B.] It is said, that their intercourse takes place only every second year, and for five days only, and no more; on the sixth day they plunge into a river, before doing which they will not rejoin the herd. Adulterous intercourse is unknown to them, and they have none of those deadly combats for the possession of the female, which take place among the other animals. Nor is this because they are uninfluenced by the passion of love. One in Egypt, we are told, fell in love with a woman, who was a seller of garlands; and let no one suppose that he made a vulgar choice, for she was the especial object of the love of Aristophanes, who held the very highest rank as a grammarian. Another became attached to the youth Menander, a native of Syracuse, in the army of Ptolemy; whenever it did not see him, it would manifest the regret which it experienced, by refusing its food. Juba gives an account also of a female who dealt in perfumes, to whom one of these creatures formed an attachment. All these animals manifested their attachment by their signs of joy at the sight of the person, by their awkward caresses, and by keeping for them and throwing into their bosom the pieces of money which the public had given them. [There is a passage in Suetonius, in his Life of Augustus, and one in Macrobius, where the custom of offering pieces of money to elephants, which they took up with the proboscis, is referred to.—B.] Nor, indeed, ought we to be surprised, that an animal which possesses memory should be sensible of affection: for the same author relates, that an elephant recognized, after the lapse of many years, an old man who had been its keeper in his youth. They would seem also to have an instinctive feeling of justice. King Bocchus once fastened thirty elephants to the stake, with the determination of wreaking his vengeance on them, by means of thirty others; but though men kept sallying forth among them to goad them on, he could not, with all his endeavours, force them to become the ministers of the cruelty of others.

Chap. 6. (6.)—When Elephants Were First Seen in Italy.

Elephants were seen in Italy, for the first time, in the war with King Pyrrhus, [In the Epitome of Livy, B. xiii., it is said, that Valerius Corvinus was unsuccessful in his engagements with Pyrrhus, in consequence of the terror produced by the elephants.—B.] in the year of the City 472; they were called “Lucanian oxen,” because they were first seen in Lucania. [Varro, De Ling. Lat. B. vi. calls the elephant “Lucas bos,” “the Lucanian ox,” from the fact of this large quadruped being first seen by the Romans in the Lucanian army.—B.] Seven years after this period, they appeared at Rome in a triumph. [According to Seneca, Manius Curius Dentatus was the first who exhibited elephants in his triumph over Pyrrhus. See also Florus, B. i. c. 18.—B.] In the year 502 a great number of them were brought to Rome, which had been taken by the pontiff Metellus, in his victory gained in Sicily over the Carthaginians; [There are coins extant struck to commemorate this victory, in which there is the figure of an elephant.—B.] they were one hundred and forty-two [The number of elephants brought to Rome by Metellus is differently stated; Florus, B. ii., says that they were “about a hundred;” in the Epitome of Livy, B. xix., they are one hundred and twenty, and the same number is mentioned by Seneca.—B.] in number, or, as some say, one hundred and forty, and were conveyed to our shores upon rafts, which were constructed on rows of hogsheads joined together. Verrius informs us, that they fought in the Circus, and that they were slain with javelins, for want of some better method of disposing of them; as the people neither liked to keep them nor yet to give them to the kings. [Who were their allies, or rather vassals; for in such case, they might make a dangerous use of them.] L. Piso tells us only that they were brought into the Circus; and for the purpose of increasing the feeling of contempt towards them, they were driven all round the area of that place by workmen, who had nothing but spears blunted at the point. The authors who are of opinion that they were not killed, do not, however, inform us how they were afterwards disposed of.

Chap. 7. (7.)—The Combats of Elephants.

There is a famous combat mentioned of a Roman with an elephant, when Hannibal compelled our prisoners to fight against each other. The one who had survived all the others he placed before an elephant, and promised him his life if he should slay it; upon which the man advanced alone into the arena, and, to the great regret of the Carthaginians, succeeded in doing so. [Val. Maximus, B. ix. c. 2, gives an account of the brutality of Hannibal on this occasion, in forcing the Roman captives to fight against each other, until only one was left; but he does not make mention of the combat with the elephant.—B.] Hannibal, however, thinking that the news of this victory might cause a feeling of contempt for these animals, sent some horsemen to kill the man on his way home. In our battles with Pyrrhus it was found, on making trial, that it was extremely easy to cut off the trunks of these animals. [Florus, B. i. c. 18, states, that this was practised in the later engagements with Pyrrhus, and that by these means the elephants were either destroyed or rendered useless. Cuvier remarks, that the trunk is composed of small muscles and fatty matter, enveloped by a tendinous membrane, and covered with skin.—B.] Fenestella informs us, that they fought at Rome in the Circus for the first time during the curule ædileship of Claudius Pulcher, in the consulship of M. Antonius and A. Postumius, in the year of the City 655; and that twenty years afterwards, during the curule ædileship of the Luculli, they were set to fight against bulls. In the second consulship [A.U.C. 678.—B.] of Pompeius, at the dedication of the temple of Venus Victrix, [“Venus the Conqueror.” This temple was dedicated by Pompey, after his conquests in the East, in his second consulship, B.C. 55.] twenty elephants, or, as some say, seventeen, fought in the Circus against a number of Gætulians, who attacked them with javelins. One of these animals fought in a most astonishing manner; being pierced through the feet, it dragged itself on its knees towards the troop, and seizing their bucklers, tossed them aloft into the air: and as they came to the ground they greatly amused the spectators, for they whirled round and round in the air, just as if they had been thrown up with a certain degree of skill, [Pliny here refers to an art, practised among the Romans, of throwing up a shield into the air, in such a manner that, after performing a circuit, it would fall down on a certain spot; this trick is also alluded to by Martial, B. ix. Ep. 39.—B. The exercise with the boomerang, which was known to the ancient Assyrians, and has been borrowed in modern times from the people of Australasia, seems to have been somewhat similar to this.] and not by the frantic fury of a wild beast. Another very wonderful circumstance happened; an elephant was killed by a single blow. The weapon pierced the animal below the eye, and entered the vital part of the head. The elephants attempted, too, by their united efforts, to break down the enclosure, not without great confusion among the people who surrounded the iron gratings. [“Clathri.” These were gratings of iron trellis-work, placed in front of the lowest row of the spectators, to protect them from the wild beasts. This exhibition took place in Pompey’s Amphitheatre, in the Campus Martius. The arena of the amphitheatre was mostly surrounded by a wall, distinguished by the name of “podium,” which was generally about eighteen feet in height, and the top of which was protected by this trellis-work. In the present instance, however, the “podium” can hardly have been so much as eighteen feet in height.] It was in consequence of this circumstance, that Cæsar, the Dictator, when he was afterwards about to exhibit a similar spectacle, had the arena surrounded with trenches [“Euripis.” Julius Cæsar caused a canal, ten feet wide, to be formed in the Circus Maximus, around the bottom of the “podium,” to protect the spectators from the wild beasts. These “euripi” probably took their name from the narrow channel so called, which lay between Bœotia and the island of Eubœa.] of water, which were lately filled up by the Emperor Nero, [We learn, however, from Lampridius, in his Life of Heliogabalus, that this euripus was afterwards restored to the Circus.] when he added the seats for the equestrian order. [Tacitus and Suetonius mention this separation of the equites from the rest of the spectators: it took place A.U.C. 816.—B. Up to the time of Augustus, A.U.C. 758, the senators, equites, and people sat indiscriminately in the Circus; but that emperor, and after him Claudius, Nero, and Domitian, separated the senators and the equites from the commons.] When, however, the elephants in the exhibition given by Pompeius had lost all hopes of escaping, they implored the compassion of the multitude by attitudes which surpass all description, and with a kind of lamentation bewailed their unhappy fate. So greatly were the people affected by the scene, that, forgetting the general altogether, and the munificence which had been at such pains to do them honour, the whole assembly rose up in tears, and showered curses on Pompeius, of which he soon afterwards became the victim. They fought also in the third consulship of the Dictator Cæsar, twenty of them against five hundred foot soldiers. [There are coins which bear the figure of an elephant and the word Cæsar, probably struck in commemoration of these games.—B.] On another occasion twenty elephants, carrying towers, [The practice of placing towers filled with soldiers on the backs of the elephants is alluded to by Lucretius, B. v. l. 1301, and by Juvenal, Sat. xii. l. 110.—B. It still prevails in India.] and each defended by sixty men, were opposed to the same number of foot soldiers as before, and an equal number of horsemen. Afterwards, under the Emperors Claudius and Nero, the last exploit [“Consummation gladiatorum.” There is some doubt about the exact meaning of this. It may mean, “at the conclusion of the gladiatorial games,” as exhibited; or, what is more probable, “as the crowning exploit of the gladiators,” who wished thereby to secure their manumission, which was granted after remarkable feats of valour. Cælius Rhodiginus, B. xi. c. 11, prefers this last meaning: Dalechamps, with whom Ajasson coincides, the first.] that the gladiators performed was fighting single-handed [“Postea singulis.” Those who coincide with Dalechamps and Ajasson, as to the meaning, would read it, that at the end of the gladiatorial games, the elephants fought singly one against another, the gladiators having retired from the arena.] with elephants.

The elephant is said to display such a merciful disposition towards animals that are weaker than itself, that, when it finds itself in a flock of sheep, it will remove with its trunk [Pliny here uses the word “manu,” “hand,” which although, as he afterwards remarks, it may not be an inappropriate metaphor, could scarcely be admitted in our language.—B.] those that are in the way, lest it should unintentionally trample upon them. [This trait has been observed in all ages; the elephant has been known to remove with its trunk a child lying in its way, and in danger of being injured. It appears to have an instinctive dread of trampling on a living animal; the same has also been observed in the horse.—B.] They will never do any mischief except when provoked, and they are of a disposition so sociable, that they always move about in herds, no animal being less fond of a solitary life. When surrounded by a troop of horsemen, they place in the centre of the herd those that are weak, weary, or wounded, and then take the front rank each in its turn, just as though they acted under command and in accordance with discipline. When taken captive, they are very speedily tamed, by being fed on the juices of barley. [“Hordeo succo;” the exact meaning has been the subject of much discussion; it probably refers to some preparation of barley used by the ancients, perhaps a maceration of the corn in water; it is scarcely to be supposed, however, that the words are to be taken literally.—B.]

Chap. 8. (8.)—The Way in Which Elephants Are Caught.

In India [Albertus Magnus, in his work on Animals, B. viii. c. 3, gives a fuller account of this method of taking the wild elephant. He says: “A man, riding on a tame elephant, guides him to the woods, and when he has met with some wild ones, drives the tame one against them, and makes it strike them with its trunk: the tame one, being better fed, soon conquers the wild elephant, and throws him to the ground; upon which, the man leaps upon him, and flogs him with a whip, and immediately the other becomes quiet.” Strabo, B. xv., gives a different account of the mode of catching and taming the elephant in India.] they are caught by the keeper guiding one of the tame elephants towards a wild one which he has found alone or has separated from the herd; upon which he beats it, and when it is fatigued mounts and manages it just the same way as the other. In Africa [This appears to have been taken from Plutarch; and we have the same statement in Ælian, who particularly speaks of the sagacity of the animal, in endeavouring to extricate itself from the trench.—B.] they take them in pit-falls; but as soon as an elephant gets into one, the others immediately collect boughs of trees and pile up heaps of earth, so as to form a mound, and then endeavour with all their might to drag it out. It was formerly the practice to tame them by driving the herds with horsemen into a narrow defile, artificially made in such a way as to deceive them by its length; and when thus enclosed by means of steep banks and trenches, they were rendered tame by the effects of hunger; as a proof of which, they would quietly take a branch that was extended to them by one of the men. At the present day, when we take them for the sake of their tusks, we throw darts at their feet, which are in general the most tender part of their body. The Troglodytæ, who inhabit the confines of Æthiopia, and who live entirely on the flesh of elephants procured by the chase, climb the trees which lie near the paths through which these animals usually pass. Here they keep a watch, and look out for the one which comes last in the train; leaping down upon its haunches, they seize its tail with the left hand, and fix their feet firmly upon the left thigh. Hanging down in this manner, the man, with his right hand, hamstrings the animal on one side, with a very sharp hatchet. The elephant’s pace being retarded by the wound, he cuts the tendons of the other ham, and then makes his escape; all of which is done with the very greatest celerity. Others, again, employ a much safer, though less certain method; they fix in the ground, at considerable intervals, very large bows upon the stretch; these are kept steady by young men remarkable for their strength, while others, exerting themselves with equal efforts, bend them, and so wound the animals as they pass by, and afterwards trace them by their blood. The female elephant is much more timid by nature than the male.

Chap. 9. (9.)—The Method by Which They Are Tamed.

Elephants of furious temper are tamed by hunger [We have the same account given by Ælian and by Strabo.—B.] and blows, while other elephants are placed near to keep them quiet, when the violent fit is upon them, by means of chains. Besides this, they are more particularly violent when in heat, [Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 18, remarks, that the violence of the animal, which is produced by an accidental cause, as also that arising from venereal excitement, are counteracted by opposite modes of treatment; the one by depriving it of food, the other by over-feeding it; the former, in order to break its strength, and the latter, to divert it into a different channel.—B.] at which time they will level to the ground the huts of the Indians with their tusks. It is on this account that they are prevented from coupling, and the females are kept in herds separate from the males, just the same way as with other cattle. Elephants, when tamed, are employed in war, and carry into the ranks of the enemy towers filled with armed men; and on them, in a very great measure, depends the ultimate result of the battles that are fought in the East. They tread under foot whole companies, and crush the men in their armour. The very least sound, however, of the grunting of the hog terrifies them: [Ælian, Anim. Nat. B. i. c. 38, states that the Romans employed this mode of terrifying the elephants brought against them by Pyrrhus.—B.] when wounded and panic-stricken, they invariably fall back, and become no less formidable for the destruction which they deal to their own side, than to their opponents. The African elephant is afraid of the Indian, and does not dare so much as look at it, for the latter is of much greater bulk. [That this was the general opinion among the ancients, we learn from Polybius, Ælian, Livy, Diodorus Siculus, and others. Cuvier remarks, that this may have been the case with the animals from Barbary, or the north of Africa, but that it is not so with those from the middle or south of that continent.—B.]