The Elephant indirectly mentioned in the Authorized Version—The Elephant as an engine of war—Antiochus and his Elephants—Oriental exaggeration—Self-devotion of Eleazar—Attacking the Elephants, and their gradual abandonment in war.

Except indirectly, the Elephant is never mentioned in the Authorized Version of the Canonical Scriptures, although frequent references are made to ivory, the product of that animal.

The earliest mention of ivory in the Scriptures is to be found in 1 Kings x. 18: "Moreover the king (i.e. Solomon) made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold." This passage forms a portion of the description given by the sacred historian of the glories of Solomon's palace, of which this celebrated throne, with the six steps and the twelve lions on the steps, was the central and most magnificent object. It is named together with the three hundred golden shields, the golden vessel of the royal palace, and the wonderful arched viaduct crossing the valley of the Tyropoeon, "the ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord," all of which glories so overcame the Queen of Sheba that "there was no more spirit in her."

We see, therefore, that in the time of Solomon ivory was so precious an article that it was named among the chief of the wonders to be seen in the palace of Solomon, the wealthiest and most magnificent monarch of sacred or profane history.

That it should not have been previously mentioned is very singular. Five hundred years had elapsed since the Israelites escaped from the power of Egypt, and during the whole of that time, though gold and silver and precious stones and costly raiment are repeatedly mentioned, we do not find a single passage in which any allusion is made to ivory. Had we not known that ivory was largely used among the Egyptians, such an omission would cause no surprise. But the researches of modern travellers have brought to light many articles of ivory that were in actual use in Egypt, and we therefore cannot but wonder that a material so valued and so beautiful does not seem to have been reckoned among the treasures which were brought by the Israelites from the land of their captivity, and which[351]
[352] were so abundant that the Tabernacle was entirely formed of them.

In the various collections of Europe are many specimens of ivory used by the ancient Egyptians, among the chief of which may be mentioned an ivory box in the Louvre, having on its lid the name of the dynasty in which it was carved, and the ivory-tipped lynch-pins of the splendid war-chariot in Florence, from which the illustration on page 309 has been drawn.

The ivory used by the Egyptians was, of course, that of the African Elephant; and was obtained chiefly from Ethiopia, as we find in Herodotus ("Thalia," 114):—"Where the meridian declines towards the setting sun, the Ethiopian territory reaches, being the extreme part of the habitable world. It produces much gold, huge elephants, wild trees of all kinds, ebony, and men of large stature, very handsome and long-lived."

The passages in the Bible in which the Elephant itself is named are only to be found in the Apocrypha, and in all of them the Elephant is described as an engine of war. If the reader will refer to the First Book of the Maccabees, he will find that the Elephant is mentioned at the very commencement of the book. "Now when the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt, that he might have the dominion of two realms.

"Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy." (i. 16, 17.)

Here we see that the Elephant was considered as a most potent engine of war, and, as we may perceive by the context, the King of Egypt was so alarmed by the invading force, that he ran away, and allowed Antiochus to take possession of the country.

After this, Antiochus Eupator marched against Jerusalem with a vast army, which is thus described in detail:—"The number of his army was one hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, and two and thirty elephants exercised in battle.

"And to the end that they might provoke the elephants to fight, they showed them the blood of grapes and mulberries.

"Moreover, they divided the beasts among the armies, and for every elephant they appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of mail, and with helmets of brass on their heads; and, besides this for every beast were ordained five hundred horsemen of the best.

"These were ready at every occasion wheresoever the beast was; and whithersoever the beast went they went also, neither departed they from him.

"And upon the beasts were there strong towers of wood, which covered every one of them, and were girt fast unto them with devices; there were also upon every one two and thirty strong men that fought upon them, beside the Indian that ruled him.

"As for the remnant of the horsemen, they set them on this side and that side at the two fronts of the host, giving them signs what to do, and being harnessed all over amidst the ranks." (1 Macc. vi. 30, &c.)

It is evident from this description that, in the opinion of the writer, the Elephants formed the principal arms of the opposing force, these animals being prominently mentioned, and the rest of the army being reckoned as merely subsidiaries of the terrible beasts. The thirty-two Elephants appear to have taken such a hold of the narrator's mind, that he evidently looked upon them in the same light that the ancient Jews regarded chariots of war, or as at the present day savages regard artillery. According to his ideas, the thirty-two Elephants constituted the real army, the hundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry being only in attendance upon these animals.

Taken as a whole, the description of the war Elephant is a good one, though slightly exaggerated, and is evidently written by an eye-witness. The mention of the native mahout, or "Indian that guided him," is characteristic enough, as is the account of the howdah, or wooden carriage on the back of the animal.

The number of warriors, however, is evidently exaggerated, though not to such an extent as the account of Julius CÆsar's Elephants, which are said to have carried on their backs sixty soldiers, beside the wooden tower in which they fought. It is evident that, in the first place, no Elephant could carry a tower large enough to hold so many fighting men, much less one which would afford space for them to use their weapons.

A good account of the fighting Elephant is given by Topsel (p. 157):—"There were certain officers and guides of the Elephants, who were called ElephantarchÆ, who were the governors of sixteen Elephants, and they which did institute and teach them martial discipline were called Elephantagogi.

"The Military Elephant did carry four persons on his bare back, one fighting on the right hand, another fighting on the left hand, a third, which stood fighting backwards from the Elephant's head, and a fourth in the middle of these, holding the rains, and guiding the Beast to the discretion of the Souldiers, even as the Pilot in a ship guideth the stem, wherein was required an equall knowledge and dexterity; for when the Indian which ruled them said, Strike here on the right hand, or else on the left, or refrain and stand still, no reasonable man could yield readier obedience."

This description is really a very accurate as well as spirited one, and conveys a good idea of the fighting Elephant as it appeared when brought into action.

Strangely enough, after giving this temperate and really excellent account of the war Elephant, the writer seems to have been unable to resist the fascination of his theme, and proceeds to describe, with great truth and spirit, the mode of fighting adopted by the animal, intermixed with a considerable amount of the exaggeration from which the former part of his account is free.

"They did fasten iron chains, first of all, upon the Elephant that was to bear ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty men, on either side two panniers of iron bound underneath their belly, and upon them the like panniers of wood, hollow, wherein they placed their men at armes, and covered them over with small boards (for the trunck of the Elephant was covered with a mail for defence, and upon that a broadsword two cubits long); this (as also the wooden Castle, or pannier aforesaid) were fastened first to the neck and then to the rump of the Elephant.

"Being thus armed, they entered the battle, and they shewed unto the Beasts, to make them more fierce, wine, liquor made of Rice, and white cloth, for at the sight of any of these his courage and rage increaseth above all measure. Then at the sound of the Trumpet, he beginneth with teeth to strike, tear, beat, spoil, take up into the air, cast down again, stamp upon men under feet, overthrow with his trunck, and make way for his riders to pierce with Spear, Shield, and Sword; so that his horrible voice,[355]
[356] his wonderful body, his terrible force, his admirable skill, his ready and inestimable obedience, and his strange and seldom-seen shape, produced in a main battel no mean accidents and overturns."

In this account there is a curious mixture of truth and exaggeration. As we have already seen, the number of soldiers which the animal was supposed to carry is greatly exaggerated, and it is rather amusing to note how the "towers" in which they fought are modified into "panniers." Then the method by which the animal is incited to the combat is partly true, and partly false. Of course an Elephant is not angered by seeing a piece of white cloth, or by looking at wine, or a liquor made of rice.

But that the wine, or the "liquor made of rice," i.e. arrack, was administered to the Elephant before it was brought into the battle-field, is likely enough. Elephants are wonderfully fond of strong drink. They can be incited to perform any task within their powers by a provision of arrack, and when stimulated by a plentiful supply of their favourite drink they would be in good fighting condition.

Next we find the writer describing the Elephant as being furnished with a coating of mail armour on its proboscis, the end of which was armed with a sword a yard in length. Now any one who is acquainted with the Elephant will see at once that such offensive and defensive armour would deprive the animal of the full use of the proboscis, and would, therefore, only weaken, and not strengthen, its use in battle. Accordingly we find that the writer, when describing with perfect accuracy the mode in which the Elephant fights, utterly omits all mention of the sword and the mailed proboscis, and describes the animal, not as striking or thrusting with the sword, but as overthrowing with the trunk, taking up into the air, and casting down again—acts which could only be performed when the proboscis was unencumbered by armour. The use of weapons was left to the soldiers that fought upon its back, the principal object of the huge animal being to trample its way through the opposing ranks, and to make a way for the soldiers that followed.

It may be easily imagined that, before soldiers become familiarized with the appearance of the Elephant, they might be pardoned for being panic-struck at the sight of so strange an animal. Not only was it formidable for its vast size, and for the armed men which it carried, but for the obedience which it rendered to its keeper, and the skill with which it wielded the strange but powerful weapon with which Nature had armed it.

At first, the very approach of so terrible a foe struck consternation into the soldiers, who knew of no mode by which they could oppose the gigantic beast, which came on in its swift, swinging pace, crushing its way by sheer weight through the ranks, and striking right and left with its proboscis. No other method of checking the Elephant, except by self-sacrifice, could be found; and in 1 Macc. vi. 43-46, we read how Eleazar, the son of Mattathias, nobly devoted himself for his country.

"Eleazar also, surnamed Savaran, perceiving that one of the beasts, armed with royal harness, was higher than all the rest, and supposing that the king was upon him,

"Put himself in jeopardy, to the end he might deliver his people, and get him a perpetual name.

"Whereupon he ran upon him courageously, through the midst of the battle, slaying on the right hand and on the left, so that they were divided from him on both sides.

"Which done, he crept under the elephant, and thrust him under, and slew him; whereupon the elephant fell down upon him, and he died."

I may here mention that the surname of Savaran, or Avaran, as it ought to be called, signifies one who pierces an animal from behind, and was given to him after his death, in honour of his exploit.

At first, then, Elephants were the most formidable engines of war that could be brought into the battle-field, and the very sight of these huge beasts, towering above even the helmets of the cavalry, disheartened the enemy so much that victory became easy.

After a while, however, when time for reflection had been allowed, the more intellectual among the soldiers began to think that, after all, the Elephant was not a mere engine, but a living animal, and, as such, subject to the infirmities of the lower animals. So they invented scheme after scheme, by which they baffled the attacks of these once dreaded foes, and sometimes even succeeded in driving them back among the ranks of their own soldiery, so maddened with pain and anger, that they dealt destruction among the soldiers for whom they were fighting, and so broke up their order of battle that the foe easily overcame them.

The vulnerable nature of the proboscis was soon discovered, and soldiers were armed with very sharp swords, set on long handles, with which they continually attacked the Elephants' trunks. Others were mounted on swift horses, dashed past the Elephant, and hurled their darts before the animal could strike them. Others, again, were placed in chariots, and armed with very long and sharply-pointed spears. Several of these chariots would be driven simultaneously against an Elephant, and sometimes succeeded in killing the animal. Slingers also were told off for the express purpose of clearing the "castles," or howdahs, of the soldiers who fought on the Elephants' backs, and their especial object was the native mahout, who sat on the animal's neck.

Sometimes they made way for the Elephant as it pressed forward, and then closed round it, so as to make it the central mark, on which converged a hail of javelins, arrows, and stones on every side, until the huge animal sank beneath its many wounds. By degrees, therefore, the Elephant was found to be so uncertain an engine of war, that its use was gradually discontinued, and finally abandoned altogether.

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The Elephant which was employed in these wars was the Indian species, Elephas Indicus, which is thought to be more susceptible of education than the African Elephant. The latter, however, has been tamed, and, in the days of Rome's greatest splendour, was taught to perform a series of tricks that seem almost incredible. As, however, the Indian species is that with which we have here to do, I have selected it for the principal illustrations.

It may be at once distinguished from its African relative by the comparatively small ears, those of the African Elephant reaching above the back of the head, and drooping well below the neck. The shape of the head, too, is different. In the Indian species, only the males bear tusks, and even many of them are unarmed. In the African species, however, both sexes bear tusks, those of the male furnishing the best ivory, with its peculiar creamy colour and beautiful graining, and those of the female being smaller in size, and producing ivory of a much inferior quality.

The Elephant, whether of Asia or Africa, always lives in herds varying greatly in numbers, and invariably found in the deepest forests, or in their near vicinity. Both species are fond of water, and never wander far from some stream or fountain, although they can, and do, make tolerably long journeys for the purpose of obtaining the needful supply of liquid.

They have a curious capability of laying up a store of water in their interior, somewhat after the fashion of the camel, but also possess the strange accomplishment of drawing the liquid supply from their stomachs by means of their trunks, and scattering it in a shower over their backs to cool their heated bodies.

When drinking, the Elephant inserts the tip of his trunk into the stream, fills it with water, and then, turning it into his throat, discharges the contents.

The strangest portion of the Elephant is the trunk, or proboscis. This wonderful appendage is furnished at its extremity with a finger-like projection, with which the animal can pluck a single blade of grass or pick up a small object from the ground.

The value of the proboscis to the Elephant can be estimated when it is considered that without its aid the animal must soon starve to death. The short, thick neck and projecting tusks would entirely prevent it from reaching any of the vegetation upon which it feeds.

With the trunk, however, the Elephant readily carries its food to its mouth, and employs the useful member just as if it were a long and flexible arm.

The Elephant bears a worldwide fame for its capabilities as a servant and companion of man, and for the extraordinary development of its intellectual faculties. The Indian or Asiatic Elephant is the variety that is considered most docile and easy to train; these are almost invariably taken in a wild state from their native forests. The Indian hunters usually proceed into the woods with trained female Elephants. These advance quietly, and by their blandishments so occupy the attention of any unfortunate male that they meet that the hunters are enabled to tie his legs together and fasten him to a tree. His treacherous companions now leave him to struggle in impotent rage until he is so subdued by hunger and fatigue that the hunters can drive him home between two tame elephants. When once captured, he is easily trained.

The following curious instance of intelligence in an Elephant is given by a traveller in Ceylon:

"One evening, while riding in the vicinity of Kandy, my horse showed some excitement at a noise which was heard in the thick jungle, sounding something like 'Urmph! Urmph!' uttered in a hoarse and dissatisfied tone. A turn in the forest explained the mystery, by bringing me face to face with a tame working Elephant unaccompanied by any driver or attendant. He was laboring painfully with a heavy beam of timber, which he had balanced across his tusks and was carrying to the village from which I had come.

"The pathway being narrow, he was compelled to bend his head[361]
[362] to one side to permit the passage of the long piece of wood, and the exertion and inconvenience combined, led him to utter the dissatisfied sounds which had frightened my horse.

"On seeing us halt, the Elephant raised his head, looked at us for a moment, then dropped the timber, and forced himself backward among the bushes at the side of the road, so as to leave us plenty of room to pass.

"My horse still hesitated; the Elephant observed this, and impatiently crowded himself still deeper in the jungle, repeating his cry of, 'Urmph! Urmph!' but in a voice evidently meant to encourage us to come on. Still the horse trembled; and, anxious to observe the conduct of the two sagacious creatures, I forbore any interference. Again the Elephant wedged himself farther in among the trees and waited for us to pass him. At last the horse timidly did so, after which I saw the wise Elephant come out of the wood, take up the heavy timber upon his tusks, and resume his route, hoarsely snorting, as before, his discontented remonstrance."

Although so valuable an animal for certain kinds of work, the Elephant is hardly so effective an assistant as might be supposed. The working Elephant is always a delicate animal, and requires watchfulness and care; as a beast of burden he is unsatisfactory, for, although in the matter of mere strength there is hardly any weight that could be conveniently placed on him which he could not carry, it is difficult to pack it without causing abrasions of the Elephant's skin, which afterwards ulcerate.

His skin is easily chafed by harness, especially in wet weather. Either during long droughts, or too much moisture, his feet are also liable to sores which render him useless for months.

In India the Elephant is used more for purposes of state display or for hunting than for hard labor. It is especially trained for tiger-hunting, and, as there is a natural dread of the terrible tiger deeply implanted in almost all Elephants, it is no easy matter to teach the animal to approach his powerful foe.

A stuffed tiger-skin is employed for this purpose, and is continually shown to the Elephant until he learns to lose all distrust of the inanimate object, and to strike it, to crush it with his feet, or to pierce it with his tusks.

After a while a boy is put inside the tiger-skin, in order to accustom the Elephant to the sight of the tiger in motion.

The last stage in the proceedings is to procure a dead tiger, and to substitute it for the stuffed skin. Even with all this training, it most frequently happens that when the Elephant is brought to face a veritable living tiger the furious bounds, the savage yells, and gleaming eyes of the beast are so terrifying that he turns tail and makes a hasty retreat. Hardly one Elephant out of ten will face an angry tiger. The Elephant, when used in tiger-hunting, is always guided by a native driver, called a mahout, who sits astride of the animal's neck and guides its movements by means of the voice and the use of an iron hook at the end of a short stick.

The hunters who ride upon the Elephant sit in a kind of box called a howdah, which is strapped firmly upon the animal's back, or else merely rests upon a large flat pad furnished with cross-ropes for maintaining a firm hold. The Elephant generally kneels to enable the riders to mount, and then rises from the ground with a peculiar swinging motion that is most discomposing to beginners in the art.

The chase of the tiger is among the most exciting and favourite sports in India. When starting on a hunt, a number of hunters usually assemble, mounted on Elephants trained for the purpose, and carrying with them a supply of loaded rifles in their howdahs, or carriages mounted on the Elephants' backs. Thus armed, they proceed to the spot where a tiger has been seen. The animal is usually found hidden in the long grass or jungle, which is frequently eight or more feet in height; and when roused, it endeavours to creep away under the grass. The movement of the leaves betrays him, and he is checked by a rifle-ball aimed at him through the jungle. Finding that he cannot escape without being seen, he turns round and springs at the nearest Elephant, endeavouring to clamber up it and attack the party in the howdah. This is the most dangerous part of the proceedings, as many Elephants will turn round and run away, regardless of the efforts of their drivers to make them face the tiger. Should, however, the Elephant stand firm, a well-directed ball checks the tiger in his spring; and he then endeavours to again escape, but a volley of rifle-balls from the backs of the other Elephants, who by this time have come up, lays the savage animal prostrate, and in a very short time his skin decorates the successful marksman's howdah.

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