The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-10-15
LITTLE ELEPHANTS
Come Curious Discoveries in Natural
History Which are Worth Hearing
about.

Come Curious Discoveries in Natural
History Which are Worth Hearing
about.
GLOW is thai for an eiephsnt?" said
an artist to New York Post reporter,
taking J green cloth from clay model
OF an elephant about IL inches in
length. "Yes, il is small" he coutin-
ued, "out that's just the great point in
its favor. See this bone" no contin-
ued, taking up u small oblert from a
table--"tho real bono of the
model of. 1t was the famous re-.
Gently discovered pigmy elephant of
Europe. Some months ago q patty OF
French biologists, rambling through
Italy, came upon great quantities of
these bones, and soon identified them
as those OF a race of elephants that
were pocket editions, so TO speak. The
largest were not as large ~ cur sheep,
and in the adult form, or old age, much
smaller than any of the baby elephants
that have been exhibited in this coun-
try. Thar Young IN turn were ele-
plants in miniature, being shout as
large rs small cat, and could
easily have been held upon the
open palm. Herds OF these pigmies
were undoubtedly captured by earlv
mao, and il the circus was III exits
tenee tnen We can ilnsgine rare en-
tertainmen5. WHAT troupe of ele
phants could have been msrshslled in {!
First would appear the great man
| moth, with Its long coat of hair; then
the dlDotherium, with its incurvad
| tuSks: tina gigantic gaugesa from In
dia, with Its small head and enormous
.usks extending II feet III front, and
finally, last but not least, tho pigmies
and their young, accusing tho enthusi-
asni OF the throng of young cave.
jewellers.
"The pigmies, 50 far known, rsors-
| sented two distinct ppecies known TO
science as elephas meliLtensis and IL
falconera, and their remains are found
over wide geographical area, show
ing that they had an extended range.
In tho second book OF the slEpela'
Virgil notes q tradition to the efiact
that Sicily was ri one time a par of
the mainlan6, aud IL is now believed
10y many that long ago Italy was con.
nected with africa by a neck of land,
aud that Malta ana other places, now
Islands, were part of il. Over
this ancient bridge the pigmy clio
phants are supposed to have made
Iheir way into Europe, where their
tracks can DO traced in many locali-
Ties. In Malta, mos OF the skeletons
nave been found, while Others have
been ulsc )yerod in various DARTS Of
Italy, aud among otner rernalna in
various parts of Europe. These we're
real pigmies, while tho sp-eRlled
dwarf elephants Of to-day are merely
ELEPHANTS whose growth ha, bean ~.
trdau in some natural or artificial
manner.
"The pigmies, however, wore not nm
elephant, as At this time Dlgm7 horse 4
1 roamed the slopes aud valleys OF North
America. They were the ancestors OF
our present horse, au0 their remains
nave oeon found in such quantities
that more than 20 different kinds have
been recognized. TIE smnllest nj
these pigmy horses was about as large
- fox, and differed considerably
from our present horse. 1t lived In
what has been termed the socene lima
aud is called the eohippus.
| "a lew months ago n piguy whalf
was washed ashore on the Nav Jersey
coast, and was sent to tho Nations
muaeam. In appearance IL resembled
tee enormous tinback, but instead OF
beng 60 or 50 feet in length, and
| WciSniug several tons, it meas1l ed
oul' nino feet in length, aud was ac
compdn'ed by a baby pigmv that w. I
h.tle over u foot long. The pigmy
whales properly belong in tbs Pseific
ocean aud ara often seen on the c II.
iornian coast; but this specimen proc
ably strayeo around the Horn.
| Among the birds there Is n pirny
| quAil-a delicate little creature 4,
small mat the ancient Chinese uaed Al
to warm their haui IN cold weather
carrying 2 bird in each closed palm
Among the quadrupeds the pigmI
deer Is perhaps tho most interesting
aud when seeD II seoms q pe,!ect ante.
lope In miniature.
"Quite 90 much of O pigmyis She sui.
Jana antelope, found Ia tbs hiny re.
Gious OF Abyssinia, It's Insight at IA,
shoulder ~ only II inches; the horW,
ere extremely thin, aud about fom
inetos ioug The young OF these mid.
gotsOi The hooied tribe are bepu,ifn'
ilttle creatures. those OF the satelont
painS about eight inches long wher
born, and, with their soft calorei rn,.
delicate pipestem like limbs, large ant
expressive eyes, they are, PERHAPS. m,
most attractive of any of the milut,
animals"
| -----<e--
The Wheeler IL Wilson comnsnv
have no travelling adjustofs TO do q