Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-06-23
THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT.
His Indian Cousin Is Not Superior to the
Tribe of Jumbo.

| Tribe of Jumbo.
The idea is very generally held that
the African elephant is not susceptible
to being tanned and used as a working
animal like his cousin of India. This
idea, however, is erroneous. The Afri-
can elephant is fully as intelligent and
docile as the Indian elephant Most of
the elephants which are exhibited in
menageries and circuses, many of them
in a high state of training, come from
Africa. The ancient historians tell US
also that for more than five hundred
years the African elephant was captured
and trained for service in the armies
and for use as beast of burden and in
circuses- The period when the elephant
| of north Africa was most utilized for
these various purposes was between
| about 2S5 Il. C. and $50 \. D.
The African elephant is easily dis
tinguishable from the Asiatic species by
the convexity of his face. the great
| length of his turks, and particularly by
| the enormous size of his ears. To-day
| he is not found north of the desert of
| Sahara. When he was largely utilized
| by man, however. he was found in great
troops not only in upper Egypt, but
| also Ill the IOTcSIS O1 NoEOCcO anu u
| geria. 1t was somewhere between the
third and seventh century of the Chris
tan era that the elephant finally disap-
| peared from north Africa.
All the early historians have some
thing to say about the use of the Afri-
| can elephant in warfare. It was go
| years b. c., when one of the Ptolema;c
rulers of Egypt used elephants in war
against the Indian elephants of his
| enemy. and at the battle of Raphia the
| Indian animal showed his superiority
as fighter to his african relative. All
the elephants in the army of Egypt's
ruler were killed in combat with ele-
| plants of Antiochus.
The Carthaginians. seeing that Egypt
was constantly extending her territory
toward the west, desired to place her
army on q footing equal to that Of
/ Egypt's military establishment. They
thereupOn made elephants Of war
! prominent feature of their force. Hun
, dreds OF men were sent into the forests
| along the foot of the Atlas mountains.
where great hunts We're organized for
| the capture of elephants who were des-
| tined to play an important part in the
two first Punic wars. Much has been
written about the role that African ele-
plants played during the wars between
the Carthaginians and the Romans.
We know that Hannibal crossed the
PyreneeS with forty elephants. and he
had thirty-seven when he arrived on
the banks of the Rhone after this ter
rible journey. In the Alps his heavy
laden elephants had the greatest diff
ficulty in crossing the snowy passes
along the narrow paths. On one
part of the route the army
halted for three or four days while
the soldiers We're making road
for the elephants. and when the ami
mails finally arrived in Italy they were
SO weakened by their hardships and
privations that they could hardly stand
Hannibal, however, made conspicuous
use of elephants in all the big battles
he fought in Italy, in Spain and in
Africa. In the year COZ B. c.. when
the power of Carthage finally crumb led,
the Carthaginians agreed in the treaty
they made with Rome that they would
never again use elephants in warfare.
Only a short time before the begin
ming of the Christian era African ele-
plants figured upon Pompey's battle
fields The elephants he took back to
Italy were a feature of his triumph
Forty elephants marched before the
dictator to Rome. and. as they passed
through the streets of the capital, each
held in his trunk flaming torch.
After the Roman conquest of Africa
the elephant assumed more pacific
role, though he still figured IN battles
against gladiators and such animals as
bulls and tigers. He played his part in
festival games and on occasions of spec |
tacles and great ceremonies. The |
stories that some of the later historians |
tell of the feats performed in the circus |
by trained elephants are almost incred |
IDLE. Pliny tells of seeing one day four |
elephants bearing another upon lit |
fer. On another occasion a number of |
elephants were turned loose in a hall |
filed with people who were lying upon
couches, and the elephants stepped |
over all the touches without touching |
the occupants. A dozen elephants
owned by Germanicus executed
a charade in dramatic costume
The males were clad in
togas and the females in tunics. After
the parade a collation. was served to
the elephants in the presence of
great crowd and the spectators were
very much amused and astonished by |
the courtesy with which the animal
passed plates from one to another, and
in other ways showed their good breed
ing.
In the games which Nero instituted
in honor of Agrippina we are told that
elephants danced upon tight ropes, and
a very remarkable story is told of an
elephant in the reign of Galba, which
in charge of trainer, mounted upon a
rope extending from the ground to the
top of the circus and descended again
into the arena along the same narrow
pathway. Suetonius vouches for the
truth of this story. The Emperor Adrian
used elephants for more useful purpose
in the famous enterprise when he showed
the ability of the ancients to carry out
works of great mechanical and engi-
neering difficulty. He employed eighty
elephants to move the famous Colossus
of Nero and transport it to the new site
he had selected for it. Upon the backs
of African elephants, also, were borne
in handsome palanquins the images of
the gods and of the emperors upon great
occasions. The grand fetes
by which the thousandth anniversary
of Rome was celebrated are believed to
have been the last occasion on which
the African elephant took part in great
numbers in these 'pu bile displays. It
was about 24s A. D., that the Roman
cod EOS w.t. = Low !