But The Ear Of The African Is An External Mark
Which No One Will Mistake Even In A Picture.
That of the female now killed
was 4 feet 5 inches in depth, and 4 feet in horizontal breadth.
I have seen a native creep under one so as to be quite covered from the rain.
The ear of the Indian variety is not more than a third of this size.
The representation of elephants on ancient coins shows
that this important characteristic was distinctly recognized of old.
Indeed, Cuvier remarked that it was better known by Aristotle than by Buffon.
Having been anxious to learn whether the African elephant
is capable of being tamed, through the kindness of my friend Admiral Smythe
I am enabled to give the reader conclusive evidence on this point.
In the two medals furnished from his work, "A descriptive Catalogue of
his Cabinet of Roman and Imperial large brass Medals", the size of the ears
will be at once noted as those of the true African elephant.*
They were even more docile than the Asiatic, and were taught various feats,
as walking on ropes, dancing, etc. One of the coins is of Faustina senior,
the other of Severus the Seventh, and struck A.D. 197. These elephants
were brought from Africa to Rome. The attempt to tame this most useful animal
has never been made at the Cape, nor has one ever been exhibited in England.
There is only one very young calf of the species in the British Museum.
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