"Everybody has seen the trunk of an elephant, either on the animal himself or in pictures. Did you ever know that there are more than forty thousand muscles in this wonderful structure, and that it is powerful enough to pull down a large tree, and at the same time sufficiently delicate to pick up a pin? That is what Cuvier says about it, and he is the best authority that we know of. Rennie, in his 'Natural History of the Elephant,' says the same thing; and when we consider the uses of the animal's trunk, and the many operations it will perform, the statement is not at all surprising. And when we saw the elephants at the royal palace taking their food, we could not help admiring the skill with which they twisted the wisps of grass and thrust them into their capacious mouths.
"One of the beasts was very good-natured, and allowed us to examine the termination of his proboscis, as long as we did not touch it. As the elephant's existence depends upon his trunk he is very sensitive about it, and is constantly afraid of injuring it. They say that this is the reason why he always elevates it in the air when there is any danger, and that his great fear of the tiger arises from the fact that the tiger always attempts to disable the elephant by springing on his trunk.
"The trunk that we looked at had a projection that might be called a finger, and directly opposite there was a sort of thumb. The finger was exceedingly flexible, while the thumb was not; but they fitted to each other so well that they could hold on to any thing even if it was very small. Here is a picture of it.
"And here are some more pictures, showing how the elephant pulls up the grass when he is feeding in the open air, and also how he grasps it before he thrusts it into his mouth. Then you can see how he takes hold of a carrot, or any other root, and how he seizes a branch of a tree that requires him to exercise a part of his great strength. In the latter case he twines his trunk around the branch, and if he is pulling it down from the tree he raises himself on his hind legs, and lets his weight hang by his trunk. In this way he can bring down a good-sized branch without much trouble; and as he feeds on the leaves and small limbs in the forest where he lives, his power is very useful to him.