The Elephants were used in war also by the Indian nations, and were looked upon as most formidable engines in battle. By the aid of these huge creatures, to a large extent, they conquered and held possession of the region of Central Asia west of the Indus.
It appears that the relative force of Elephants in a great army corps was one to each chariot of war, with three horsemen and five archers, the latter being perched on the Elephant’s back within a houdah of a defensible nature, denominated a castle, the whole forming what was termed a patti, or squad, comprising altogether not more than eleven men, with the drivers or attendants. This shows that in India, which furnished Elephants and the manner of arming them, only four or five archers, with or without the mahout, or driver, were told off to each animal; consequently, when the successors of Alexander introduced them in their wars in Syria, Greece, and Italy, they were not encumbered with more than one or two additional persons before a charge. Indeed, considerable trouble appears to have been taken that a war Elephant should not be nearly as heavily laden as one simply used for carrying burdens; therefore the number of thirty-two soldiers given in Maccabees as seated upon each Elephant must somehow or other be a mistake. These Elephants were well trained, and taught to hold out one of their hind legs horizontally, when it was necessary to mount them in a hurry. They appeared to take considerable delight and satisfaction in the gaudy trappings with which they were usually decorated. In some cases, Elephants have proved more dangerous to the army in whose ranks they were serving than to the enemy, by being suddenly confronted with objects previously unobserved. On such occasions they turn in haste, and spread terror and death into their own ranks. Careful, judicious, and long-continued training was the only remedy against these sudden surprises.
African Elephants probably were never so well trained and subdued as the Indian; nevertheless, they were used by the Carthaginians in the first Punic War (264–241 B.C.) with much success, and to the discomfiture of the Romans. In the second Punic War (218–216 B.C.) Hannibal performed the most astounding and remarkable feats of crossing the Pyrenees, making his way through Gaul, crossing the Alps with thirty-seven Elephants, and defeating the Romans at the Ticinus. Most of the Elephants, however, died shortly afterwards from the excessive coldness of the weather and the fatigue they had undergone. Various accounts are given in Roman history regarding the manner in which the Elephants crossed the Rhone. One story goes that they were assembled together on the bank, and the fiercest of them being provoked by his keeper, pursued him as he swam across the water, to which he had run for refuge, and that the rest of the herd followed. There is, however, more reason to believe that they were conveyed across on rafts. It is said that one raft two hundred feet long and fifty broad was extended from the bank to the river, and was then secured higher up by several strong cables to the bank, that it might not be carried down by the stream. The soldiers then covered it over with earth, so that the animals might tread upon it without fear, as on solid ground. Another raft one hundred feet long, and of the same breadth as the other, was joined to this first. The Elephants were driven along the stationary raft as along a road, and then, the females leading the way, passed on to the other raft, which was fastened to it by lashings. This, on being cut, was drawn by boats to the opposite shore. The Elephants gave no signs whatever of alarm, while they were driven along as it were on a continuous bridge; but a few became infuriated when the raft was let loose, and fell into the river, finding their way, however, safely to the shore.
The trappings and armour of a war Elephant have been described by the author of the “Ayeen Akbery” as follows:—“Five plates of iron, each one cubit long and four fingers broad, are joined together by rings, and fastened round the ears of the Elephant by four chains, each an ell in length; and betwixt these another chain passes over the head, and is secured beneath; and across it are four iron spikes, with ratasses and iron knobs. There are other chains with iron spikes and knobs, hung under the throat and over the breasts, and others fastened to the trunk; these are for ornament and to frighten Horses. Pakher is a kind of steel armour that covers the body of the Elephant; there are other pieces of it for the head and proboscis.”
SECTION OF SKULL OF INDIAN ELEPHANT.
s, Air Sinuses; n, Nostrils; b, Brain; m, Molar; t, Tusk.
History informs us that when Timour, or Tamerlane, attacked the dominions of the Sultan Mahmoud (A.D. 1399), the Elephants, of which the latter had a considerable number, caused great terror and alarm; and that the preparations made by Timour to overcome the Elephants were of the most extraordinary nature, for not only did he surround his camp with a deep ditch and bucklers, but also had Buffaloes tied together round the ramparts, with huge brambles on their heads, which were to be set on fire at the approach of the Elephants. The forces of the Sultan, besides the Elephants, consisted of a large number of horse and foot soldiers armed with swords and poisoned daggers. Attendant upon the Elephants were men armed with fire, melted pitch, and other horrid missiles, to be hurled at the invaders. The Elephants also, besides being armed, were decorated with all sorts of articles, such as cymbals and bells, and other objects likely to create a noise and confusion. Notwithstanding all this terrific display, Timour’s forces fought with great courage, actually defeating the Sultan’s forces, and putting the Elephants to flight, the unfortunate creatures undergoing severe usage to their trunks by the swordsmen, who appeared soon to find out the more vulnerable parts. It is said that the trunks of many of the Elephants were left scattered on the battle-field, having been severed by the sword. The belief in the invincibility of the Elephants was then for ever gone; and it is even said of Timour’s grandson, then quite a boy, that he himself wounded an Elephant, and drove it in as a captive to his grandfather’s camp.
We are told that in ancient times the number of Elephants annually brought from Africa to Rome, to be trained for the cruel and disgusting practice of fighting in the theatre, was very great. It is said of Pompey that, at the dedication of his theatre, no less than five hundred Lions, eighteen Elephants, and a number of armed men, were all at one time in the circus. In the second consulate of Pompey (54 B.C.) Elephants were opposed, in the circus, to Getulian archers; and, according to Pliny, this exhibition was characterised by some uncommon circumstances. One of the Elephants, although furious from a wound, is recorded to have seized upon the shields of his adversaries, and to have thrown them in the air with a peculiar movement, doubtless the effect of training, which caused the shields to whirl round before their fall. It is also stated that an Elephant, having been killed by a thrust of a javelin through the eye, the others rushed forward in a general charge to save him, and that on their coming with terrific force against the iron railings, the latter gave way, and several of the spectators were either injured or killed. On another occasion, when some Elephants, with other wild animals, were fighting together in the arena, the spectators so compassionated the unfortunate creatures, who were raising their trunks to heaven and roaring piteously, as if imploring aid of the gods, that they rose from their seats, and, disregarding Pompey’s presence, demanded that the Elephants might be spared. The destruction of Elephants in sport by the Romans, as well as the increased demands of the ivory trade, have caused the African Elephants to disappear from those regions of Northern Africa which they once inhabited. In the days of the Carthaginians, the animal was found north of the Sahara, where at present it is unknown.
The skull of the Elephant is remarkable for its great size, and the comparatively small cavity occupied by the brain. The latter is small in comparison to the size of the animal, in bulk not much exceeding that of man. Although the bones of the skull are so large, they are not solid, their interior being occupied by hollows divided from each other by thin partitions, by which means the skull is rendered lighter than might be supposed; and altogether it forms a beautiful instance of a provision for increasing the surface for attachment of muscles, without being too great a burden to its possessor. The skull of the Indian Elephant is of a much more pyramidal and less shapely form than that of the African.