The two armies watched each other for several days; then Alexander succeeded in crossing the river, and the two forces drew up in line of battle. The Indian king placed his elephants in the front rank, one hundred feet apart, thinking in this way so to frighten the horses of the foe that the entire army would be put to flight. Between the elephants were foot soldiers, and at the ends of the line were large elephants bearing strong towers filled with armed men. King Porus himself was borne upon an elephant of unusual height, probably as large as the famous Jumbo.
When King Alexander, who was a very brave and valiant man, saw the orderly foe, he said: "At last I have met with a danger worthy of the greatness of my soul." Evidently he had due respect for the elephant soldiers that opposed him.
Alexander moved his forces to the attack, and poured in a shower of arrows and spears. The elephants stood like a stone wall, trampling the foot soldiers beneath their heavy feet, seizing them in their trunks, and delivering them to the soldiers upon their backs, or tossing them high in air. The elephants were evidently the main hope of King Porus, and, perceiving this, Alexander directed men armed with scythes and knives to attack them. These warriors chopped at the elephants' feet and tender trunks, until, in terror, the great creatures turned and began a stampede that was disastrous to the foot soldiers of their own side, for they trampled upon them, and in their flight mowed them down like grain. Alexander followed close after the elephants upon his wounded charger; and finally, the battle was lost to Porus because of the elephants themselves. King Porus, being wounded during the hurried retreat, desired to alight. The driver ordered his elephant to kneel, whereupon all the elephants, having been accustomed to obey in concert, did the same; and the soldiers of Alexander fell upon them, and gained a complete victory.
It is said that elephants which survived this famous battle were revered for years by the Indians, and honored much as are the veterans of our wars. In an ancient book, the "Life of Apollonius of Tyana," he is said to have seen in a town of India an elephant which the people held in the greatest respect as having been owned by King Porus. It was perfumed with sweet essences and decked with garlands, while upon its tusks were rings of gold, inscribed with these words: "Alexander, son of Jupiter, dedicates Ajax to the Sun." The elephant Ajax, according to Apollonius, was the old war elephant of Porus in his battle with Alexander, and had survived and lived in honorable idleness for three hundred and fifty years.
While Alexander defeated the elephant corps of Porus, he saw that they were good fighters, and created the office of elephantarch, or chief of elephants; and afterwards, visiting monarchs found him surrounded by the largest elephants, magnificently harnessed. Alexander was proud of the huge elephants of his court, and fond of displaying their intelligence; and the trainer who succeeded in making the elephant accomplish the most wonderful deeds was highly honored.
On one occasion some elephants were being shown to an eminent general, when the latter remarked that evidently they could perform any service that a man could. "They might even bridge a stream," he added. No sooner were the words uttered than a signal was given, and the herd was marched into a stream that rushed by the camp. The well-trained animals waded into the water, which was four or five feet deep, and arranged themselves side by side, some heading upstream and others down. Men now ran forward with planks; some were placed against pads upon the backs of the animals, while others were continued from back to back; and in a remarkably short space of time an elephant bridge was ready, over which the soldiers passed, while the huge animals trumpeted and sent streams of water whirling into the air—a remarkable and inspiring spectacle.
"An elephant bridge."
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On another occasion one of the generals of the army, who had displayed especial bravery, was ordered before the chief, who publicly thanked him. "Even my elephants," said one of the elephantarchs, "can distinguish the hero." At this the crowd fell back, and a gorgeously ornamented elephant approached, bearing in its trunk a wreath of oak leaves. Walking up to the hero of the hour, it dropped upon its knees, placed the wreath upon the officer's head, and then retired amid the shouts of the admiring soldiers.
Undoubtedly the driver who sat upon the animal's head had much to do with this performance, but we must admit that the elephant exhibited wonderful intelligence in carrying out orders so exactly.
Elephants were used in various wars after the time of Alexander. One general employed sixty-five to batter down the walls of a city; but they were destroyed by ditches skillfully dug by the besieged. Hannibal, Mago, Scipio, and many famous generals used elephants in war, relying upon them generally to frighten the foe by their huge, strange forms. Some of the war elephants presented a remarkable appearance, as the tusks of the huge animals were made longer by metal coverings, or long knives with which to cut and cleave the enemy.
In modern times the elephant has been used in war, and to-day forms a corps of the British army in India. In the army of Aurengzebe, an emperor of India, the elephants dragged the artillery, lifting the cannon wheels from the mud when mired, and in some instances carrying the guns upon their backs.
The elephants of Akbar, another emperor in an early period of the Mogul empire, were armed after the fashion of knights, being protected by great coats of mail fitted to their bulky forms. The following description of such armor is taken from an ancient book:
"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 between these another chain passes over the head, and across it are four iron spikes and iron knobs. There are other chains with iron spikes and knobs hung under the throat and over the breast, and others fastened to the trunk; these are for ornament, and also to frighten horses."
There was also a kind of steel armor that covered the body of the elephant, with pieces also for the head and proboscis. One historian adds that "swords are bound to their trunks, and daggers are fastened to their tusks."
It can well be understood that the approach of several hundred elephants covered with clanking armor, their tusks bearing daggers, and their trunks swords, struck terror to the foe. The Sultan Ibrahim marched his elephants against an army of Alim Khan, and utterly put the men to flight. They looked at the huge monsters for a single moment, then fled in utter rout.
The army of Timour, when on the plains before Delhi, was almost frightened away by the elephants, and he prevented a retreat only by digging ditches and building great bonfires about his army. The force arrayed against him was that of the Sultan Mamood (A.D. 1399), who had a corps of elephants armored with cuirasses, while upon their tusks were poisoned daggers. The towers upon their backs bore archers and slingers, and upon the ground by their sides were throwers of pitch and fire. On the sides of the elephants were musicians, who beat bass drums and made a terrible din with their bells and cymbals. This, with the shrieking and trumpeting of the elephants, might well have carried terror into the hearts of the men.
But Timour by mere force of will put to flight the foe. His grandson, a youth of but fifteen, wounded a large elephant, whereupon the men upon its back were thrown, and the young warrior drove the animal into Timour's camp. While the elephants were defeated here by the skill of Timour's attack, the latter saw their value in battle, and two years later we find him using elephants in Syria. In the famous battle of Aleppo, the front rank was protected by elephants, mounted by archers and throwers of Greek fire (a sort of burning pitch). Timour had trained his elephants to hide or coil up their trunks when attacked at this tender point, and this aided him in winning a great victory, the elephants completely routing the enemy.
It was in processions and pageants that elephants made the finest appearance, fitted with magnificent trappings, and marching slowly along, as if conscious of their fine appearance. One of the most remarkable displays was that at the wedding of Vizier Ali, in 1795. Here twelve hundred elephants were in line, all richly costumed. Of these, one hundred had howdahs, or castles, covered with silver, while in the center sat the nabob upon a very large elephant whose howdah was covered with gold set with jewels.
The daily parade of the elephants at the court of Jehanghir was a wonderful display. The elephants were bedecked with precious stones, chains of gold and silver, gilt banners and flags. The first elephant, called the "Lord Elephant," had the plates of his head and breast set with rubies and emeralds, and as he passed the king, he turned, dropped upon his knees, and trumpeted loudly—not in loyal frame of mind, exactly, but because the driver pricked him with a sharp prod just at the right time.
The elephant is still used in India in pageants, and as a laborer, especially in the lumber districts, where it is taught to carry long timbers.
"The elephant is taught to carry long timbers."
<!-- image -->As has been said, it forms a corps in the British army; but in active warfare it is now useful only in a few cases, and can never be employed so frequently as in ancient times.
A LIVING UMBRELLA.
ANY one who has drifted along the rocky shores of the Atlantic or Pacific coast, with face near the water, must have noticed the myriads of jellyfishes passing and repassing in the current. They form endless lines and columns in certain places, and at night convert the ocean depths into a scene of splendor by their phosphorescence. As we watch them they suggest many other forms.
"A Jellyfish."
<!-- image -->Here one with graceful and elongate train appears a veritable comet; another seems devoid of tentacles, and resembles a crystal ball suspended like a mimic world in the watery space. Another and larger kind is almost exact in its resemblance to a curiously colored umbrella with a clumsy handle. We can almost count the ribs that appear to radiate from the top downward; and here is even the lace with which the edges of some umbrellas are decorated. In fact, so perfect is the imitation that it is a wonder that the jellyfishes have not been called the sea umbrellas.
Umbrellas are protective, or intended to be; and let us see if this floating, jellylike one is not. We steady the boat, and soon one comes swimming slowly up until its shining disk is exposed. We sink a glass beneath it, and have the curious, watery creature (for at least ninety-five per cent of it is water) in the prison. What a mass of tentacles! and how they twist and writhe, some lengthening out, others being hauled in like fishing lines. It is soon evident that we have captured something else, as, darting in and out, rushing wildly here and there, are a number of little pink-and-white fishes, looking for all the world like animated bits of tentacle darting about. But they are fishes, and in a few moments we see them hiding up beneath the great umbrella—literally in a house of seeming crystal, and surrounded by tentacles. We might think this an accidental occurrence; but lift another jelly, and one or more fishes are seen, as before, and we come to the conclusion that these living umbrellas afford protection to the little fishes, which may be said to have living homes.