gave proof of great courage, and they also held that the recital of their glorious act constituted their best epitaph.*
A
Roman polychrome mosaic of the second century, found some time since in
the course of excavations made on the site of the ancient Etruscan city
of Veii, depicts the methods employed at that time in embarking
elephants. The representation shows a boat, moored near the shore, with
which it is connected by a plank bridge. Along this the elephant is
being guided. On board the vessel are a master and four men, while four
other men on shore assist in the somewhat difficult task of
embarkation. The details of the operation are very carefully
delineated. The forelegs of the elephant are hobbled so as to prevent
it from escaping; to the right foreleg is attached a cord, on which the
men on board are pulling, one end having been passed around the mast
and secured to two staples in the deck; to the left foreleg is fastened
another cord, one end of which is held by the shipmaster and the other
end by one of the men on shore; this is used to steady the elephant. A
third cord, fastened to the left hindleg, is not anchored, but is
firmly held by three of the men on shore, who have braced themselves
to check any too sudden forward movement of the elephant which,
hampered as it is, has been left just sufficient freedom of motion to
permit a slow advance movement across the temporary bridge. This very
interesting relic, the earliest representation of the kind that we
have, belonged originally to Empress Theresa of Brazil, wife of Dom
Pedro, and was inherited by her daughter, the Comtesse d'Eu; it is now
in Paris.f
Of elephant hunting in ancient times we have the state-
*Claudii iEliani, "Varia historia," xii, 55.
tR. Cagnat, "La première representation connue du mode d'embarquement de l'éléphant," in L'Ami des Monuments et des Arts, Vol. XIV, Paris, 1900, pp. 67-70.
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