The earliest mention of war elephants is made by Ctesias, where he describes Cyrus as making war against King Amoræus, who placed a large number of elephants in ambush, putting the horses of Cyrus to flight. Ælian quotes Ctesias as saying that the king of the Indians went to war with an army of ten thousand elephants, which was undoubtedly an exaggeration. In olden times, elephants seemed to be a necessity, and would-be conquerors were often put to some remarkable straits to procure them. Perhaps the most amusing substitution was that adopted by Queen Semiramis, who made mock elephants out of hides, and put camels within them, with what laughable results Diodorus Siculus shall tell us. The story is so quaint, and replete with curious situations, that I give it complete in the language of the old historian:— “Semiramis, having settled her affairs in Egypt and Ethiopia, returned with her army into Asia to Bactria; and now having a great army, and enjoying a long peace, she had a longing desire to perform some notable exploit by her arms. Hearing, therefore, that the Indians were the greatest nation in the whole world, and had the largest and richest tract of land of all others, she resolved to make war upon them. “Stabrobates was at that time king, who had innumerable forces, and many elephants, bravely accoutred, and fitted to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies. For India, for the pleasantness of the country, excelled all others; being watered in every place with many rivers, so that the land yielded every year a double crop; and by that means was so rich, and so abounded with plenty of all things necessary for the sustenance of man’s life, that it supplied the inhabitants continually with such things as made them excessively rich, insomuch that it was never known that there was ever any famine amongst them, the climate being so happy and favorable; and upon that account, likewise, there is an incredible number of elephants, which for courage, and strength of body, far excel those in Africa. Moreover, this country abounds in gold, silver, brass, iron, and precious stones of all sorts, both for profit and pleasure. All of which being noised abroad, so stirred up the spirit of Semiramis, that (though she had no provocation given her) yet she was resolved upon the war against the Indians. But knowing that she had need of great forces, she sent despatches to all the provinces, with command to the governors to list the choicest young men they could find; ordering the proportion of soldiers every province and country should send forth, according to the largeness of it; and commanded that all should furnish themselves with new armor and arms, and all appear in three years’ time at a general rendezvous in Bactria, bravely armed and accoutred in all points. And having sent for shipwrights out of Phoenicia, Syria, Cyprus, and other places bordering upon the seacoasts, she prepared timber for