The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-06-14
An Elephant at Large.

The large elephant attached to the
Broadway menagerie got loose from his
keeper on the way from Pawtucket to
Fall River, early yesterday morning
Before starting, his keeper made him
lift the hind part ola wagon loaed with
$500 pounds, for the purpose of getting
it into line. 1t is supposed that this, al
though not unusual, might have sugges-
ted to him the mode of attack which he
adopted afterwards. When about seven
miles from Pawtucket, he got free from
the control of his keeper, and meeting a
horse and wagon, belonging to Mr.. Star
ford Short, he thrust his tusk into the
horse and lifted horse, wagon and rider
into the air. He mangled the horse ter
ribly and carried him about fifty feet,
and threw the dead body into pond.
The wagon was broken to atoms, and
Mr.. Short considerably hurt. The ele-
plant broke one ofhis enormous tusks
in this encounter. A mile further the
elephant, now grown more furious, at
tackled in the same tanner a horse and
wagon, with Mr.. Thomson w. Peck and
his son. He broke the Wagon, and
wounded the horse which ran away
Mr.. Peck was pretty badly hurt in the
hip.
While the keepers were engaged in
securing the smaller elephant, who how
ever, manifested no signs of insubor-
dination, the larger one got off from them,
and went on through Barneyville; when
Mr.. Mason Barney and another man
mounted their horses and kept on his
track as near to him as was prudent,
giving warning of the danger to the
passengers whom they met on the way.
The elephant would occasinaly turn to
look at them, but did not attempt to
modest them. e
The next man in the path was Mr.
Pearce, who was riding with his little
son in a one horse wagon. He was COM
ing towards the elephant and being warn
ed by Mr.. Barney, turned around and
put the horse to his speed, but the ele-
plant overlook him, and Selling the wag-
on, threw it into the air, dashing it to
pieces, and breaking the collar bone and
arm of Mr.. Pearce. The horse, disen-
gagged from the wagon, escaped with the
fore wheels, and the elephant gave chase
for eight miles, but did not catch him.
The elephant came back from his un-
successful pursuit and took up his march
again on the main road, where he next
encountered Mr. Jabez Ebby, with a
horse and wagon He thew up the whole
establishment in the same way as before,
smashed the wagon, killed the horse and
wounded Mr.. Ebby. He threw the
horse twenty feet over a fence, went over
and picked up the dead horse and depos-
tied him in the road, were he had first
met him. ~is--l
He killed one other horse and pursued
another, who fed to a barn. The ele-
plant followed, but at the door was met
by a fierce bull dog, which bit his leg
and drove him off.
Once on the rout, the keeper being
ahead of him, saw him plunge over a
wall and make for a house. The keeper
got into the house first, hurried the fright
ened people within to the upper story,
and providing himself with axe, succeed
ed in drivieg off the furious beast. :
The elephant finally exhausted his
strength, and laid himself down in the
bushes, about two miles from Shades
Ferry. Here he was secured with chains
and carried over the ferry to Fall River.
A part of the time he ran at the rate of
mile in three Observation-Disclosures
Journal. .,As -.el ~