New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-06-14
it, ----.--7---------.----------
An Elephant at Large.

From the Providence Journal, and the testi-
mony OF an eye witness to part of the scene.
we gather the following particulars of the havoc
and destruction made yesterday morning by a
large elephant attached to the Broadway Mena-
gerie, who got loose from his keeper on the way
from PaWtucket to Fall River. When about
seven miles from Pawtucket he got free from the
control of his keeper, and meeting d horse and
wagon belonging to Mr.. Stafford Short, he thrust
his tusk into the horse and lifted horse wagon
and rider into the air He mangled the horse
terribly, and carried him about fifty feet and
threw the dead body into pond The wagon
was broken to pieces, and Mr.. Short consdera-
ply hurt he elephant broke one of his enor-
nous tusks in this encounter A mile f11rther,
the elephant now grown more furious, attacked
IN the same manner horse and wagon with Mr..
Thomas w. Peck and his son. He broke the
wagon and wounded the horse, which ran away
MIR. Peck was pretty badly hurt in the hip
Two men took horses and drove ahead to give
warning to the passengers whom they met on
the way They came up with Mr. Pearce,
who was riding with his little son in a. one
horse wagon. He was coming towards the ele-
plant, and, being warned by the out-riders
turned around and put the horse to his sneed
but the elephant overlook him, and Selling the
wagon, threw it into the air, dashinp II to
pieces and breaking the collar bone and arm Of
MIR. Pearce The horse, disengaged from the
9tSou, escdpeu Win tne lore wheels, and the
elephant gave chase for eight miles, but did not
catch him. The elephant came back from his
unsuccessful pursuit and took up his march
again on the main road, where he next enconn-
tered Mr. Jabez Eddy, with a horse and wagon
He threw up the whole establishment in the
same way as before, smashed the wagon, killed
the horse and wounded Mr.. Eddy. He threw
the horse twenty feet over a fence into the adj
joining lot, then broke down the fence, went
over and picked up the dead horse and deposited
him in the road, where he had first met him.
He killed one other horse and pursued another.
who lied to barn. The elephant followed, but
at the door was met by fierce bull dog, which |
bit his leg and drove him off
Once on the route, the keeper being ahead of
him, saw him plunge over wall and make for
a house. The keeper got into the house first,
hurried the frightened people within to the up
per story, and, providing himself with an axe, |
succeeded in driving off the furious beast.
On his route, the elephant killed three horses, |
and seriously injured two men, besides the |
damage to wagons. Our informant says he shall
never forget "seeing that elephant" He was
covered with blood from the horses he had
killed. His strength was surprising, for he
seemed to handle horse with as much ease as
q terrier dog does a rat. The horses were ter
ribly frightened when they saw the wild elo-
plant It is believed that part of the time he
ran at the rate of mile in three minutes. He
finally exhausted his strength, and laid himself
down in the bushes, about two miles from Slade's
Ferry. Here he was secured with chains, and
carried over the ferry to Fall River. /