The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-11-15
A three Hours' Combat with am RIe.
miami.
F+oni the cEncttraa commerciai.

Front nse ctHetHlaa Commercial.
Mr.. Hyatt Frost, OF Van Amburgh's
Menagerie. gave us, yesterday thepar-
ticu1ars OF a fight with Tppoo sahib,
the swell-known elephant, which oc-
CURED at Connersville, Ind. (, last Tnes-
day.. The menagerie has gone into
winter quarters at that place, and the
animal Is chained In small building.
Tppoo Sahib is now the largest ele-
phant In America. Hets 86 years old,
aud weighs 10000 poundss, The battle
resulted from change In his Keepers.
Frank Nash, hisfkeeper for ten years,
was recently supplnnted by Charles
johnson, formerly Of Barnum's Menag-
erie. The elephant was in particularly
bad humor with all mankind. He
would allow. nobody in his quarters.
striking at; every Intruder with his
trunk and tusks most yiciously. On
Tuesday morning last, al 10 O'clock,
the combat opened. The new keeper,
with nine assista nts, bad fully equtpPep
himself with chains and cables for
tying, and spears and pttchforks for
shbduIng Tippoo. Tie first thing done
the tnsk. chain, which latter Is fastened
to one.leg and netusk. By means Of
this rope, "a twenty.ton cable
chain, formerly used to sub
due the famous HannibaD was
slipuoosed around the tusk. Next an
excavation three feet tdeep was made
under the sill OF the housey and while
the elephants attention was attracted
ed to the other side Of the room
by a pail of water poured into his
trough, the cable chain was passed
through the excavation and fastened
to heavy stakes outside. AT this time
the infuriated monster struck all
around him with terrible sferbcity, and
tugged at his chain with incredible mo-
mentum. The next thing accompllsh-
ed was the anaring OF his hind legs.
This was contaminated blythe singing
OF fresh ropes around those two stately
pillars of elephant flesh, bone and mus
ole, and finally, by the stealthY strate-
gy OF the keeper and another man, these
ropes were fastened to stnnps outside.
The elephant was now sufficiently PIN
Toned to allow the order "charge pitch,
forks" to be given. Ten men, armed
with these ugly implements OF ofIsnse,
plunged. them into the rampagtng
beast, taking care, of course, 70 avoid
penetrating his eyes or joints. The ten
derest spot in an elephant Is Just be-
hind the fore legs, and that locality was
prodded numerically. By means
of a hooked spear sunk in
his back Tippoo was brought to his
knees, but ne surged up again with
such awful strength that he swept his
tormentors off their feet, and made his
chains whistle like fiddle strings.a Alter
an'hour's fighting he was broughtdown
on his side, but for two hours longer he
tugged at his chains with frenzied OBJ
stinacy. He pulled so hard at times
that his hind legs were straight out be-
hind him, and three feet of the ground.
At.the end of the three hours the. giant
gave in byI Itrunipeting, which Is the
elephant way of crying enough. The
moment this peculiar cry was heard the
battle ceased. The keeper made Tippoo
get up and lie down number of times,
and he was US obedient to the word OF
command as a gentle pony The ami
NAL WAS then nigroomed and rubbed of
with whisky. He was a subiugated
elephant. At one stage of the fight the
dog Jack, Ia companion ofthe elephant,l
thought some of the tying business foul
play. He flew upon Johnson's back
and tried TO sink his fangs into his
neck, but was pulled Off and dragged
out of the room. Jack evidently sym
pathized with his bigfriend.