The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1869-07-23
A Talk with an Elephant Trainer.
HOW ELEPh.NTs ARE EDUCATED.
netroit manner has the followinc:


A Detroit paper has the following:
"'Baby Annie, exhibited on Friday and
Saturday in this city, is as popular and
we'll known as the majority of human actors,
who tread the boards instead of the saw
dust ring. Like them, she endeavors to
please, and in her way feels chagrin as
baton believed to be merited. She is now
teens, is nevertheless pretty good lump
of body, weighing eighteen hundred
pounds. Her history has been carefully
kept, and Mclaughlin, her trainer, can tell
you everything about her.
cat the time of her capture she was
only two years old; but Smith, the eaptor,
assisted bya party of Africans end dogs,
found her as hard to control in her infancy
as most women are at mature age. After
a few weeks training she was started for
the coast, eight HUNDRED miles away, and
Kenyon has yet in his cages two large by
enas that rode in baskets slung over Miss
Annie's back. Her cost in Newly rk was
eight thousand dollars, and at the time of
her purchase she was the smallest elephant
in this country and is still the only gen.
uine African elephant Though she has
never been hard pushed to test her endur-
ance on the road, she once took stretch
of forty-two miles over the rocky roads of
PENNSYLVANIA in eleven hours, and showed
not the least sign of exhaustion.
.Miss Annie is model female-one of
the old school, and would as soon twist her
head off with her trunk az to harm a hui
man being who treated her courteously
Last winter. in her quarters at Philadel-
phia, she exhibited love and hate in very
singular manner. Mclaughlin had imbibed
freely, and, returning to the barn, got into
difficulty with policeman who was bent
on arresting him. The cop had been
around the barn good deal, and was some
what acquainted with the elephant. The
trainer fed to the barn, and getting be-
hind Baby refused to submit to arrest
The M. P. boldly advanced to bring him
out, when the elephant thrust him aside
with her trunk. This was repeated several
times, the trainer encouraging her, when
the policeman gave her an angry blow with
his baton and sought to push by. Blowing
her shrill trumpet, Baby caught him
around the waist, and giving him q strong
whirl, deposited the frightened blue coat
in barrel of oats thirty feet away. As he
had no instructions to arrest elephant, and
could not arrest the man without her, he
concluded not to press matters further.
cat another time last summer, during q
hot night, Mclaughlin laid down beside
Baby on bale of hay, and soon fell
asleep Near him was the cage of the Ben
gal tiger, fierce and ungovernable animal,
and treacherous to the last degree. By
laying down the beast could get his paws
at full length under the bars, and on the
morning of that very day he had thus given
his unsuspecting keeper stroke with his
claws that tore open the mans cheek
in a horrible manner. Restless, Nc
Laughlin rolled about, and the eyes of the
Royal glistened as he saw the body COM
ing nearer to his cruel claws. At length,
just as one of the keepers entered the door,
the trainer rolled down so near tina. the
tiger reached out and caught his clothes
With savage snarl he was Strengthening
back for pull, to get the flesh under his
nails, when the elephant, who had also
been sleeping, rose up at the growl, and
seeing the situation at glance rushed for
ward before the man at the door had
scarcely advanced step, and with blow
of her trunk made the tiger let go his hold
and scream with pain and fury.
''Since her capture she has increased sew
en- hundred pounds in weight and six inches
in height. Three years ago she had not q
sign of tusk; now she has worries six
inches long, and growing finely. In the
summer, when the weather is dry, she gets
bath at every creek, and her trainer gives
her dozen pals of water over the back il
standing long in the tent. About twice a
year she gets six gallons of linseed oil
rubbed over her skin; without it, the hide
would get so dry rs to feel and sound like
board. Her usual feed per day is bushe
of oats and one hundred and fifty pounds
of hay and she drinks if moderately thirsty
twenty pals of water at q time. As stated
she is very docile, minding readily i
she understands what is wanted Doing
wrong, through ignorance, let her trainer
bless her eyes little, and Baby shows az
much sorrow as repentant infant. Ar
this is her third season, the person must
be sharp who can impose upon her worth.
less gift. About four weeks ago a man
gave her stick of candy which had been
soaked for some time in tobacco juice
Seeming not to mind the joke, Baby wait
ed little, and when the joker had almost
forgotten the incident, she took up huge
piece of liver lying near the cage of lions,
ana sent the mass full against the fellows
breast, knocking him down, and altogether
spelling the bosom of his white shirt, and
| his ideas of superior smartness."