Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1869-08-28
A Talk with am Elephant Trainer
How Elephants nre Educated

n DctIolI phptl, Tile IOllOWIng
"Baby Annie exhibited on Friday and
Saturday in this city, is popular and well
known as the majority of human actors.
who tread the boards instead of the sawdust
ring. Like them, she endeavors to please.
and in her way feels. .chagrin as deeply when
she fails to receive the appreciation believed
to be merited. She is now five years old,
and though far from her teens is never
theless pretty good lump ola body, weigh
ing eighteen hundred pounds. Her history
has been carefully kept, and Mclaughlin.
her trainer, can tell you everything about
her.
''At the time of her capture she was only
two years old but Smith, the captor. as
sisted by a party of Africans and dogs,
found her as hard to control in her infancy
as most women are of 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
hyenas that rode in baskets slung over Miss
Annic's back Her cost in New York was
eight thousand dollars, and at the time of
her purchase she was the smallest elephant
in this country, and is still the smallest
genuine African elephant. Though.she has
never been hard pushed to test her endur-
ance on the road, she once took a stretch
OF fort-two miles over the rocky roads of
Pennsylvania in eleven hours, and showed
not the least sign ofeXhaustion.
Miss Annie is model female-one of
the old schools and would as soon twist her
head OIL with her trunk as to harm a hu-
man being who treated her courteously
Last wlnter,i in her quarters at Philadelphia,
she exhibited love and hate in n yery sim
gular manner. Mclaughlin had imbibed
rather freely, and returning to the barn.
got into a difficulty with Il policeman, who
was bent on arrestin9 him. The cop had
been around the barn good deal, and was
somewhat acquainted with the elephant.
The trainer fled to the barn, and getting
behind Baby refused to submit to arrest.
The NJ. =. boldly advanced to bring 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 strong whirl deposited the frighten.
ed blue coat in barrel Of oats thirty feet
away. AS he had no instructions to arrest
elephants, and could not arrest the man
| without her, he concluded not to press mat
ters further.
AT another time last summer, during
n hot night, Mclaughlin laid down beside
Baby on bale hay, and soon fell asleep
Near him was the cage of the Bengal tiger
fierce and ungovernable animal, anc
! treacherous TO the last degree. BY lying
down the beast could get his paws at fui
length under the bars, and on the morning
OF that very day had thus given his unsus
pecting keeper stroke with his claws tina
tore open the mans check in q horribl
manner. Restless, Mclaughlin rollet
about, and the eyes of the Bengal clistenet
as he saw the body coming nearer to hi
cruel claws. At length, Just as one of tn
keepers entered the door, the trainer rolled
down SO near that the tiger reached out an,
caught his clothes, With a savage snarl
he was strai tightening back for pull, to &c
the flesh under his nails, when the elephant
who had also been sleeping, rose up at tn
growl, and seeing the situation at a glance
rushed forward, before the man at the doc
had scarcely advanced step, and with
blow Of her trunk, made the tiger let go hi
hold and scream with pain and fury.
Since her capture she has increased 81
ven hundred pounds in weight, and 81
inches in height. Three years ago she ha
not sign Of Il tusk; now she has ivorie
six inches long, and growing finely. l
the summer, when the weather is dry, sh
, Sclo a. bttIli NNCtS 'ltCh, ulu llCl
gives her a dozen pals of water over ii
back if standing long in the tent. Abol
twice a year she gets six gallons of linsee
oil rubbed over her skin; without it, Il
hide would get so dry as to feel and soun
like board. Her usual feed per day is
bushel of oats and one hundred and fit
pounds of hay, and she drinks, if mode
ately thirsty, twenty pals of water at
time.
AS stated, she is very docile, mindin
readily if she understands what is wantet
Doing wrong, through Ignorance, let he
trainer bless her eyes n little, and Bah,
shows as much sorrow rs n repcntant il
FAINT AS this is her third season, the pc
son must be sharp who can impose upc
her worthless gift. About four weel
ago a man gave her n stick of candy whiC
had been soaked for some time in tobacC
juice. Seeming not to mind the jok
Baby waited "a little, and when the .iOkt
had almost forgotten the incident, she toe
up huge piece of liver, lying near Il
cage of lions, and sent the mass full again
the fellows breast, knocking him dow
and altogether spelling the bosom of h
white shirt, and his ideas of supcriC
smartness.,'