Santa Fe weekly gazette. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1864-1869, 1869-08-14
Number 10.
A Talk with an Elephant Train.
er-HOw Elephants are Edu-
Gated.
A Detroit paper has the following !:

De'roil paper mas the ioHoWlnB
""Baby Annie, exhibited on Friday and
Saturdsyin this city, is as popular and well
known IS the majority Of human actors,
who tread the boards instead Of the sawdust
ring. Like them, size 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, Ave
years old, and though far from her 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 every
thing about her
AT the time of her capture, she was only
two years old; but Smith the cap,or assist.
ed by party of Alric,n' and dogs, found
most women are at mature age, After
few weeks training she was started for the
coast, eight hundrcl miles away, and Keny-
on has vet in his cages wo.large hyenas
that rode in baskets slung over Miss An
nie'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 only genuine
African elephant. Though sho Las never
been hard pushed to test her endurace on
the road, she once took n stretch of forty
two miles over the rocky roads of Pennsyl-
vania 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 ohwith her trunk as to harm human
being who treated her cotrteously. Last
winter, in her quarters at Philadelphia.
she exhibited love and hate in q very singu-
lar manner. Mclaughlin had imbibed ra-
ther freely and, returning to the barn, got
into difliulty with a 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 fcd to the barn, and getting behind
BABY. refused to submit 10 arrest. The NJ.
P, boldly advanced to bring him out, when
tho elephant thrust him aside with her
trunk. This was repeated several times, tho
trainer encouraging her, when the polirce-
man gave her an angry blow with his bat
on, and sought to push by. Blowing her
shrill trumpet, Baby caught him around
the waist, md giving him a strong whirl,
deposited the frightened blue-coat in bar.
rel Of oats thirty feet away As he had no
instructions to arrest elephants, and could
not arrest the man without her, he conclud-
cd not TO press matters'fur
AT another time last summer, during q
hot night, Mclaughlin laid down beside
Baby on bale Of hay, and soon fell as.
leep. Neor him was tho cage of the Bengal
tiger, fierce md ungovernable animal,
and treacherous to the last degree By
lying down the beast could get his paws at
full length under tao bars, and on tie
morning of that very day he had thus CIV
on his unsuspeciing keeper stroke with
his claws that tore open tho mans cheek In
n horrible manner. Restless, Mclaughlin
rolled about, and the eyes Of the Royal
gistenod rs he saw the body coming nearer
to bis cruel claws. Atlength, just rs one
of the keepers entered tho door, the trainer
rolled down so near that the tiger reached
out and caught his clothes. With savage
snarl, hc was Strengthening back for pull,
to get the flesh under his nails, when tho
elephant, who had also been sleeping, rose
up at the growl, and seeing tho situation d
a glance, rushed forward, before tho man
at the door had scarcely advanced step,
and with blow of her trunk made the tiger
let 90 his hold and scream with.pain and
fury.
"Since her capture sho has increased sew.
on hundred pounds in weight, and six in
ches in height Three years ago she had not
q sign of tusk; now, she hal ivories six
inches long, and growing finely. In tho
summer, when the weather is dry, she gets
a bath at every creek, and her trainer gives
her dozen pals of water over the back, II
standing long in the tent About twice q
year she gets six gallons of linsecd oil rub
bed over her skim without 1t, tho hide
would get SO dry as to feel and sound like a
board. Her usual feed per day is bushol
of oats and one hundred and fifty pounds
of hay and she drinks if moderately thirs-
ty, twenty pals of water Mt time. Az
stated, she Is very docile, minding readily
If she understands what Is wanted. Doing
wrong, through ignorance, let her trainer
bless her eyes little, and Baby shows As
much sorrow ms n repentant infant As this
is her third season, the pcrscn must DO sharp
who can impose upon her worthless gift.
: About four weeks ago n man gave her q
stick of candy which had been soaked for
some time in tobacco juice. Seeming not to
mind the joke, Baby waited n little, and
when the joker had almost forgotten tho in
cidcnt, she took up huge piece of liver
lying near the cage OF lions, and sent tho
mass full against the fellows breast, knock
ing him down, and altogether spelling the
bosom of his white shirt and his idoas Of
superior smartness.