The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-01-05
SAGACITY OF THE ELEPHANT.
WONDERFUL EFFECT CT A LITTLE
KINDNESS.

The memory of Young the trag.iian
written by his son, contained the suo-
;, joined story:
}, In July. 1910, the largest elephant
8 ever seen in England was advertised
t as 'just arrived As SOON as Henry
Harris. the mansger OF Covent Garden
8 Theatre, heard OF it, he determined, if
] possible, to obtain it for it struck him
that if it were to be introduced in the
new pantomime of "Hsrlequin Pos
3 mensta," which he was about to pro-
! duce at great cost, it would add great
t ly 10 the attractions.
Under this impression and before the
proprietor Of Exeter Change had seen
it, he purchased it for 900 guineas,-
Mrs. Henry johnson was to ride it,
and Miss Parker the Columbine, was
to play up to it.
Young happened to be one morning
at TIE box Office adjoining Convent
J Garden Theatre when. his ears we're
! assailed by sthenge and unusual up
roar within the wallis.
On asking one Sof the carpenters
the cause OF it, he was told it was
something wrong with the elephant,
he could not exactly tell what.
l am not aware what might be the
usage nowadays; but then, whenever
new piece had been announced for
presentation on a given night, and
there was scarcely time for its srehear
sal it would tske place after the nights
regular performance was over. and
the audience had been dismissed
One such there had been before my |
fathers curiosity had been aroused |
As it had been arranged that Mrs
Henry johnson seated in howdah on
the elephants back, should pass over
q bridge in the center of numerous
group of followers, it was thought
expedient thatthe unwieldly monsters
tractsbility should be tested.
On stepping up to the bridge, which
was slight and temporary, the saga
cious brute threw back his fore feet
and refused to bulge. 1t is well
known that the elephant because Of
it's unusual bulk will never trust its
weight upon any object which is une-
quail to its support.
The stage manager, seeing how
resolutely the animal resisted every
attempt made TO eo&pei of,duce i .cduce him
to go over the bridge in question: \
proposed that they should stay the
proceedings till next day, when he
might be in better mood. 1t was
during therepetition OF the experiment
that father, having heard the extra
ordinary sounds, determined to 90
and see il he could ascertain the cause
of them,
The first sight that met his ewes
kindled his Indignation. There stood
the huge animal, with downcast eyes
and tapping ears, meekly submitting
to blow after blow from a sharp iron
goad, which he was driving ferocious
ly into the fieshy part OF his neck at
tie root OF his ear The fl Dor on which
he stood was converted to a pool of
blood.
One ofthe proprietors, impatient
at what he regarded as senseless OBJ !
siinsncy, kept urging the driver to
still greater extremities, Shen Chas.
Young who was great lover of ami !
mails, expostulated with him; went
up to the poor patient aninimal, pat
ted and carressed him and when the '
driver was about to WELD his istru-
ment again, with even still more Wig c
or, he caught him by the wrist as in a s
vice, and stayed him from further vi l
olence. d
While an angry alteration was 60 I
ing on between Young and the driver
Capt. Hay of the Ashel, who had c
brought over Chung in his ship, and d
had petted him greatly on the voyage s.
came in and beggel to know what a
was the matter. +
Before a word of explanation y
could be given, the much wronged e
creature spoke fer himself, for, as IL
soon as he perceived the entrance of n
his patron he waddled up to him and L
with look of gentle appeal. caught
hold of his hand with his proboscis,
plunged it into his bleeding wound, tt
and then thrust it before his eyes. Il
The gesture seemed to say, as @
plainly as if it had been enforced by te
speech, "See how these cruel men is
treat Chung. Can you approve ofit?' it
The hearts of the hardest present n
were seasibly touched by what they al
saw and among them that of the lC
gentleman who had been so energetic ID
promoting its harsh treatment. 1t I
was under better impulse that he if
ran out into the street, purchased a IN
few apples at stall, and offered them 81
to him, Caung eyed him askance, took g
them, threw them beneath his feet, =
and, when he had crushed them to a ST
pulp, spurned them for him, p,
Young, who had gone into the Con- hI
vent Garden With the same crowd as O
the gentleman who had preceded O'
him, shortly after re-entered, and also b
held out to him some fruit, when, n,
to the astonishment of the bystand. el
ers. the elephant ate every morsel, is
and, after, twined his trunk with Ii
studied gentleness, around Young's N
waist, marking by his action that, a.
though he had resented wrong he lje
did not forget a kindness. Il
1t was in the year 1914 that Har- b
ris parted with Chung to Cross, the L
ofthe menagerie at Exeter d
Change. Il
One of the purchaser 3 first act was Il
to send Charles Young life ticket of "
admission to his exhibition and it u
was one of his innocent little vani q
ties, when passing through the Strand y
with any friend, to drop in on Chung,
pay hiE a visit in his den, aud show
the intimate relations which existed c
between them. u
The tragic end of the poor creature 4
must be within the recollection OF 4
many of our readers. From some
cause unknown, he went msd; and it I
took 125 shots, discharged by a de 4
taehment of the Guards, to dispatch 1
him. d
HERE Is an item interesting to orni- !
biologists The Bostonians are just !
ly proud OF the sparrows of the Com
mon, but lately an interloping "butch- I
er-bird'' has invaded that sacred ter 4
ritory, and made it his business to
murder the spsrrows by wholesale.
Last week the cruel bird was spotted
by the City Forester and shot, just as :
he had killed his last sparrow and
taken its head off. The butcher-bird
is of the size ahd general appearance ,
of the mocking bird, but his upper bill !.
is hooked and very SHARP. The re- .
mains are to be stuffed, and the pret-
ty sparrows will once more futter ,
and ehirp without fear.