Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1872-07-04
A Huge Job for the Doctors.

travelling with a nenagerie in the west.
Upon arriving at Chicago, it was found
that the animal suffered with sores SO
severely, that he could go no further, and
DR.. Boyd, of the Chicago Medical College,
performed an operation upon him. The
operation is thus described: Romeo was
standing quietly in bed of hay, with his
festered four feet in tubs of water, little
dreaming what was in store for him. The
wounds were inspected, and it was not
before the N. D. discovered that they
had, indeed, an elephant on their hands.
One of the Forepaugh brothers, who has
charge of the elephants, placed himself IN
front of Romeo with pitchtork; an as
sistant keeper took charge of his trunk
by attaching several handspikes to it;
DR.. Withers knelt before his victim, and
in another moment several pounds OF ele-
phant steak were severed from the mass.
simultaneously low rumbling, like dis
tant thunder, vibrated through the tent,
bringing every animal in the menagerie
to the chorus, and for minute or two 1t
seemed as if all the elements had broken
loose in Pandemonium. The next thrust
brought only q quiver over the huge car
cass, and after that, during three mortal
hours of terrible pain, the animal dis
played only the noblest qualities of forti-
tude. The surroundings of the animal
soon presented the appearance OF an Ill
ordered slaughter house. Again and
again, under the directions of Professor
Boyd, DR.. Withers cut, gouged, tunneled
and chiseled into the poor beast, each
time cutting away or digging out pound
or two of putrid flesh, and each time the
knife or other tool was withdrawn the
blood flowed copiously after it. Like a
practiced miner, the doctor only pros
pected for while, feeling his way to the
crevices. Soon he laid bare member,
and then entered upon task that sickened
tue stoutest saw-bones present. Having
exposed the seats of corruption, he began
to scoop them out, bringing handful after
handful of putrifcation to the surface.
Tunneling his way along by means OF
scrapers and chisels, his arm would enter
the animals leg to the elbow, until the
sound flesh was reached. After full
hour spent in slashing, gouging and scrap
ing, during which the poor beast was rid
of fifteen or twenty pounds of purified
matter and flesh, and a pound or TWO OF
bone, the surgeons concluded that suffi-
cient for day might be the evil thereof,
and desisted from that part of the opera
ton, to enter upon another more painful
and narrowing. Both legs had been thor
oughly tunneled, and in many cases, where
the openings were directly opposite, but
slight integuments and fractions of bones
prevented meeting, men were busy at
the furnace heating huge soldering irons,
several inches in diameter, to a white
heat. These were now brought into re-
ouisition to remove the proud flesh. When
DR.. Withers approached the animal with
the first of these glowing irons shiver
ran through his frame, and he was dis
posed to resent any further aggression,
but being convinced by the pointed argu
ments of his keeper that it was all for his
good, he issued another low thunder,
which was echoed from every cage, and
Strengthened his trunk and braced himself
for further martyrdom. The red-hot iron
was now run into tunnel No. the length
of about foot, and kissing sound, fol-
lowed by dense volumes of fumes and an
intolerable stencil, issuing from the open
ing. The poor brute shook like an aspen,
made a slight effort or two at resistance,
but soon settled into quietness again.
Another red-hot iron was introduced,
again there was q quiver of the whole
frame. but this time he only drew up his
back and changed his position trife.
The blood now began to flow from the
caverns in copious supply, sight that
made all the other animals of the cat
species desperate, and lions, tigers, leop-
ards, hyenas, panthers, wolves, and others
of the innumerable horde whose cages
formed a circle about the martyr, joined
in low growls, which were intensified to
roars and shrieks as the fumes of the
burning flesh filled their nostrils. This
tumuit caused score or two of keepers
to rush for the dens of the pets in their
respective charge; and as these added
their not over-gente voices to the vol
ume, and the rage of the beasts for the
nonce was still further aggravated by
cudgels and other persuasive things, CAL
culated to stir up the animals, the hJe
and cry was terrific, attracting hundreds
of people from the neighborhood, who
surrounded the tents, though in momen-
tary fear that deluge of uncaged wild
beasts would come upon them. But against
any such catastrophe the strong cages
were proof When the din and noise was
somewhat ouieted. the operation was pro-