The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-01-03
From New York World Dec. 25th.
The Burning of Barnum's Circus
anz HHa1a1aria

and Menagerie.
When the alarm of fire was first given the
streets in the neighborhood of the circus were
literally bowling wilderness-the howls COM
ing faint and toned down by intermediate dis
tance to some bel9ted wanderer pursuing his
path homeward. But as the first engine came
rattling to the scene its noisy wheels awakened
many,upon its route and some few of them
living in the immediate vicinity of the conAa-
grafton. AS engine after engine came rattling
to the spot. gradually more slumberers became
aroused Those who still remained wrapped
in a.umber were fnllly called to a sudden con-
sciouSness by q strange unearthly sound which
for the moment seemed but the continuation
of prisly nightmare. The wild, wierd noise
was the trumpeting of the two elephants who
were saved, Jeannette and Gypsy, for SO long
a time stationed in Central Park, where the
little one, Gypsy, used to be such perennial
ioy to children. They had escaped the flames,
roaring and believing behind them; and run
in their clumsy, long-reaching fashion into the
street. There they subsidized into condition
more resembling their calm, placid equanimity
and proceeded towards Third avenue: When
near the corner of the block they were Joined
bv one of their keepers, who, not daring to at
tempt leading lthem back the way they had
come, guided them up the avenue and through
Fifteenth Stree to Irving place. Here they
we're picketed, and for some instants remained
tranquil. Soon, however, their trunks were
raised in the air, and their curious screams
frightened all listeners. Their keeper left
them, went toward the burning building, and
returned with dog which had been accustom-
ed TO NAV about them. The animal ran up to
the two elephants, leaping and wagging not
alone his tail, but the whole hinder part of his
BODY. Rubbing against the huge legs, which
were about the size of his own body, he gam
boiled around them with great apparent glee
at again seeing his old playmates. Nor did the
elephants seem less delighted; their small, keen
ewes looked kindly upon him, their feet were
moved cautiously, lest some injury should be
unwittinRly indicted, and every now and then
their trunks would describe long, sweeping
circle and softly stroke the sides OF the dog.
Near them was tethered the single camel
which had been brought from the fiery furnace,
and before long the three surviving animals
of the large menagerie were led away to a
place where the atmosphere was better suited
to their comfort than the cold, keen air of a
winter morning.
Alirumors to the contoary, not single horse
was lost An this class of animals was kept
at the stables in Eleventh street, near Second
avenue, and hither the writer proceeded yes
tsrday afternoon 70 assure himself by ocular
demonstration of the truth Of what he was as
sured. Here he found the whole stud COM
fortabIy stabbed in their roomy stalls, the one
nearest the door being occupied by the pony.
They were quietly eating their hay and oats
with as much composure in regard to the fate
of their distant relatives as though they were
human beings.
The two elephants were saved more by the
exercise of their own sagacity than by any
special effort of those inside the building. Up
on the chain of the old one, Jeanette, being
broken, she ran out, followed almost immedi-
ately by the little one who, being kept merely
in a loose pen, was quickly set at liberty. The
third elephant no one burst approach. She
was an eVil-tempered beast, and her keeper,
the only one who could exercise any mastery
over her, was at Central Park with the key to
her pen in his pocket. On the other side of
this pen were confined the camels, and with
the one exceptian already noted, they too per-
ished, for no one could reach them without
pass ng so closely to the elt phant that the at
tempt would have necessitdUed the adventur-
GUS man risking his lie. Charles Reade has
written book to prove the elephant a treach-
erous fraud, and the reputation attached to the
one destroyed would 60 far to prove the cor
reotness OF bis theory.
In a conversation with the property man OF
the circus, Mr.. Olmstead, the writer asked:
"What was the first intimation those in
ClafRo OF Inc hLlualb A6u VI bQ6 uTeI
"WeIl, there are several men who take care
of the beasts, and about o'clock this morning
the tanner, Lion Charley we call him, who
sleeps directly in front of the lions cage, was
awakened by an awful roaring. He raised
himself up on his elbow, and saw the Lions
wide awake and one OF them dashing against
the bars and shaking them. Shut up, says be
what are you making all this noise about?'
He was Just turning over to 60 to sleep again
when he saw the fire coming out OF the boiler
room. So he jumps up and calls the other
men-they were all In their shirts and draw
ers-apd then ran to the other end of the
building. When they got there they found
Camel Charlie the one who has charge OF
these animals, and 'Coon,-be's the nigger who
takes care of the snakes and sleeps all night
on top OF the cage where they're kept-trying
to put out the fire, which by this time had
reached the giraffe's cage. While they were
doing this two went to work tearing down the
bars so as TO let the animals loose. You can
imagine how much the ire gained when 1 tell
you that even the tails and names of the ei-
RATES. we're on fire. Well, they got the bars
down, and persuaded one of them to come out
Tommy he was, one of the incest, gentlest
little fellows that ever was; you could lead him
all over town with one END OF a pocket-hand-
kerchief in his mouth. But Just as soon as he
back into the cage, and there they had to leave
him. It Ia curious, but all animals except ell
ephants are like horses, fire scares them so
they don't know what they're about, and its
the hardest work in the world TO move them
away. Then the fire ran on to the cage of the
happy family, and all Of them were jabbering
and jumping and flying around inside, making
a tremenduous row. You see, the cages were
made of pine wood, and the flames rushed over
them in an instant. was on the grounds
within five minutes after the first alarm was
sounded, and aided to the best of my ability
to save the animals, but the building burned
too quick for as. }"
eaWouId YOU have let the lions and tigers
loose in the stFeetf
nCertainly, though don't know about the
tigers, they are so treaeherous that you never.
can tell what they will do. As to the lions,
you know We have nets ready to catch them
in as they come out of the cage, so we should
have no trouble with them. But we had not
time to do anything, and some of US had to
fight for it pretty hard to save ourselves"