Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-05-11
Elephants and Milk.
John Goldman in Harper's Magazine.

Elephants and Milk.
John Goldman in Harper's Magazine.
a lively gallop soon brought me
twelve miles on my way easterly,
over the hills, to the little village Of
Somerstown. Like a great castle on
the Rhine, with it's two or three ad-
jacelt appurtenances, a large brick
hotel looms up among the few houses
in its neighborhood. This seemed
disproportionate, but my curiosity
was particularly attracted by an I'M
mense statue of an elephant, nearly
as large as llfe-I mean the life size of
small elephant, of course. This re-
markable resemblance to the animal
was mounted on high post before
the door of the hotel, and painted
over the front of the building in en-
ormous letters, I read elephant
Hotel" .,.s ..
1t was time to breathe my. horse,
and the ride had given me an appe-
tite for anything l might find within,
even if it should prove to be an ele-
phant steak. The landlord observed
that "the women-folks were not at
home, but he guessed he could fiud
something, He accordingly placed
cold turkey and a bottle of London
porter on the table, and thus proved
that his guess was very correct. As
he sat down by my side, 1 asked HIM
the meaning of all this elephantine
display.
"Why," he answered, "Hackaliah
Bayley built this house himselt!"
"Hackaliah Bayley! Who was
he?"
"Who was Hackaliah Bayley!
Don't you know? He was the man
imported the first elephant into the
United States-old Bet, of course
you have heard of old Bet?"
"No, I have not"
"What, never heard Of old Bet!
Well, Sir, you are pretty we'll along
in life. Where have you been all
your days?"
1 told him had not spent them all
in Westchcster County.
81 should rather think not" re.
piled the landlord, COR else you'd
have heard of Hackaliah Bayley and
old Bet. Right here, from this very
spot, he started the first show in the
country. Right round here is where
they breed and winter wild animals
to this day. Folks round here have
grown rich out of the show business.
There's men in this town that have
been to ASIA and Africa to get ami
mails, and Bayley's big circus (he's
old Hackaliah's sony has grown up
out from the small beginning when
Hackaliah imported old Bet, and
that wasn't more than fifty or sixty
years ago. Yes, sir, Hackaliah be
gan on that old she-elephant. He
and boy were all the company
They travelled nights and showed
daytimes. Old Bet she knew just
how much every bridge in the coun
try would bear before she put hcl
foot on it. Bimeby they got cage 0,
monkeys and carted them along, and
gradually it got up to bears, lions
tigers, camcls, boa-constrictors, ALI
gators, Tom Thumb, hippopotamuses
and the fat woman-in fact, to where
it is now. Yes, sir, p. T. Barnun
got the first rudiments of his educa-
ton from Hackaliah Bayley here in
Somerstown. Elephants and milk
made the town. In fact, we all live
on elephants and milk"
elephants and milk! Good gra
cious," l exclaimed, "what a diet!'
"Lord, sir" retorted my landlord
"did you think that l meant that we
crumbled elephants INTO milk and
ate 'em? No; meant to say thai
the elephant business and the milk
business are what have built up this
place. I've told you what elephants
have done for us, and now Tll tell
you about milk. There's farmers
around here owning hundred cows
apiece. From the little depot OF
Purdy's you'll pass a mile beyond
this, we send 1000 gallons of milk
every day to New York; and it starts
from here pure, let me tell you, fol
we are honest, if we were brought
up in the show business. Then righ
In our neighborhood are two con
densed-milk factories, where they
use as much more. There's eight
thousand gallons. The farmers ge
sixteen cents for it on the spot. Sc
you see there is revenue of twelve
hundred and eighty dollars a day
to this district. Now you've beer
telling me of the West, how they
raise forty bushels of wheat to tho
acre, and all that. Well what does
it amount to by the time they &c,
their returns, paying all out in rail
road freights? You ride along this
afternoon, and if you come back this
way, tell me if the houses and fix
ings and things, especially the boys
and more particularly the gals, look
any better in them fever-and-agut
diggings than they do here, if we dc
live on elephants and milk"