The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1879-06-03
BURNING OF FRENCH's MUSEUM
AND MENAGERIR.

AND MRNAGERIR.
Z" sultan - the Big Elephant, fonr
Lions and Many Oiher yalu-
able Animals Among the
Sacrificed.
Between Z and 8 o'clock Thursday
morning j. M. French, known all over
the United States as a circus and me-
nagerie manager, was engaged In feed
ing and caring for his animals at his
house five miles out on Woodward ave-
nue.. He was assisted by Edwin Nor
ley aud w. ii. Wells, and after having
done everything except TO give the ele-
phant "Sultan" his mornings allow
ance OF hay. Mr.. French directed Nor
ley TO go into the loft and put down
some hay for the elephant, while he
went into the yard back OF his resi-
dcnce TO feed some chickens. Morley
performed his task, and, joining Mr..
French, they went into a field about
100 rods east OF the house where Wells
was engaged in blowing. Five or ten
minutes later Mr.. French chanced to
look towards the house and noticed a
small cloud Of smoke arising, il SEEM
ed from the house next south OF the
menagerie barn. SupposiDg that the
smoke came from the chimney Of the
house he was not anxious until three or
four minutes later, when he heard
AN ALARM OF FIRE.
Miss Price. daughter Of John b.
Price, whose residence is directly OPP
| a..
the fire aud Immediately alarmed the
household, who, with one of the Bah
cock fire extinguishers and all the pals
they could gather, ran across the road
and began the work of trying to save
the buildings, or il not the poor ami
mails known to be confined therein
They were Immediately joined by Mr..
Frenchs household and all their the
neighbors, everybody bringing pals,
as usual in cases Of fire in the country.
A Babcock fire extinguisher from Mr..
| French's house was added to the i'm
dromp.u fire department. The burning
building, known as the menagerie barn
was a frame structure, well built, about
| l20x40 feet In size. Next south of it
was a cottage unoccupied, and next to
that two-story frame house occupied
| by Wm. Marcellus and his family. The
| third building south OF the barn is a
large two-story frame structure, used
as a blacksmith, wagon and paint shop.
The first building north OF the barn is
Mr.. French's residence and in the rear
of that is a long, frame building used
for storing vans, baggage wagons and
circus trucks.
THE FIRE BEGAN
in the hay-loft at the east end Of the
barn, directly over the the large stall
occupied by the elephant and spread
with the rapidity OF q wind-fanned
prairie fire through the entire upper
| story of the barn, so that within fifteen
minutes from the time Miss Price dis
covered the fire the large area OF roof
was one sheet of flames, while the low
er story was so densely-filled with
smoke that men, women and children,
who had hocked TO the scene OF the
conflagration could only from the out
side. Mr.. French, who started on a
run as soon as he heard the first alarm,
arrived at the barn in about fifteen
minutes, followed by Morley and
Wells. Mr.. French's lrst thought was
how to
SAVE SULTAN.
Opening the barn door at the east side
Of the barn be was greeted by dense
volume OF smoke which staggered him,
| but knowing every turn and detail OF
the interior of the barn, he stopped
and grouped his way 10 Sultan's stall,
The huge animal was perfectly noise
less, not having been heard to utter
the slightest groan, but when Mr..
| French reached his side and calling
him by name, placed his hand on him,
the poor beast was found to be rocking
to and fro rapidly, while his hard hide
was crawling and rolling in every di-
rection. Mr.. French says the animal
acted much like human being suffer
ing from a nervous chill. Sultan while
in his stall always had one foot
chained to the framework. Mr.. French
stopped TO loosen it, when the crazed
beast brought his trunk around with
terrible force and Mr.. French was
THROWN ABOUT TWENTY FEET,
striking against the side Of the bull l.
ing. Nearly suffocated by the smoke
and badly confused by the shock, il
was several seconds before Mr.. French
could realize his position, and then he
saw that to save his own life he must
get out. He felt his way around the
side of the barn until he saw daylight
through the smoke, aud with a rush
soon gained the open air. A most re-
markable fact, testified to by Mr..
French and all persons who were at the
| fire, is that with the exception OF one
or two shrieks by the hyena and few
brief. moaning cries by the lions not a
sound was uttered by the animals dur
| ing the conhagration. The theory OF
Paul Schroff, the keeper of the animals,
is that they were suffocated within a
very few minutes, so they could make
no noise. That the animals did not
struggle to escape is shown by the fact
that after the fire their charred remains
we're found lying exactly where their
cage stalls were located, and tiffened
upon their sides as though they had
fallen from sufocation.
THE PROPERTY DESTROYED
consisted Of the menagerie barn, which
was valued at 81 800; the animals, which
we're worth $4,000; lot of circns
wardrobe, saddles, harness, trappings
and machinery, valued at 5000; a
moving machine. a hay rake and
ether farming implements, valued at
81. 900: the two-story house owned by
Mr.. French and valued at 81 900; aud
the one.story frame house owned by
Mr.. French and not occupied, valued
al 800 The damage 10 the wagon
shop amounts TO about 500. and sew
eral cases OF stuffed animals valued at
about 500 were destroyed. The lost
animals were ''Snltan, very large ell
ephant known all over the United,
II years old; the den OF four perform
ing lions named Wallace, Nero, Harriet
ard Bob (the last named was 10 years
old and the others l20 one tiger IL
years old; three leopards, one Ameri.
can panther, one laughing hyena, one
zebra, one gazelle, one wolf and one
deer. The elephant, lions. tiger, leop-
ards, laughing hyens, zebra and gazelle
, were brought from Europe by Paul
1 Schrooff, on the first day OF June 1858.
scHRoFF's eRIKF.
Attko time the Gre began Moor PAN