Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-10-17
A Baby Elephant in Court.

1 peculiar anu amusing case, was on trla
IN q London court recently. For
! probably, the first time in the histor,
Of legal procedure an elephant appearet
in court ami gave forcible. if dumb
testimony. The action was brought b,
ayoung lady against firm Of publ,
caterers 20 recover damages for persona
injuries received through the allege,
negligence of the defendants servants
1t appeared that on the afternoon Of til,
9th Of July, 1878, the defendant, he
uncle, Mr.. Palmer, and several othel
persons went in a wagonette to the Al
exandra Palace, where the Nubian en-
campment, with camels and elephants
ETC., was then daily attracting larg,
crowds. Some Of the party went in e
see the show. while others preferred
tie equally effective but less costly pro
ceeding of peeping through the gaps il
the boards and standing upon theil
traps and looking over. The wagonett,
was drawn up on the carriage walk, anC
Mr.. Palmer admitted that he had al
lowed the reins to pass from his hand,
on to the splash board. Just at the
conclusion of the performance the baby
elephant, the above mentioned witness
came out with its keeper, and, accord
ing to the plaintiffs case, frightened
the pony by its unsightly and unu
sual appearance" The pony accord
ingly bolted, and the plaintiff was
thrown out of the back of the carriage
and fractured her collar-bone, in conse
quence of which she was ill, as she
stated, for several months, and two
doctors attended her. One, DIR. Wheel
err, attended her for over three weeks
and his charges reached x12 los while
the other, DR.. Corner, saw her six OF
eight times during the four weeks after
DR.. Wheeler ceased to visit, his charges
amounting to something over SO. These
two gentleman and Mr.. Palmer were
called on behalf of the plaintiff, and
practically no discrimination was
addressed to them.
Mr.. L. Salter proceeded to open the
defense. He said Mr.. Palmer admitted
to having let the reins slip from his
hands, and said the accident happened
Immediately on their drawing up at the
Nubian encampment, whereas it was
clear at least twenty minutes had
elapsed. But he knew he had drawn
up close to q wildbeast show, where all
sorts of strange noises were continually
heard, and the lions he said he heard
there existed only in his imagination.
He, moreover, was doing q very mean
thing in looking over at show for
which he had not paid. At place of
that kind there were always blasts of
trumpets, professions, and all sorts of
things. Why, he goes there (said the
learned counsel) to be surprised, and
30 does his pony. Laughter. But I
will show you there was notice up
warning carriages not to loiter on that
part of the road ; that there was abun-
dant warning given by the attendants
OF the approach of the animal that the
elephant is peculiarly docile and tame ;
and, lastly, that the accident did not
happen till the elephant had passed
some distance beyond Mr.. Palmer's
trap. Therefore, something else must
have frightened the pony.
George Kibble, the keeper, was the
first witness called. He did not an.
swer for some time, and Mr.. Salter said,
." I am told that he is in charge Of the
elephant outside in Palace Yard, my
lord"
Baron Pollock-Pray do not let him
leave the elephant. Laughter.
Mr.. Salter-I believe the baby ele-
plant has exclusive, amiable manners,
and that he will come into court and
get into the witness box.
Baron Pollock-If so, I think it very
desirable that We should see him.
Kibble then entered the box and was
sworn, and said he was bringing the
baby out by the ear, as usual, after the
performance on the day in question.
He was baby that was, under ten
years old. Elephants grow till they
are forty-three.
Mr.. Hall--The average age, I believe,
is from one hundred to one hundred
and fifty years.
His Lordship-Do you know that OF
your own personal experience, Mr..
Hall?
Mr.. Hall-Happily not, my lord.
Laughter.
Examination resumed-Mr. Womb
we'll said: Take care OF your horses,
gentlemen, as they are apt to be fright
ened by the animals" After we had
passed the plaintiffs carriage the horse
turned round and the wheel came of,
and he bolted.
Cross-examined by NJ. Z. Jones-I
cautioned the people at the gate myself
two or three times.
The baby elephant then walked into
court himself, with bells on his head,
following Kibble in the most perfect
way. He threaded his way through the
" mazes of the law in the body of a
crowded court in the most wonderful
and clever fashion, like the most accom-
plished Q. c., and caused some con-
sternation by making his exit at the
other side, where no passage had been
cleared in the crowd. While he stood
a mute witness for the defense, before
the jury, NJ. e. Jones said, crOss-ex-
aiming, have no questions to ask, "
which caused roar of laughter.
Mr.. Salter That is, I am thankful to
say, the last witness in the case.
Baron Pollock-Can you not come to
some arrangement in the case?
Mr.. Salter-My clients would be will
ing to pay the young lady's doctors
bills, my lord, but am instructed not