American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-07-17
A NIGHT ADVENTURE,

|
Inns. there was fearful thunder show
er during the evening performance il
the ring. The noise of the thunder
quite drowned the clowns jokes, ant
the wind swelled and filled the big ten
until it seemed likely to burst. Thu
rain was all that saved it. The audi
ence, as we'll as the performers, nearly
all were wet.
We were announced to exhibit al
! Cookson, seventeen miles from Rollins
the next day. As soon as the perform.
! ance and the shower were over, Mr..
! ShOrey, the agent, sent off the three
elephants, with their keeper, along the
wagon road to Cookson. Lutte Gamer
| on, one of the drivers, and myself fol-
lowed as a sort of escort, in one of the
empty vans, drawn by two horses.
The cages of animals and the circus
troupe were to go at two O'Clock by
| special train; for we were travelling
principally by rail that summer, though
the elephants, of course, went on foot.
and were usually sent forward in the
night. when there was less danger OF
meeting vehicles on the road.
Few of the country people ever knew,
unless they CHANGED to see tracks in the
roads the next morning, that troop of
elephants had passed in the night, we
used to move SO quietly. But that
night it happened that we caused dis
turbance.
1t was quite dark, but we got along
very well for mile or two. Old Zeno-
bia went ahead with Hockey, the keep
err, who had a lantern and walked be-
side her. He held a little dog-chain
that was placed round her left tusk just
hoy ha hra To do har NV
After her came PtOlemy, and behind
him the young elephant, Demetrius.
Lutte and 1 brought up the rear, in the
van,
1t was on country road, with only
here and there house. As we were
trudging past vegetable garden that
was near one of these farm-houses,
Ptolemy smelt watermelons, and he
ambled up to the garden-wall, where
there was a row of hop-poles.
Ptolemy was particularly fond of
watermelons, and so sure as he smelt
them, he invariably stopped and we
were troubled to get him away, and the
more because we didn't want TO make a
noise and wake up the people.
Hockey came back to where he stood
and coaxed him; but there the elephant
remained, granting for the melons,
with his trunk thrust out over the wall.
At last Lutte got over into the garden
and brought out six of the melons. We
gave Ptolemy three of them, one to old
Zen and another to Demetrius, and
saved one to lure Ptolemy back into the
road with.
While Hockey and l were coaxing
him back with this melon, Lutte went
and pinned a dollar bill to the door of
the house to pay for the melons.
We soon got our big lover of melons
into the road again, but just as l was
about to give him the melon, little
Demetrius reached out his trunk in the
dark and captured it. Before he could
break it, the melon dropped to the
ground, and in the scuffie that fol-
lowed, the animals trod on it. That
made Ptolemy angry and rough in his
treatment of Demetrius, and Hockey,
getting out of patience, gave them both
two or three blows with his iron rod.
He now put the chain on Ptolemy and
marched him ahead. In this way we
moved on for about a mile further, but
l knew Tol was angry from the way he
kept shaking his ears. Then we came
upon COW, lying, chewing her cud, al
most in the wheel-track.
Hockey did not notice her and Ptole-
my gave no sign that he saw her till
just as he was on the point of knocking
his feet against her. The cow had prob
ably been half asleep, but she was
frightened. and jumped up with loud,
strange ''blart."
Ptolemy, already in bad humor, didn't
like that. Hockey said, afterward, that
it was probably the odor of the cows
breath that offended him. As the COW
jumped to her feet, he caught her with
his trunk and threw her out of the road.
We heard the poor creature go rolling
over in the ditch.
The below and noise caused a bull in
a barn-yard near by to begin to roar in
deep bass. Hearing this our elephant
turned to rush into the barn yard, and
was only prevented by more blows with
the rod.
At length we got the animal started
again, though he was in worse humor.
l think, however, there would have
been no further trouble if, on going on,
we had found the road unobstructed.
But we had not gone hundred rods
when we heard a wagon coming toward
us, driven at a very rapid rate, and
above the rattle of the wheels rose the
voices of two or three young fellows,
Hockey swung his lantern and shout
ed, "Turn out Turn out ~
The fellows apparently neither saw or
heard anything but their own noise.
The road was rather narrow and Lutte
refined our van nearly into the ditch.
Then, jumping out, l tried to get old
Zen and Demetrius out of the wheel
track.
Hockey had to jump nimbly out of
the road himself. In passing, the nigh
hub of their fore-wheel grazed violently
against Ptolemy's leg, and no doubt
hurt him. He wheeled and struck at
them; and, fast as they were driving, it
seemed to me that he came within a
hands breadth of their heads with his
trunk.
Hurrawr' they shouted, ..what's
here?''
Until then they had not seen us.
Lutte gave their horse cut with his
whip, to get them out of the way; but
none too quickly, for Ptolemy made
another lunge for them, and would have
seized them if the other elephants had
not stood in his way.
Hockey, running around from the
other side. headed him off; and this
time he did not spare the rod.
Ptolemy no doubt felt himself abused
that night beyond endurance. He
about, gave an angry "toot,"
and went shufliing along the road at a
great rate.
"Halt"' Hockey commanded him
several times.
But Ptolemy would not stop: and
when the keeper started to run after
him, he increased his pace.
1.-The rascars boltedr' exclaimed !