The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-03-31
AN ELEPHANTINE INFANT.
The First Elephant Ever Born In Cap-
tivity-An Event that Caused Great
Excitement In a Philadelphia Me-
nngerie-How tho Infant was Treated
I,v fts M ofher.

tivity-An Event that Caused Great
Excitement In a Philadelphia Me-
nneerie-How tho Infant was Treated
by its Mother.
The Philadelphia Times Of recent
date says: A most important event in
the geological world occurred at the
stables of Cooper & Bailey, the circus
men, at an early hour yesterday morn
ing. This was nothing mol or less than
the birth of young elephant. The i'm
portance Of the affair to the world OF
science will be realized when it is stated
that it is the first instance of the kind
that has taken place, so tar as is known,
among these animals in state of cap
tivity.
A queer-looking little black animal,
not much larger than Newfoundland
dog, with very diminutive specimen OF
trunk, and with disposition to run at
things blindly like young colt, fairly
describes the appearance of the stranger
as it waddled about in the large brick
stable known as the elephant house.
The mother, large black: :Asiatic ele-
phant, known by the attractive name of
Hebe, stood in the center of the large
stable room, with both hind legs chained
to two posts. This precaution was alb
solutely necessary, as will be shown. At
the upper end of the stable room, about
q dozen yards from Hebe, stood six other
large elephants with their heads turned
toward her, likewise chained to posts.
It was a most exciting scene among
these elephants when the birth TOOK
place. For months past Hebe. on ac-
count of her condition, has been chained
on the same spot away from the other
elephants, the room being always in care
of watchman or keeper at night. The
watchman was at his post when the
self occurred.
The scene that followed he describes as
lively. Instantly all the other elephants
set up the most tremendous believing
ever heard of, and threw their trunks
about and wheeled around and stood on
their mind legs and cayorted and danced
in the highest glee, asthough they had
gone mad. The excitement commune
Gated itself to Hebe and she became
almost frantic. With terrific plunge
she broke the chains and ropes which
held her, and, grasping up the little
baby elephant with her trunk, threw it
about twenty yards across the room,
letting it fall near a large, hot stove
where a fire is always kept burning to
keep the place heated-then followed
with mad rush, believing and lashing
her trunk, as though she would carry
everything before her. The keeper fled
for his life, and not moment too soon.
Around this stove was q stout railing
formed by heavy timber and intended as
a protection for the stove in case any of
the elephants ever got loose and took it
into their heads to be vicious. Against
this railing Hebe charged with such
effect that she reduced it to kindling
wood in short order. Not stopping here
she struck the stove and knocked it into
the position of the leaning tower of
Pisa in an instant and badly smashed
the pipe. The keeper meantime had
given the alarm, and three or four others
coming to his assistance the animal was,
after some trouble, secured and chained
to the post again. Meantime the other
elephants kept up their believing and
the lashing of their trunks as though
they could not make noise enough and
never would get through. rejoicing.
The baby elephant which at once
showed disposition to make friends
with anybody or everybody, was piloted
back to its mother, where the keepers
and others who had now been attracted
by the general commotion, became at
once interested in nursing it. 1t would
run about with its mouth open very
much like a young colt. The old ele-
phant would not stand still long enough
to suckle it, being constantly swaying
and swinging about, so the keepers hit
on the happy expedient of procuring
funnel and rubber tube about yard in
length. Inserting one end of the tube
in the baby's mouth they fed it by milk
ing into the funnel at the other end, the
little newcomer taking it's sustenance
with a relish until it declared it could
take no more by promptly jerking its
mouth away. During the day it was
necessary for two or three keepers to be
present to attend to it. their great fear
being that it might get entangled in the
chains which held its mother to the
posts and get crushed. The mother
herself is fine specimen of the Asiatic
elephant, being twenty-three years oil
and very large. The sire is Mandrie, an
elephant of about the same size of the
mother and two years older. The baby
is thirty.fve inches high and weig hs 2l4
pounds. The period of CESSATION is put
by scientific authorities at twenty
months and half. There will proba-
bly, be scientific investigation Of the
case by Professor Leidy and others.