Huntsville gazette., 1881-10-08
A Very Bad Elephant.

me return OF John ROblnsOn'S circus
and the presence of the elephant Chief,
recalls viyidly the death Of poor John
King in this city last fall Chief is
about twenty-one years old, although
Robinson has owned him only about
nine or ten years. He was purchased
from the proprietors of the Cincinnati
Hippodrome. Until about q year ago
he was as gentle as lamb, although he
did kill two or three negroes during that
time, but it was all done in fun He
never got into a rage. But during the
spring of 1880 he began to show temper
and desire to do serious mischief. He
would get into frequent RACES, lay about
promiscuously with his trunk, and
fiercely attack stone walls, or any such
trifing Instructions, dashing his ivory
tusks against the solid masonry with
strength which threatened to break
them off.
Standing on his head was one Of the
tricks of his old playful days, and on
one occasion after his viciousness de-
veloped, he practiced this feat with
seeming good humor. Although he
had gathered negro in with his trunk
with the seeming intention of atomizing
him, he delicately placed him on the
ground, and, placing his huge tusks
carefully on each side of the terrified
darky and his broad forehead in the
sawdust of the arena, hoisted his ample
posterior in the air and waved his flabby
tail in triumphant glee. 1t is said that
darky is not fond of elephants since
that time. About this time John King,
the keeper, announced that he was going
to make Chief the worst elephant in the
world. He would not punish the ele-
phant, nor would he allow any one else
to do 50. 1t is said King. pursued this
policy to keep his position with the
show
Well, Chief did get to be very bad,
and finally Mr.. Robinson, seeing that
the elephant would hurt somebody if his
viciousness was not subdued, determined
to have him severely punished. King
declined to do anything. The circus
was then travelling up and down the
Ohio River, and one day Chief getting
on his ear on steamboat, a
halt was ordered at an Island in the
river, and the elephant was disembarked.
Ropes were flnng over the brawny
branches of a huge tree and tied to the
monsters legs. A strong pull by many
men jerl1ed his feet from under him,
and he was rolled over on his back.
His trunk was lassoed and tied, and six
or eight men at a time would dash at
him with spears, thongs, and other hor-
rible instruments OF torture to pierce his
thick hide. But it was all no good; old
Chief would not squeal. 1t was deter
mined to burn the spirit out of him.
Sticks Of wood were rolled against his
carcass, and hoops saturated with kero-
sene thrown over his huge legs kicking
in the air. The torch was applied, and
the elephant subdued. "Such cries,n
said Mr.. Lowlow, "neither man nor
brute ever sent up before. They were
pititul beyond description" A huge
scar on the side of the old elephant now
tells the story OF his terrible punish
ment.
While this torture was going on,
King, the keeper, sat on.a log and wept
and cursed as the elephant cried. "I'll
make some of you suffer for this" he
said, between his sobs. "Chief shall
kill some Of you'll King was himself
the first victim. For three months af-
ter the punishment on the island, a more
docile elephant than Chief was never
seen. His first rage afterward was in
Charlotte, last fall, when he killed John
King, whose mildness had begotten the
fierceness of the animal King now
lies buried in Elmwood Cemetery in this
city. A handsome monument, erected
by his fellow showmen, marks his
grave. With the story of his death
Charlotte people are familiar.
About two months after the tragedy
in Charlotte, Chief crushed a man
named Sullivan, in Cincinnati,s so severely |
that he lay in the hospital for some
months, but finally recovered. He broke |
out afresh in Piedmont, West Virginia,
last spring. when he dashed frantically |
through a crowd and ran six miles into |
the country before he was overtaken |
and captured by men on horseback. He
cut up considerably in Warrenton,
Goldsboro, and in Tarboro, and in
Raleigh he crushed a large dog. But |
the showmen can tell when his fits are
coming on in time to secure him with |
heavier chains than those he wears con-
tinually. His tusks have also been
sawed off.
The female elephant Mary, it will be
remembered, pursued and knocked |
Chief down when he escaped here last |
fall; but although Mary is larger, she is
getting old and is now somewhat afraid |
of him herself. The curious fact has
been observed that the elephant does |
not seem to bear any malice toward |
intoxicated men. They frequently come
within his reach with annoyances, but |
he pays no attention, seeming to be
aware when the inferior animal, man, is
drunk This forbearance is also ex-
tended to children, and, indeed, his
malice seems to be directed more
especially toward showmen, every one
of whom he seems to oknow.-ChGrl0tte
lN. CO. Observer.
A lead pencil over five inches long
vas taken from the prOin of Isaac Bull