Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1883-10-06

Big Muddy.
Elk Point Courier
On Wednesday night of last week after
the Cooper & Jackson circus and menag.
erie had given their evening entertain.
ment In this city, they started for point
on the Missouri river directly south Of
here, where they expected to cross the
monkeys, parrots and elephant on ferry
boat to meet an engagement at Ponca ON
the following day. But when they
reached the ferry with the balance of the
show. the elephant did not materialize,
Being an India bull, twenty -one years Of
age, he had scarcely left the city limits
when he began to assert that indepen-
dence which accompanies the legal ma
jority of American citizens, naturallzed
Irishmen. ETC., by refusing to cross the
bridge spanning small slough Just be.
low town. After his demand to cross
the slough in the way best suited to him.
self, the keepers consent was given, (the
keeper, by the way, was an amateur in
elephant training) and he. instead of
passing over the bridge, saw proper to
wade through, and when emerging on
the opposite shore he, like Judge Kinney
in the Iowa campaign, few off at tan.
gent, disregarding the promptings of his
| manager. and like Kinney and Hoadly,
run himself into the bushes, from whence
Cooper, Jackson & Go. have not vet sue
ceeded in extricating him.
Being strong and determined beast
"a magnificent specimen of his kind
he found no difficulty, probably ewing
to sportive gymnastics of his youth in
his native jungles, in passing through
the dense underground of the timber
land bordering on the river, and the
willow thickets that cover . large por.
ton of the wild lands, and are almost i'm
penetrable for anything but q coyote or
an elephant. After short and unsuc-
cessful effort to reconcile his elephant
ship again to the ordinary routine Of
business, he was abandoned for the night,
and left to forage among the cornfields
and gardens Of the farmers, to which, it
is needless to say, he resorted, to the
detriment of barb wire fences and gates.
The next morning the hunt commenc-
ed; and, although he could be easily
l tIuceu w tdS lhTSe SWhtu0 Oh OrUS0
trampled down in his path, nothing
satisfactory could be done to.
ward his capture until Saturday,
when the party succeeded in surround.
ing and closing in upon him, but the
elephant succeeded in getting through
their lines and escaped. His old trainer
who left the show at Sioux Falls, had
before this, been induced to return and
assist in his capture. Riding up he fas
tened the old regulation elephant hool
in his ear. and by vigorous pull, the
hook was broken. The elephant, becom
ing outraged at this treatment, attacked
his keeper and was in the act OF begin
ming thorough perforatien of his body
with those long smooth tusks, when one
of the party rode up and drew his atten
ton from the object Of his wrath, where
upon he rolled him away with his foot
took the fellow who interfered in whs
he supposed was fair fight, from hi,
horse and threw him forty or fifty fee
out into the thicket. Then seized . dof
which kept up continual howling anC
swapping at his heels, aud threw hin
about one hundred feet. With this littl,
exhibition Of his muscle, he walked awAy
without further molestation to . NOR
congenial distance and to moro densl
part of the Jungle. Here the hunt stop
ped until Sunday, when . party OF prob
ably forty or fifty horeemen collected il
the vicinity Of Stough's saw mill. awok,
the quadruped from his Sunday morn
!, iing's nap. and gave chase down the river