Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-11-04
THE MAN WHO BROUGHT
JUMBO OVER.
How the Great Beast Was Transporte
from England to America.

James 4. Davis, for many years for
eign purchasing agent for P. T. Bar
mum, reached the city yesterday, and
will hcnceforth be associated with
Messrs. Kohl l. Middleton in the man.
agement of their enterprises here. Mr..
Davis is known all over the country as
Jumbo Davis, from the fact that he
purchased and brought to this country
Mr.. Barnum's mammoth elephant,
which was killed last week in q rail-
road accident at St.. Thomas, Ont.
When asked about his connection with
Jumbo Mr.. Davis said:
Il went to London for Jumbo in
January, 1882. Some time prior to
that had been over there negotiating
for the purchase of the animal, but the
Geological society, which owned him,
would not fix any price. Finally I re-
turned, leaving word to cable us as
soon as they decided upon price.
When we received message saying
that we could have Jumbo as he stood
in the Geological Gardens for $4,000
we cabled over at once accepting the
offer, and was sent after him.
When they gave us a price they sup
posed it would be impossible for us to
remove Jumbo from the quarters he
had occupied during seventeen years
without seeing horse or a vehicle of
any kind. When / reached London l
had special car constructed upon
set of trucks. 1t was really blk box
on wheels, weighing twelve tons with
out the trucks, and costing $4,000.
You see, we had to transport Jumbo
eleven miles, from the gardens to the
docks. will venture to say that it
was the largest amount of live weight
ever transported. 1t was q shifting
weight, unlike stone or boilers, and
was very hard to manage. just think
of ten tons of shifting weight rolling
along a road in twelve-tOn car!'
you KNOW said Mr.. Davis, "that
think elephants are the most intel
ligent of animals. They can be taught
to do so many things that other animals
w
stand on its head? During the last three
years | have purchased twenty ele-
plants, and think Jumbo was tho most
intelligent animal ever saw. He be-
came acquainted with me at once, and
always knew me afterward. He knew
every one around tho show. and re-
mcmbered persons he had seen before.
Mr.. Scott, his keeper, took him in
charge when he first reached London.
He was then four feet high and three
years old. Scott, or "Scotty' as he is
called was with Jumbo for twenty-one
years, as he came with him to this
country and was with him when he
was killed. During all that time he
slept ut night within reach of Jumbo's
trunk. Jumbo was the only elephant
that ever chewed tobacco, and that
habit he learned from his keeper, who
was an inveterate chewer who never
had the weed out of his mouth. Jumbo
liked Bass ale, champagne and Scotch
whiskey. He had drank all the diff
fcrent brands of champagne. During
the eleven weeks | was in London pre-
pairing for the journey back, there were
$4,000 people visited Jumbo daily.
He was a careful elephant, and / have
seen people crowd around him and
have seen him keep his foot raised un-
til some careless youngstcr could be
removed from his path. Like any
human being, he had his fretful days,
and nothing would cure him so quickly
as load of laughing children on his
back. Finally the crowds at the
gardens became so dense that we had
to lock Jumbo up, for fear of accidents.
He has carried thousands of children
and never injured one. All of the
Queens grandchildren and Princess
Beatrice had ridden upon him, and tho
royal family.called on him before he
"All of the papers had reporter
assigned to Jumbo every day and pco-
pie would send things to him in order
to see their names or brands of goods
in print. received champagne by the
basket, tobacco, cigars, and one man
sent sewing machine. When we
started we had some trouble in getting
Jumbo into his box, and then was en-
joined and was obliged to spend three
days in court. l finally won the case,
however, but ] had to wait for a ship
with hatchway large enough for tho
box. Finally the Assyrian Monarch
came iuto port and we hoisted the box
by dcrricks and lowered it through the
hatch. 1t was the only English ship
then with an American captain-you
know she saluted the Genesta and Puri-
tan the other day. Before leaving we
gave banquet on board and all of the
London swells were there. Baroness
Burdett-Coutts came aboard and sought
my promise to see that no harm came
to Jumbo. They appeared to think he
would be tortured in America. When
informed her that onions were Jum-
bo's chief delicacy she sent her man in
to town and had five bushels put on
board. We had an eleven days trip
and reached New York, Easter Sunday,
1882. We landed Jumbo at pier No. l,
near the battery, and had bis car drawn
up Broadway to Madison Square Gar
den by 81 xteen elephants. The OK we
ad to leave on Fourth avenue and it
was viewed by crowds who wrote their
names upon it. Jumbo had been here
three years last April and made for tho
show profit of S5OO,OOO. He had
never been west of Omaha or south of
Louisville. Ishad no doubt that fully
fifteen million people viewed him in
this country. His skeleton goes TO
Washington and his hide to Tufts Col
lege, a Unitarian institution in Mas
| sachusetts that Mr.. Barnum has endow-
ed three professorships in. l tell you
was pretty sorry to hear of poor, old
Jumbo's sudden taking off. He was
one of my best friends.''
Loves Young Dream.
Edward BegOsh was Young LAWYER