The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-03-02

Keeper in Another-Lively Times-Put
Not Your Trust in Elephants.
During the time I was with Fore
paugh's circus" says James Twitchell,
Buffalo Bills late manager of the London
wild West Show, - ~ took part in some
exhibitions that were not down on the
bills. One in particular 1 shall not be
likely to forget. The show disbanded at
Chicago; Bamboo, the trick elephant, was
leased to the Kiralfy brothers, who were
about to open their season in Boston.
Bamboo had established a name for him
self as a savage, treacherous brute, who
had killed and MANNED at least q dozen
men. He had a keeper who was in
the habit of becoming and remaining
drunk. l hadn't much idea of the
dangerous character of the journey until
we were perhaps hundred miles out of
Chicago. The bottom of the car was
thickly Uttered with hay, in which Bam-
boo, the keeper and myself were to sleep
together. The keepers bottle was one of
my earliest discoveries and discourage
ments. The novelty of the situation kept
me awake pretty much all the first night
out, and it was with some dismay that /
discovered that the keeper was hopelessly
drunk, snoring in the hay. That l would
uOG nave uiIHOet udu OI1y hOpG
quiet. But he didn't and wouldn't, and
that first night, before I had become in
the least accustomed to the situation, was
simply a night of horrors. In the still
hours of that night, with the train rush
ing along at the rate of thirty miles an
hour, l would at short intervals hear a
muffied snort from the monster at the
other end of the car, and then feel gil
gantic foot showing against me, or the end
of his trunk passing inquisitively over my
face. Then 1 would jump up and yell to
the keeper, with energetic kicks to en-
phasiZe my remarks.
Here, yOu-wake up! That internal
elephant is going to trample US to deathn
'"The drunken keeper would get to his
feet, swear, give Bamboo an unnerciful
prodding with his fork, the great brute
would lie down and cry, and we would
have peace.
'"This scene, with variations, is what
happened all the way from Chicago to
New York. I wasn't trampled to death
by the elephant; why was not 1 do not
know.
"About daylight we were in the vicinity
Of Erie, Pa. Here Bamboo took cogni-
zance of his surroundings in disagree
able way. Elephant cars, be it under
stood, are specially built and fitted for the
transportation of these brutes, and the
ear in which we first embarked was not
Of this kind. 1t was not high enough nor
strong enough. When the vicious brute
had thoroughly satisfied himself of these
facts, he rose up out of the hay, arched
his ugly back, and burst the whole top Of
the car out.
eve stopped at Erie. There was loud
swearing and clamor by the railroad men
for compensation for the damage. told
them to send their bill to the Kiralfys,
and, in the meantime, if they didn't want
The elephant on their hands to take care
Of, they had better help me get him to
Boston as fast as possible. They took
look at Bamboo, observed his vicious eye,
and said they guessed that was so.
eve arrived at Buffalo. A necessity
Of the trip was change of cars at this
point. The elephant had been well fed
and well watered, and might have had
the decency to behave himself. The
keeper got him out of the wrecked car in
good shape and started him for his new
quarters in the waiting train. A great
pile of blackberry crates was near. but not
1T all in the way. May be blamed If
that devilish brute didn't make for them
and destroy twenty-four full crates before
the keeper could restrain him.
''Weu, everybody knows the law about
elephants and other wild beasts. had
and large hole it made in my $50.
''Yhe most dangerous and laborious in
cideDt of our trip would not have hap
pened but for the fact that when the
keeper was sober he would smoke pipe.
His smoking set the hay af1re near SYRIA
cuse and before it was discovered the car
was filed with smoke, the elephant was
snorting and trumpeting, and we couldn't
stamp out the fire.
IL 1,15 =,
them through the baggage car, over the
tender, got the fireman in the cab to fill
them, and ran back with them to our car.
This feat, half dozen times repeated,
with the train going at express speed, was
no small task. The keeper took the pals
at the door of our car and doused the
burning hay with the water. Simple
business, you would say, to put out such
q fire that way. So it would have been
but for that elephant. He came near
getting us and himself burned up to-
gether; for about every second he would
swing his trunk around, overset the pals
and spill the water anywhere but on the
fire. / have heard something of the in
telligence of the elephant; this fellow was
in panic until we got that lire out.
zone Sunday morning we unloaded at
the Grand Central station in New York,
and getting into Broadway, marched tri-
umphantly down. OF my $50 had left
$3.50. Bamboo had eaten up and de-
stroyed more than $50 worth. The keeper
was gloriously drunk; but we had passed
the larger part of the journey, we had but
one stage more, and 1 had high hopes of
getting into Boston Tuesday morning; at
the furthest
with much trouble we got the brute
quartered in a barn on Crosby street. We
slept with him, and ate cold junk for
twenty-fOur hours. When we marched
aboard the sound steamer with Bamboo
the next day my $3.50 was gone, and the
keeper and had left our coats as security
for the elephants board Yet l presume
the crowd on the steamer thought it the
correct thing for gentlemen in care of an
elephant to appear in their shirt sleeves.
So our dignity was maintained.
'"The name of Kiralfy, aided, I believe,