The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-12-27
AN ELEPHANT EXECUTED.
Chief, ForepauSh's Wickedest Mastodon,
Stranglod by His Companions.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, December L..
Chief, the most vicious elephant in
America and the murderer of seven
men, was executed yesterday afternoon
in the winter quarters Of Forepaugh's
circus, at. Lehigh avenue and Front
street. Chief was 40 years old, and
had been in this country nine years.
He crushed man to death shortly
after bis arrival and since then he had
gone from bad to worse. He was
known all over the country as the
most wicked elephant that ever crushed
circus peanuts. Though always close
ly watched he would so on periodical
rampages.
On the Sth of October last Chief
broke from the winter quarters up on
Lehigh avenue. He was in rage and
was driving men, women and children
before him and creating panic, when
the police were called out to stop the
mad rush of the elephant. He made
such desperate fight that ten police
men opened fire on him, but it was
only when eight bullets had been
planted in his left leg that he was
forced back to the winter quarters.
Chief was at once chained, but broke
from the chains that night. He was
chained again, all his feet being fast
ened to the end of heavy iron cables.
He was quiet for few weeks, but
lately he made repeated struggles to
burst his chains. Chief tried to kill
his keeper on Saturday morning, and
as he threatened to get loose at any
moment and clean out the winter
quarters, it was decided to execute
him.
Three o'clock yesterday afternoon
was the hour of execution, and two
other elephants We're the executioners.
A good sized but quiet crowd gathered
to see Chief die. AS the big beast stood
glaring at the crowd moose was made
in the centre of a piece Of rope half an
inch thick and ten yards long. AS two
men tried to put the moose around his
neck the doomed elephant got in q
rage and tried to toss one of the men
against a wall. By hard work the
moose was finally pulled over his trunk
and placed behind his ears with the
knot directly under his throat. Then
Basil and Bismarck, the most power
full elephants owned by Forepaugh,
were fastened to an end Of the rope on
either side of their murderous COM
| rade.
AS Chief stood waiting to meet
death he was more heavily chained.
Then young Adam Forepaugh gave
the word, Basil and Bismarck were
given a prod with iron hooks, and the
death line began to grow taut. An
other signal and the elephants pulled
with all their mighty strength in op-
posite directions. Chief began to tot
ter. In twenty seconds he dropped to
the ground dead elephant. Bis
marck and Basil had strangled him.
At I o'clock this morning big force
of men will begin to load the body on
a catamaran, with the aid of a derrick.
Ten horses will then haul the body to
the University Of Pennsylvania, where
it will be skinned and stuffed, while
the bones will be set up by DR.. Joseph
Leidy, the eminent zoologist of the
University. The elephants skeleton
and stuffed skin will be placed in the
museum of the University.
Chief was ten and half feet high
and weighed over 10000 pounds. He
was an Asiatic elephant and was
bought from Carl Stagenback, the
noted animal dealer in Hamburg, nine
years ago. He began life in America
by killing man just after the ship
came into port. A year later he caught
keeper and dashed him against tel
egraph pole. Since then he had nlur-
dered five more men and had tried to
kill scores of others. He was a terror
when he started out on his rampages,
and swept everything before him, even
the lemonade, purple candy and pea
nuts of the circus butchers. He tore
down a wooden house at Grand Rap
ids, Michigan, and when he had fin
ished visit to side show one fair
summer day at Topeka the show
looked as if it had been struck by
Kansas cyclone. He took possession
Of the town of Akron, Ohio, and was
finally arrested by country constable
on the charge of disorderly conduct
and malicious mischief.
He was again arrested in Cincinnati
for chasing saloon keeper and a hum
dred patrons out of a place on Vine
street in that city. He had been en-
ployed to appear in a spectacular play
few years ago, and had done good
work until the second act, when be lay
down on the stage and refused to let
the play 60 on. While on "tear"
down near Cairo, ILL.,, he grasped a can
vasman Of the circus and threw him
in the Mississippi river, and was duck
ing him until he was almost dead,
when fifty men attacked the elephant
and saved the man. He was the only
elephant that Adam t'orepaugh, Jr,
could not conquer.
Earthquake in New York.