Connecticut western news., 1889-10-30
VOL. XIX.

feet away. To reach it I must cross the building. My first idea was to go for help to secure the elephant, but he had scarcely broken loose when pande- monium reigned supreme. The other elephants began to trumpet and to strain at their chains, and every wild beast set up an outcry. The big fel- low came straight to my end of the warehouse, swinging his trunk right and left, and within ten feet of my door he began work on fifty sacks of corn corded up in row. He picked up the sacks, one after another, and flung them about, and he grew more angry with each effort. He wasn't through with the sacks when the smaller elephants broke loose, and then knew what must prepare for. The watchman outside had caught the alarm, and he came to the nearest win dow and shouted to me. I dared not answer him, as the elephant was close by, and was fearful that the sound of my voice would cause him to at tack my frail shelter.
 Having tossed the last sack high in air, the big fellow made a rush down the warehouse for the smaller ones, who were trumpeting at each other and preparing for row. He knocked one of them over with his rush, and then pursued the other as he fled among the piles of freight. We had been pretty we'll cleaned out by the last ship, but we had considerable machinery, 200 barrels of salt, 300 bags of sugar, 500 barrels of flour, about thousand American smoked hams, with perhaps fifty boxes, large and small, containing dry goods, gro- ceries, boots and shoes, and other stuff. When the small elephant who was knocked down went over he smashed the lions cage, and I plainly saw both of them leap over him and spring up on the cage holding the monkeys. Such 8 growing and snarling and bowling and roaring no one ever heard before, and the rumpus drew the at tention of the elephants directly to the cages. Dropping their own differ ences for the moment, they dove at the cages, and in two minutes the en- tire collection, except one wolf, killed in his cage, was let loose and flying around the big room. By this time the watchman had aroused number of people, but they dared not open the door. I stood no show to reach the door and let my self out, and at once decided that my safest plan was to keep quiet. I was in the darkest corner of the building, and unless one of the elephants took it into his head to investigate I might hope to escape injury. My room was not as high as the ceiling of the ware house, but only about nine feet, and the top of it was ceiled over. This made a platform about 9x14, and l knew that some of the animals would seek this shelter if driven that way. All did fly to my end of the building as they got out of their cages, and the ln hxy nf hn partners was to leap upon the plat form. The other was seized by one
 of the tigers right before my door,
 and the fight lasted until the elephant
 came to investigate.
 Then for about five minutes every
 thing was as quiet as you please. The
 animals seemed to be sizing each other
 up, and taking in the situation. ]
 could hear the people outside moving
 about and talking in exciting tones,
 but when they hailed me I dared not
 reply, for the big elephant stood with
 in four feet of my window, and was
 growing restless for further destruc.
 ton. The lions stood side by side or
 the barrels of flour, which were pileo
 up about eight feet high, while the
 tigers were further down on the other
 side and we'll on top the bags of sugar
 One panther was above me, as I have
 said, while the other had skulkeG
 among the machinery. The wolves
 could not see, but big serpent wa over by the doors, and the monkey
 were aloft among the rafters. One O
 the bears was crowded into a corner
 evidently wishing to keep out of tn row, while the other could not see The hyenas had been skulking anon, the hams, and what started the roy anew was one of them trotting down wide aisle toward my office to fin safer shelter. The batter of his fee aroused the big elephant and he mad . a break for the lions who wer waving their tails and defying him t ! come on. He hit the pile of flour bal 5 rels about in the centre, and knocke lot of them down, but before he ha , reached them both lions leaped to hi back, and from thence to the floor bt hind him. This was the signal for terrible battle, sort of free-for-a l fight. could see the entire length C an aisle thirty feet wide, and it ws in this aisle that the lions, tigers, hy enas and wolves fell upon each othe with such ferocity that my hair stoo