Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-11-21

own differences for the moment, they
drove at the cages. and in two minutes
the entire collection except one wolf,
i killed in his cage, was let loose and
flying around the big room. By this
| time the Waterman had aroused
number of people. but they dared not
open the door. | stood no show to
reach the door and let myself out, and
at once decided that my safest plan
was to keep quiet ! was in the dark
est corner of the building, and unless
one OF the elephants took it into hes
head TO investigate | might hope to
escape injury. My room was not as
high as the ceiling OF the warehouse,
but only about nine feet and the top
OF it was ceiled over This made
| platform about OKLA. and / knew that
some of the animals would seek tlks
shelter il driven that way. All did fly
TO my end of the building as they got
out OF their cages, and the very first
move made by one OF the panthers was
to leap upon the platform. The other
was seized by one of the tigers right
before my door, aud 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. 1
could hear the people outside moving
about and talking in exciting tones, but
when they hailed me | dared not re-
ply, for the big elephant stood within
four feet of my window and was grow
ing restless for further destruction.
The lions stood side by side on the
barrels of flour, which were piled up
about 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 / have
said, while the other had skulked
among the machinery. The wolves l
could not see, but a big serpent was
over by the doors, and the monkeys
were aloft among the rafters. One of
the bears was crowded into a corner
evidently wishing to keep out of the
row, while the other | could not see.
The hyenas had been skulking among
the hams. and what started the row
anew was one of them trotting down a
wide aisle toward my Office to find
safer shelter. The patter of his feet
aroused the big elephant and he made
break for the lions, who were wav-
ing their tails and defying him to
come on. He hit the pile of -four bar
rels about in the center, and knocked
a lot of them down, but before he had
reached them both lions leaped to his
back, and from thence to the floor be-
hind him. This was the sig
nal for terrible battle,
sort of free-for-all fight. l
could see the entire length of an aisle
thirty feet wide, ana it was in this
aisle that the lions, tigers, hyenas, and
wolves fell upon each other with such
ferocity that my hair stood on end.
and the scores of people now at the
windows fell back in terror. While
the wild beasts were having it out, the
two smaller elephants began a row,
and the big fellow came swinging up
the aisle in which the hams were scat
tered in search of something to vent
his spite on. ! drew back from the
window afraid he would see me
through the glass. He reached out
his trunk and felt all over the glass,
which was a new substance to him.
and he might perhaps have pulled the
room down over my head had not the
panther above me betrayed his pres
ence by growl. lie had better have
kept quiet. The elephant uttered a
shrill cry and reached for him, and
although the panther bit and tore at
the trunk feeling for him. he was
seized, held aloft for moment and
then dashed TO the floor with such
force as to break every bone in his
body.
If ever a man was scared out of his
boots by an adventure. he was no more
alarmed than ! was as that elephant
went swinging down one isle and up
another. clearing every thing before
him. He knocked the other two down
among the -four barrels and then
pursued the wild beasts as they ceased
their fight and fled before him. He
picked up ham after ham aud flung
them the length of the building and
large cogwheel belonging TO an engine
was flung against my bulkhead with
such force as to shatter four of the
boards. From the time the second
row began to its close was thirty-five
and animal was uttering his own Pc
culiar war cry. The row was brought
to close in a peculiar manner. The
bears had kept clear of the fight as
long as possible, but when finally
forced into it both tackled the ele-
plant as the party responsible for the
situation. As they did so he rushed
full tilt at one of the big doors, and
carried it out with him. and took him
self up the wharf TO the main street
with one of the bears fastened to a
hind leg. Such of the wild beasts as
were not too badly injured at once
broke for the door. One of the tigers
and both of the panthers were dead in
the wearhouse. The other tigers es-
capped through the town, and were
killed miles away a day or two subse-
quently. One of the lions was dead,
and the other instead of boiling up the
street as he went out. ran along the
wharf and leaped aboard of a coasting
schooner a hundred yards away. One
OF the matches was open, and he leap
ed down, and next day was shot in his
hiding place. Two of the five hyenas
got out alive. aud were killed next day
while secreted under a barn. Not a
wolf was left alive, but the monkeys
and serpents had climbed aloft by the
supports, and kept themselves out of
the row.
OF the two small elephants one had
leg broken and the other had been
so severely injured internally that he
died before morning. The big one,
together with the two bears, kept right
on through the town and beyond,
where they separated The bears were
shot by the men who went in pursuit,
while the elephant was captured and
brought back. so generally knocked
out that he was three months getting