The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-05-08
AN ELEPHANT SWALLOWED WHOLE.
Tale OF an MISUNDERSTANDING Sagac-
ity Of the Doomed Brute.


ity OF the Doomed Brute.
New York Tribune.
did l ever see al elephant diep said the
keeper, repeating a reporters question.
''Well, l did and ] didn't"
How was tbati" asked the reporter.
feeling for his notebook.
81 did not see him actually die" replied
the keeper. without the vestige of q smile.
He was living when / lost sight of him.
He was swallowed alive"
This is going TO DO q pretty stiff yarn.
keeper" remarked the reporter, as q shade
of disappointment crossed his face. Il
guess | won't need the note book. fou
saw him swslled alive. ehf | always
thought you were an antiquity. / have sus-
pected You to be an an~tediluvian. What
did it, q megalosaurusf"
Never heard of such a thin 81" said the
keeper. grufily. This was o Quicksand."
"Oh, y quicksand! Go on old man."
responded the reporter. delighted. as he
pulled ont q pencil or two. Tell us all
lit was in India" said the old keeper.
where l learned q good deal abont ele-
plants. never thinking that it would come
usefu. to me in Barnum's menagerie in
after years. Elephants are common beasts
of burden there. and on this day q heavily
laden one was crossing Q shallow but broad
stream by wading. The sagacious brute
had refused to step on the badly-constrnct-
cd bridge which the natives had erected:
Out his lotluCt olo uOt 8Iu nllu u u tkdu-
gerous quicksand which the water con-
coaIed near the further bank.
II was attracted to the scene by the shouts
of his owners. five Indian merchants,
whose wares be carried from one bazaar to
another. They did not know of the quick
sand. and could not understand why their
elephant did not come out of the stream
which he had almost crossed. When they
learned the rredicament he was in. their
ho~ls of grief and despair were ear
anliffinn auUnaafad that hnnnIao nf
turf and branches be- thrown TO
the elephant. and this was done. The
old fellow. seemingly aware of his danger,
took each bundle. with his trunk, and
thrust il under water. Then. with O mighty
effort, dragging mp ono foot ont of the
sucking sand. he would Dut it on the bundl
of faROts and press it down. He got a lot
of them under him in this way with more
skill and precision than you would think
possible: but the soft sand took them all
in, and still let hin down further into its
depths.
His masters procured o small boat and
pOled it ont to him.. Then they took all his
load of goods of, put them in the boat and
weight a good deal. but the SAND was by
that time up above his shoulders. and soon
his entIre back was covered by the water.
Only his head shOwed now. and still the old
fellow was the only calm and collected in
divldual in the crowd. i cannot help think
ing of an elephant as q person, no one can
who has been with them and witnessed
their intelligence as much as | have.
Collecting some floating boards which
had been thrown out to him. be made a sort
of raft of them with his runk and rested
his big head on them. 1t was no use. how
ever. He was doomed and we knew il.
Before long the water covered his mouth.
Then he lifted his long trunk and curled
il over his forehead. The water filled
his ears and he tapped them vigorously
for o time. Soon it reached his eye
lashes and then his big burning eyes. just
at the waters edge. took on q pitiable ex-
preston. They seemed to beseech aid and
succor from those he had served so long
and 90 faithfully, and his masters fairly
groveied in the dust as they yelled to their
gods and frothed at the mouth in their
The tears came into my own, eyes as L
looked at the old fellow and knew there
was no help for hin
las the water covered his ewes, his
courage gave way at last and he uttered q
piercing scream of fright sthrough the
trunk and repeated it several times. 1t
made my blood curdle. l tell you. Have
you heard horses scream in q b urning
buildingf 1t is almost human. So was the
at hand. HisloDg trunks still waved wildly
above the water. but nothing else of him
was visible. Its length grew less and less.
and finally the water poured over the top
of it. One more bubbling, choked. gasping
scream threw the water out again into q
high Jet, but that effort was the last. The
stream quickly filled -p his only channel
to the air above. and the old elephant was
buried before he was dead. / could have
watched q dozen natives swallowed mp in
the same way without feeling half as bad
Ahnu ~