The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-11-25
SWALLOWED ALIVE.
UNAVAlLlNG SAGACITY OF A DOOMED
ELEPHANT.

The Animal Worked Nobly to Save Him.
self. But His Courage Gave Way at Last
Ills Masters Power less to Rescue Him
A Pitiful Scene.
did ever see an elephant die q
said the keeper, repeating Kew York
Tribune reporters question. Well,
did and l didn't"
I How was that ?" asked the reporter,
feeling for his notebook.
Il did not see Linn actually die" re.
! pied the keeper. without the vestige of
a smile. He was living when 1 lost
sight of him. He was swallowed alive. s.
This is going to be a pretty stii
yarn, keeper" remarked the reporter,
as shade of disappointment crossed
his f..ce. Il guess 1 won't need the
+ notebook. You saw him swallowed
alive, ell ? always thought you weru
an antiquity; / never suspected you to
be antediluviln. What did it, mega.
losaulrls q
'Neyer heard OF such thing" said tho
keeper, gruffiy. This was quicksand. ''
"Oh, quicksand Go on, old man, 81
responded the reporter, delighted, as
he pulled out a pencil or two. Tell
us all about it. y
''lt was In India, said the old keeper,
where L lea ned good deal about ele-
plants, never thinking that it would
come useful to me in Barnum's menag-
eric in after years. Elephants are COM
mon beasts of burden there, and on this
day heavily loaded one was crossing a
shallow but broad stream by wading,
! Ihe sagacious brute had refused to step
on the badly constructed bridge which
the natives had erected but his instinct
dli not warn him of dangerous quick,
sand which the wafer concealed, near
the farther bank.
$ was attracted to the scene by tho
shouts of his owners, five Indian mer.
chants, whose wares he carried from one
bazaar to another. They did not know
OF the quicksand, and could not under
stand why their elephant did not come
out OF the stream which he had almost
crossed. When they learned the pre-
,ilcament he was in, their howls of grief
and despair were ear-splitting. I sug-
Eested that bundles of turf and
ranches be thrown to the elephant, and
his was done. The old fellow, seem-
:ngly aware OF his danger took each
oundle with his trunk and thrust it
Under water. Then with o mighty
effort, dragging up one foot out of the
sucking sand. lie would put it on the
bundle OF fagots and press il down. He
+! got o 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 him down
Iarther into its depths,
" Ills master procured a small boat,
and poled it out to him. Then they
'ook all his load of goods of, put them
n the boat, and brought them ashore.
Tins lessened his weight good deal,
outthe 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 fel.
low was the only calm and collected in.
dlyldual in the crowd. I can not help
thinking of an elephant as 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, he
made sort of raft of them. It was no
use, however. He was doomed, and we
new it. Before long the water cov-
red his mouth. Then he lifted his
rnnk and curled it back over his
orehead. The water filed his ears,
md he tapped them vigorously for a
lime. Soon it reached his eyelashes,
md then his big, burning eyes, just at
,he waters edge, took on pitiable
expression. They seemed to beseech
Id and succor from those he had
served so long and so faithfully, and his
masters fairly grovelled in the dust as
hey yelled to their gods and frothed at
he mouth in their frantic Indian way
II expressing sorrow. The tears came
alto my eyes as l looked at the old fell
.ow and knew there was no help for him.
AS the water covered his eyes, his
'ourage gave way at last, and he uttered
piercing scream Of fright through
he trunk, and repeated it several times.
t made my blood eurdls, tell you.
lave you heard horses scream in u
'nrning building? 1t is almost hu-
nan. So was the old fellows death
'ry. The end was close at hand. His
ong trunk still waved wildly above the
Nater, but nothing else of him was Wis.
bic. Its length grew less and less, and
inally the water poured over the top of
., One more bubbling, choked, gasp.
Ag scream threw the water out again
ito high jet, but that effort was the
asst, The stream quickly filled up his
only channel to the air above, and the
Old elephant was buried before he was
lead, L could have watched dozen
natives swallowed up in the same way
without feeling half as bad about it."
Freaks of Memory.