The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-25
SWALLOWED WHOLE


| Tbs Graphically. Told stsky OF an E1e-
phanf's DOOM
''Did ever see an elephant die?" said
the keeper, repeating reporters ques-
ton. well, did and I didn't"
How was that?" asked the reporter,
| feeling for his note book.
Il did lot see him actually die" re-
piled the keeper, without the vestige of
smile. HE was living when lost
sight of him. He was swallowed
alive"
''This is going to be a pretty stiff
yarn, keeper" remarked the reporter,
as a shade of disappointment crossed
his face. II guess l won't need the
note book. You saw him swallowed
alive, eh? always thought you were
an antiquity, never suspected you to
be an antediluvian. What did it, a me-
| galosaurus?"
Never heard of such a thing" said
the keeper. gruffiy. ''This was quick
sand
''Oh, quicksandl Go on, old man."
responded the reporter delighted, as he
pulled out pencil or two. Tell us all
about it
sit was in India" said the old keeper.
"where learned a good deal about ele-
plants, never thinking that it would
come useful to me in Barnum's menag-
erie in after years. Elephants are COM
mon beasts of burden there and on this
day heavily loaded one was crossing
shallow but broad stream by wading.
The sagaeious brute had refused to step
on the badly constructed bridge which
the natives had erected: but his instinct
did not warn him Of a dangerous quick
sand which the water concealed, near
the farther bank
Il was attracted to the scene by the
shouts of his owners. five Iudian mer-
chants, whose wares he carried from
one bazar to another. They did not
know of the quicksand and could not
understand why their elephant did not
come out of the stream which he had
almost crossed. When they learned the
predicament he was in, their howls OF
grief and despair were ear-splitting.
suggested that bundles of 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
it under water. Then with a mighty
effort, dragging up one foot out of the
sucking sand, he would put it on the
bundle of fagots and press it down.
He got lot of penn 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 farther into its depths.
'His master procured a small boat
and poled it out to him. Then they
took all his load of goods off, put them
in the boat and brought them ashore.
This lessened his weight 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 fell
low was the only calm and collected in
dividual in the crowd. / cannot help
thinking Of an elephant as a 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 a sort of raft of them with his
trunk and rested his big head on them.
It was no use, however. He was doomed
and we knew it. Before long the water
covered his mouth. Then he lifted his
long trunk and curled it back over his
forehead. The water filed his ears and
he tapped them vigorously for time.
Soon it reached his eyelashas and then
his big burning eyes, just at the waters
edge, took on a pitiable expression.
They seemed to beseech aid and succor
from those he had served so long and so
faithfully, and his masters fairly grow
elled in the dust as they yelled to their
gods and frothed at the mouth in their
frantic Indian way of expressing sor-
row. The tears came into my own eyes
as / looked at the old fellow and knew
there was no help for him.
Gas the water covered his ewes, mis-
courage gave way at last and he uttered
a piercing scream of fright through the
trunk and repeated it several times. It
made my blood curdle, tell you. Have
YOU heard horses scream in burning
building? 1t is almost human So was
the old fellows death cry. The end was
close at hand. His long trunk still
waved wildly above the water, but moth
ing 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 a high
iaf hut that effort was the last The
stream quickly filed up his only chan
mel to the air bove, and the old elephant
was buried before he was dead. | could
have watched a dozen natives swallowed
up in the same way without feeling
half as bad about it. ~. Y. Tribune.