The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-06-13
ELEPHANTS GO MAD
The Peculiar Affection That Often
Saizes the Great Beasts.
Instances in India When the Crazy Crca-
tures Have Gone on the Rampage
and Killed aad Destroyed Peo-
pie and Property.

and Killed and Destroyed Peo-
pie and Property.
In the East Indies, where tame ele-
plants are classed as intelligent ma
chimes and are invaluable adjuncts to
civil engineering and transportation, q
''rogue" elephant is as much dreaded
as an outbreak Of cholera, tornado,
or man-eating tiger. It's very sagacity
makes it all the more dangerous, and
once started on a career Of destruction
and life-tahng its methods appear Gym
ical in their pertinacity and Ingenuity.
OF such '.rogues" there are the wild
beast excluded from communion with
its fellows and the domesticated animal
in the condition of stmust." The latter
is more dangerous than the other be-
cause its spell OF blind fury generally
begins in densely populated neighbor-
hoods.
East Indian official statistics, how
ever, prove that. as rule, where one
person is killed by an elephant nearly
forty are destroyed by tigers, leopards,
bears, wolves and hyenas. Exceptions
alter these data. In one instance a
tame elephant which had been docile
for years became demoniacal and tore
away trunpeting to the woods. Before
it was killed it had ravaged commu-
nity and killed thirty-fv persons
In India the condition known as
''must," which is synonymous with
madness, is heralded by an exudation
On the forehead Of the bull elephant
and swelling of the temples. Such an
animal in captivity is shackled, and
caution is observed in approaching it.
Occasionally elephants with chronic
bed tempers are found, but they should
not be classed with those who are
periodically dangerous, or the wild
outcasts which are also known as
''solitaries." A typical ''rogue" ran
amuck near Jubbalpore in 1875, and is
spoken of as a man eater. because in
killing some of its victims it took them
In its mouth and tore them to pieces.
! Many of the "roeue" elephant stories
from Asia are based on the doings Of
ri"er ostracised beasts or those who
B. led from captivity, who in hunting
agricultural neighborhoods to feed on
crops devastated plantations and killed
people who came in their way. One
which wandered In the Doom district
for fifteen years, and destroyed rice
fields and killed many persons, was the
property of the government, and never
rid itself of chaih which it carried
sway when it escaped Its presence
near the village was known by the
clank of the broken fetters. All such
pa-auding brutes are simply preda-
tory and vicious, sleeping in the jungle
during the day and travelling at night.
They are not ''rpgues" proper, or
elephants suffering from periodical
fury.
Cruelty sometimes makes "rogues"
Of elephants. In 1886, while An ale-
phant was being ridden by its keeper in
the district of Sultanpore, in Dude, the
animal resented proddlng with a spear
by pulling the man fropt his back and
throwing him some distance aHay.
Fortunately the man tell In hollow
hnd remained there undiscovered by
the elephant, who went to neighbor-
ing village. There hs chased an old
man into . house, then broke down the
walls, pulled the man out and dashed
him to pieces.
The same night the elephant
knocked down several houses in quest
Of human beings in the villages Of Sar~
dapur, Bargaon and JaismSrur. He
killed SIX men In Bersoma, three in
6oxa. four in Ganges, and four in Mar
dan He likewise killed bullocE and
h pony and also destroyed a new car
rage. The animal used to stand at the
door Of house, force his entry by de-
the walls on either side, and
would then kill as many OF the inmates
as he could, pursuing those who tried
TO run away. He msngled his corpses
terribly.
After securing victim he sometimes
returned to the spot to see If life were
extinct, and would commence mutilat-
ing the body sfresh. He carried sew
eral bodies long distances and threw
them into ravines, etc. The elephant
found his way into the dehra rajah's
palace, where he tried to enter the
house Of q gardener, but some men,
mounted on three elephants, assisted
by spearsman, drove him off. He
then returned to Bebipur, where he
in which several persons had taken ref |
uge. The police got into the house |
from back window and were obliged |
to send for help to the dehra rajah,
who sent three elephants and some
spearsmen. The animal received two |
gunshots on the head ut Bebipur, |
which, however, only temporarily |
drove him off. he was ultimately cap |
tured at imminent risk by the raiah's |
three elephants and men.
National Wealth Of Europe.