The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-05-11
TIP FOOLED THEM.
The Central Park Elephant
Refused to Take the
Poison.
S.P.C. A. PREVENTS HIS BEING SHOT
Park Commissioners Will TOmor-
row Try Again to Kill Him
Method Not Decided.

NEW York, May IL, 1S94.-There was a
big crowd at the menagerie as early as five
o'clock this morning, where the ''rogue'
elephant Tip is confined. At fifteen min
utes to seven o'clock Otto Mopis, former
keeper began the operations for killing him
by giving him couple of non-poiscned
carrots, which he ate. When "TipD was
given two carrots containing the poison
he spit them out. He had nibbled
them, however, and it is believed that the
poison took effect and that he is now slowly
dying. He was given a couple of apples con-
tanning poison soon after he had split out the
poisoned carrots, but these he refused to
take.
Tip" is now lying down quietly. occa-
sionally twitching all over as If in chill.
The Park Board has four magazine rifles
and four expert ridemen on hand. Their in
tention was, it is said, in case of the failure
of the poison, to mark certain part of the
elephants head with chalk by means of a
long pole in order to direct the aim Of the
shooters President Haines of the Society
for the Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals,
however, refused to allow any shooting at
Tip.
TIP SUSPECTED THEM
Tip, in the opinion of many OF the attend
ants. suspected that something was being
done to injure him, for when the first carrot,
which contained three ounces of cyanide of
potassium was given to him he speedily spat
itout, after chewing upon it. Then when
an apple without any poison was
given to him he ate it, and when an apple
with poison Immediately after this was ex-
tended to him he smelled 1t and deliberately
: laid it out on the floor A piece of bread
with no poison was then given him and he
- 4
was given him he treated it as he did the
poisoned apple. Shortly afterwards when
a carrot and potato that had no poison
were given to him he would not eat them.
In speaking about Tips refusal to take the
poisoned apple, Snyder, his keeper, says that
I on Sunday last summer a visitor in the
park gave him an apple that had been hol-
lowed out and filled with cayenne pepper.
He took it, crushed it and quickly spat it
out without getting much burned by the
pepper. Since that time Tip has always
been suspicious about what is given to him
by person whom he does not know
At nine o'clock it was announced by Park
Commissioner Straus that no further at
tempt would be made to poison the elephant
OF to kill him in any other way until the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals had been consulted.
This announcement was received with
much the same enthusiasm that is popularity
oui1pOcCA " o0 ICAO LILO oOlA WIZ 10
denly enyeloped in wet blanket, and the
motley crowd that had gathered outside the
elephant house growled gently and began to
rapidly dwindle away in search of breakfast
and other less substantial refreshments.
ATTEMPT BELIEVED a FAILURE.
The general opinion at the menagerie at
this hour thalf past nine o'clock is that the
attempt to kill ''Tip" is failure. He is ap-
parently as healthy as he was before he took
the poison.
DR.. Allen insists that the elephant has re-
ceived sufficient poison to kill him. but his
appearance and actions at present do not bear
out this statement. ''Tipn is standing up
and has stopped lifting one leg after the
other nervously as he did shortly after
taking the poison, and he Is now standing
firmly. However, he has commenced a
swaying motion which some of the on-look-
ers say denotes that the poison is gradually
having its effect upon, him In fact, other
wise he is now looking and acting the same
as he did before he took the poison.
This afternoon Tip showed little signs of
his experience of this morning. The Com
missione-s have decided to make another at
tempt tomorrow morning, but have not yet
decided whether to shoot him or administer
another dose of poison.