The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-06-06
TRICKED BY BABY PETE.
Midnight Adventure of an Elephant
Herd-Feasting on the Sly.

f1erd-FedStIng on the Sly.
Pete is the baby elephant of one Of
the big circus herds. During his con-
| finement in winter quarters he played
a trick on his keeper, which the man
| relates as follows in the ST. Louis
| "Globe-Democrat:''
Pete is a tiny little fellow, and
| doesn't weigh more than 600 or 800
pounds, but 1 actually believe he would
eat as many pounds of oats if he had
| access to them. The elephant house
was dark one night, and 1 supposed
every one of the animals was sound
asleep, when my attention was attract
ed by a subdued, rasping noise, ap-
parently coming from the farther end
of the big herd. Instead Of walking
down in front of them ALL I went
around and came in at the other end.
Hiding behind some bales of straw,
peered cautiously over to where the
little rascal was chained, and there he
was, carefully lifting his stake out of
the ground. 1 saw in an instant that
he had had the stake out before that
time, for all ne had to do was to lift
it up and it came out. He slipped his
foot chain down over the tapering end
| OF the STAKE and was free.
Across the room, distant perhaps
twenty feet or more from his place,
were piled some sacks of grain, con-
tanning about 100 pounds each. Pick
ing up the footchain very carefully
with his trunk, so that it would not
rattle or jangle upon the floor he began
the most delicate, sinuous, gliding mo-
ton across the space that separated
him from the grain I ever saw, and
never imagined an elephant could go
so quietly. I crouched behind the
bales of straw, afraid to move for fear
he would hear me and stop.
ION he went, cautiously, slowly, but
steadily, until he was within reaching
distance of the sacked grain. Then he
laid the chain down and picked up a
bag Of oats with his trunk. His jour
ney back to the herd, twenty feet
away, was performed even more eau
tiously than had been his advance, for
he had to drag the chain without MAX
ing a noise. All the time he held the
sack of grain tightly in his trunk, and
his mouth must have watered when
he thought of the feast he was going
to have. He reached the herd at last
and went up to great big Babylon
who stood like a bronze statue, her
massive sides looming up like the sides
of a house in the gloom. Pete stopped
and Babylon, whom L had imagined
fast asleep, took the OATS They got
into the bag in jiffy. and then began
| a feast. Pete filed his mouth and
munched away like a man eating dry
crackers on a wager. He knew that
his big companion in crime would get
the most of the oats if he lost any time
Babylon put away with almost half the
oats at the first jump out of the box and
poor little Pete, with his mouth full,
| looked at her with his watery little
eyes, as much as to say, oh, what a
| hog!' and gulped the oats down his lit
| tie throat at the risk of choking to
death
L thought it was about time to make
| a noise, just to discomfort them. I
had seen enough to assure me that the
hostler who had been discharged a few
| days ago hadn't been instrumental in
| the disappearance of divers and sun
| dry bags Of oats. and, as I walked
around toward the other end of the ele-
| plant house, wondered what 1 should
do to punish the thieves. The big one
had had a painful operation performed
a few months before, and I thought
| that any sight of the instruments that
had been used at that time would give
| her good fright. When I reached
my own sleeping room I purposely
made a noise and heard the shutting
noise Of sly little Pete as he sham
| bled back to his place. He picked his
| stake uD, put IL down in the ground
and would have put it through the ring
in the chain if he had had time When
/ came along he. was leaning against
| the wall asleep. I gave him a gentle
| prod and he awakened suddenly, with
| that sleepy stare that a person has
when awakened from slumber. But
! he soon knew that l was on to him. for.
when I ordered him to open his mouth,
| he didn't want TO do it, He finally
obeyed, and there were the oats His
mouth was damned full of them. /
| didn't do anything to him, but walked
| over to big Babylon. She was his
! partner in crime, but she was playing
| possum, too.
| Il had good deal of trouble to wake
| her up, and more to make her open. her
mouth Much to her chagrin, l imagine,
| it was full of oats, and she had the
empty sack closely rolled up and
packed in with them. She was sheep
ish and ashamed, assure you, if ever
an elephant put on that expression. To
| punish her I ordered her to sit down
and open her mouth, and made a mo-
| ton as if to pass a great pair of for
ceps into it, which had been used dur
ing the operation l referred to. She
shut her mouth and cried like baby,
and was so thoroughly frightened that
she never trespassed again. But that
sly little Pete-why, he is more trouble
than the entire herd, and ne just gets