The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-20

into the street believing furlously ard
threa lening to attack every living thing
he saw. Before the show people rallied and
loosened another elephant named Prince
Rajah had passed through the town ana
crossed the Davidson Creek bridge. There
is a great forest there which reaches 10
the Brazos Bottoms. RaJah walked into
these woods and disappeared. Darkness
came on and the show peopie abandoned
the chase, though Mr. Lemons offered
handsome reward for any and all infOrma
lion about the animal, and he sent runners
along the roads warning the people TO keep
out of the way of the dangerous beast.
Rajah kept in the woods and near morn
ing he struck the BraZos River within
sight of Nose Ryan's house. Noticing the
hay stacks and corn cribs he knocked the
gate down and walked into the horse lot
and coolly proceeded to fill his capacious
stomach with hay and fodder.
Now If Mr.. Lemons or the mahout had
seen Nose Ryan walking toward Rajah
with lariat neither Of them would have
given 5 cents for his life. Il Is, however,
a well-recognized fact that elephants pos
sess some very peculiar traits, and that
they quickly form strange friendships, and
some times at the first glance display the
bitteTest hatred toward men and even chill
dren. AS Ryan approached Rajah the big
animal began to sway his body and trump
Ell in tones that an elephant driver would
have interpreted TO mean that the ele-
plant was ia a fine humor and would be
very much pleased to be numbered among
Mr. Ryan's dearest and warmest FRIENDS.
Nose Ryan not only roped his elephant
but after feeding him apples, potatoes and
everything else that he could think of, he
got a ladder and crawied upon his back.
Later on he induced Betsy and Souser to
join him, and they rode Rajah down to
Brazos river, where he drank until sand
bars began to show above the falling wa
teTs, and he aeied at one time as if he
had half a mind to swim across to the
other shore
This Is a good elephant, Betsy" said
Nose smiling with pride. "Oh, when it
GENES to elephants, Nose Ryan is there.
Elephants is kinder skase now, and 1 OK
pect they sell pretty high. Betsy, s'pose
we take a dozen chickens and basket CT
eggs and Souser's wolf skins and my fiddle
and go up to town to-day. Been a-thini1in'
I'd go up there and whip old Billy Holmes
for some time"
Mrs Ryan was pleased with the idea of
riding the elphant 10 town, and it was not
long before they were prepared to start.
The show people had been badly, puzzled.
They could not hear word of the runa-
way elephant. Ryan, with mis- family and
his poultry pets and eggs mounted on Ra
jah came through the bottoms, and no
one saw them until they entered into the
old San Antonio road, about a mile from
Caldwell. Their approach TO the city was
heralded by the noise and clatter of about
forty teams that were running away from
frightened and yelling drivers. The main
thoroughfare was choked with overturned
wagons and buggies. Maddened mules and
crazy horses were flounderng and surging
over each other, while hundreds of negro
drivers, frightened out their senses. We're
yelling that the end of the world had
come. Merchants and clerks were at the
doors with ak handles and various other
weapons, beating negroes and animals
back, and wondering what on earth had
happened.
Entering the town, Rajah took posses
sion of fruit stand, and after throwing
the Dago up on the roof he devoured tie
bcwildered foreigners whole stock before
the man had time to enter protest. IN
stantly the news spread over town that
the mad elephant was loose In the streets
killing every living thing he met. This
added a new element of terror to the sit
uation. Merchants attempted to close
their stores, but the frightened people
crowded through the doors as if certain
death were at their heels.
The house tops We're covered with peo-
pie, who feared that elephants were able
to climb posts and brick walls, and in all
that mass of humanity there was but one
man whose mind was not at all disturbed.
Nose Ryan stood up on Rajah's shoulders
and after calmly surveying the astounding
scene he said:
Betsy, DANCED if l don't believe there
is some sort of frohc goin' on in this here
old town. Hold tight and don't drop your
eggs, and I'll play them the 'Arkankaw
Traveller and we will ride right into the
crowd and we will join the people in the
fun"
Just at that moment a small man on a
calico horse galloped within a few steps
of the elephant and shouted: Here what
are you doing on that elephant? Perhaps
you don't know you are perched on the
devil and murderer four times over"
This man was Frank Lemons the owner
of Rajah, and he afterward said that he
was so paralyZed with astonishment when
he saw those people serenely seated on
the back of that mad monster that he
doubted his sanity.
Nose Ryan shook his fist a Mr. Lem
ons and minated that he would make
his elephant eat him up alive If he pre-
sumed to further interfere with the pleas
ures of the Ryan family. That is my
elephant" shouted Lemons, land you
crawl off him right there, or | will shoot
you off, 81 vii" exclaimed Nose, I'D
like to catch you at that, for it is a game
l am very fond Of" He cooked his old
musket and the elephant moved on.
The mahout mounted on a gentle ele-
plant, debouched from a cross street and
when directly in front of Rajah he fired
two loads of shot into the old terrors
trunk. Rajah wheeled around 50 sudden
ly that the Ryan family rolled off into
the street, badly mixed with eggs, pelts
and poultry. Twenty thousand men sur
rounded the furious animal, firing pistols
and driving spears and pitchforks into his
quivering flesh. The big, cowardly brute
stuck his head against a brick wall and
when the mahout would drive the spear
into his flesh with all his strength he
moaned like a baby and tears ran from
his eyes in streams. He was conquered
and he knelt down to be chained, all the
time manifesting the most piteous repen-
lance.
The show people listened to Mr. Ryan's
story in wonder and amazement. The ter
ror of the menagerie. the ever-treacherous
and uncouQuerable Rajah, had been cap
tured and led about like lamb by an old
Texan who evidently knew no more of the
traits of such animals than a child. To
Mr.. Lemons and the mahout the whole af-
fair was incomprehensible. Nose cleared
the mystery and revealed thp gpcrof