The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-20
CAUGHT A VICIOUS ELEPHANT.
Nose Ryan Ycarned for Circus
and Finally Got One.

Caldwell (Tex) Correspondence st. Louis
Globe-Democrat.
Everybody in the Bottoms" knows
Nose Ryan. Moses says that he was
there first" but that statement, like many
other hurriedly spoken by this incorrigible
Texan, must be taken with a grain of
doubt, for it Is historical fact that one
Col. Buiger Ryan led a company Of Brazos
bottom tigers to the famous field of San
Jacnto, where they fought well. Al
though Nose was only about years of
) age at that time he is familiar with the
story of the great war from the fact that
Col. Bulger, who was regarded as an old
Texan in 'S6, was certainly The father of
Nose. "HowsomeveF," says Nose, Il am
very ancient" This statement is sustained
by the Oldest people in the country, who
declare that Moses has been engaged in
the business of catching catfish, hunting
'varmints' and feeding the tenderfoot on
the banks of the Brazos so long that there
/ are none living who can remember a time
| when Moses did not exist in the bottoms
The latch string always hangs on the
outside of Nose Ryans house, which is
| the same identical structure erected by
| Col Bulger Ryan at a time when the bot
| toms We're under the jurisdiction of a
Mexican governor.
The walls are full of lead and Indian
arrow points that were shot into the logs
! by the Comanches when the besieged the
| place in 1881 Moses was borne, as he
! says, Just over there In the corner while
the battle was gong on. And that IS the
reason" he adds, why am such an aw-
! ful fighter" He fought Indians and Mex
/ leans long as there were any of these
| enemies in the country, and after that he
\ whipped all the DULLES in the bottoms,
| and then he fell sick and came very near
4 dying Of inaction because there We're no
| foemen in the country worthy of his mus
! cie. Just for a tonic" he says he used
! TO walk about in the woods in his shirt
sleeves, unarmed, challenging the panthers
and bears for a rough-and-tumble combat,
| and when he could not get up a row in
| that way he would plunge into the Brazos
| river and slap the jaws of the nigger-eat-
/ ing aligators. People who are familiar
| with the career of Moses would not be at
all astonished if they should hear that he
! had swan out into the Gulf of Mexico and
tackled a whale. When only a boy he
broke a wild eats neck with his fist and
/ only short time ago he lassoed a pan
/ Their. utf-tr7r.
! Nose seldom talks Of his 500 battles with
| the Indians, nor did his most intimate
/ friends ever hear him say two dozen words
/ about the battle at Buena VISTA where
| it is said that he fought like a tiger
! though mere boy, but he makes up for
/ his singular reticence upon these interest
| ing subjects by turning loose a river of
| words the moment his attention is called
! to the subject of Shows" He is a
! smooth and fascinating artist in fiction
| when lingering upon such commonplace
| themes as panther and fighting, educated
alHgators, hoop snakes, Growing turtles
! JACKIE lanterns, talking bears and horse
! racing, but when circuses are mentioned
/ he becomes eloquent, and his wife has to
| frequently chain him to tree and throw
/ cold water on him to keep him from talk
| ing himself to death. There is good and
sufficient reason for this peculiar idiosyn-
| Grassy, and it is found upon the fact that
Moses Ryan saw Van Ambergs menag-
| erie in the town of Galveston on the 24th
| day OF october. 1S43. This famous Texas
/ authority on the subject of circuSes was
at that time about u years old. He not
| only remembers the date. but he accu-
! rately remembers everything that oc-
! CURED, and to this day can describe every
! animal that he saw. He never saw a show
! before, nor has he ever seen one since
/ nevertheless it has been the boast of his
! life that he is he best judge of a show
on earth and through all the long years
the dream OF having a show of his own
! has never departed form his mind He
would say to his wife: Betsy don't
! grumble about having to wear calico and
! go barefooted. You Just sorter initiate
| old Mr. Job till | get my show started
/ and you shall have silk dresses and gold
| en- slippers"
| Now, Nose Ryan" The poor woman
would say, you are getting a leetle along
in years, and l can't see where you are
| going TO get your show
W h.,
1T will come to me. fel it in my bones.
| 1t will come
And sure enough II did.
II came in such a way as to make one
| almost feel that to insure the success Of
a scheme or the fulfllment of dream it
Is only necessary to keep thinking of it,
A short time ago Souser Ryan, crown
prince and promising heir to the Ryan
| family traditions and the flint-lock mus
ket, bounded into the house just after sun
rise shouting: Dad, your show has come
and the whale has got loose and Is eatin
up a stack of fodder, and 1t has got
snake 40 feet long hangin out of its
mouth" Nose sprang TO his feet and ran
out in the yard, closely followed by his
wife and son. After gazing for a moment
an great satisfaction Moses slowly said
well, If that amt an elephant the devil
is hog and Nose Ryan is no judge of
varmints that stays in shows. Fetch me a
iariat, Betsy, and a washpan fun of salt
and Ia so out aud halter the brute and
look around for The balance of the show"
Mr. Ryan was not in error. The very big
gest elephant in the United States, an ami
NAL with a very bad reputation, was GER
tainly, quietly engaged in eating hay in
| Nose Ryau's horse lot Another man would
have been thrown into state of utter be
wiiderment. and there is hardly a farmer
in America VINO, under such circumstances
| would not have boltcd his doors and sought
safety for his family either on the roof
/ or in instantaneous flight Not so with
! Moses. He had been looking for a show for
! more than half a century and now that a
! part of At was at his door he was in a very
/ happy frame of mind and exceedingly anx-
| ious TO get his show together and parade
| hiss good fortune before his friends
| The monster elephant that Nose Ryan
was about TO halter with his rawhIde Ia
| riat belonged 10 Frank Lemons, the show
| man Lemons menagerie had showed In
| the town of Caldwell Texas, on the pre-
| vious day and late in the evening a very
| large elephant named Rajah began to man