Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-05
CIRCUS ELEPHANTS.
They Have to Be Carefully Watched
All Through the Night.

They Have to BE Carefully Watched
All Through the Night.
From Ainslee's Magazine.
The elephant men have to mind their
charges every hour of the day and night.
The BULL to use circus slang, sleeps only
about two hours, and often does that on
his feet. One fool African elephant-they
can't be taught to do anything. and the
commonest saying about a show is that
they are not worth the hay they eat-has
been known to go three weeks without lying
down at al. The elephant is always fidget-
ing about. always swaying that ridiculous
hulk of his, which seems to be clad in his
big brothers cast-off brooches, always stir
ring up strife, and always picking at some
thing with his trunk. He might loosen his
stake and run wild. He must have some
thing TO occupy his mind, and so bales of
hay are always at hand to be doled out to
him. He must be always Scolded and talked
to. and told to keep out Of that, or get back
there. or come out where he can be seen.
When he isn't being talked to, he is be-
ing raped on the nose with a bull hook"
An elephant mas a hide about an inch thick.
a temper that is uncertain as the toss
of a coin, the cruelty of an Apache, and
the destructiveneSs of tornado. Some
wise and kind-hearted men in New York,
who couldn't bear to see a poor dumb brute
suffer, decreed that the bull hook must
not be used. They didn't have to be with
the elephants all the time. The men who
ulu, e4tner nkt the nook part IN their nandS
while the agents of the s. p. c. A. We're
around, or displayed broomsticks that would
bring an elephant to time about as soon as
q feather buster would stop a cyclone. The
bull hook is shaped like boot hook. 1t
has a straight point. This is to jab in
where the skin is tenderest, near the root
of the tail. 1t is a sight well worth seeing
to witness Patsy Forepaugh (his name is
Mears, but he was with Addie Forepaugh
SO long that people hardly know what his
right name is) get the elephants to bunt
the wagons up from the basement of the
Madison Square garden. He is the boss of
all the herd, short, stock little man with
a quick eye-he needs it in his business
and something about his looks which says
that if you want to get into a fight with
him, you had better make your arrange
ments to spend about six weeks in the hos
pital The workmen get the wagon Slowed
around, so that it will go up the inclined
plane. Then they scatter like trash before
a broom. Here comes Patsy walking along
with two elephants their attitude seeming
to say: I'VE don't want to- while Patsy
seems to say: This one right here. All
together now" They make curious noises
They sometimes whine that you can To-
cate the very spot it comes from, and other
times not so unlike the last pedal key of
church organ. Oftenest it is like an anna
teur trying to blow a cornet for the first
time. They shuttle up to a wagon put
their foreheads against it, and up it goes
Patsy trots behind them making vicious
downward jabs with his hook, while he
shouts: "Hooyah! hooyah!" They scull
their way along the inclined plane and tod
die down again for more. Once 1 saw
wagon half up come rolling down, while
the elephants turned tail and ram trumpet-
ing with terror. A lion inside. angry at
having his sleep broken. roared. That was
all Romey and John wanted to hear They
fled, Patsy after them with his hook, and
though they snuffied and breathed hard,
they had to come and push that wagon I'D
Perhaps they will treasure that up and
some day-well. some day, they are sure to
get him.