The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-24

keeper for several months and at last
he caught him unawares In a mo
ment he had thrust his tuskS lhrOuS Il
him, and when he saw that TINS o4Q
not kill him he seized him again ana
threw him entirely over trelghl car
that was standing in the railroad yard
The mans neck was broken.
In attempting to subdue RaJah the
elephant escaped and ran amuck in the
yard. Switches were torn up, trelghl
cars We're overturned and the place
looked as if it had been struck by
cyclone when the brute was finally cor
nered and chained. After that Ra1ah s
tusks were cut off, but that DID not
prevent him from Wreaklng ms ven
geance upon all those whom he DIS
liked. Keeper after keeper was killed
Several times there were threats by
the authorities to put an end to ms
existence, but as the owners found that
his murderous instincts were an ad-
vantage in increasing the attractive
quality of the animal, they succeeded
in preventing these threats from being
executed. At last he killed poor F1Sher
by knocking him down and kneeIIng on
him, crushing his chest horribly. rms
act was his death warrant.
Another vicious elephant was Gypsy,
who killed six men before she was cleo
trOcuted in 1897. I knew the elephant
in 1862 when she was with a circus
She was a bad elephant then and she
grew worse as she grew older. She al
ways had her own keepers and trainers
and she had some Of the best men IN
the business. All of them were kind
70 her, but kindness was something
that she could not appreciate, and she
killed six of them at least. She tore
the head from the body Of one keeper,
and she crushed another until 1t was
impossible to recognize anything that
resembled a man in the mass of flesh
beneath her. Finally it got so that no
one would take the elephant for a gift,
as it was impossible to find a keeper
who would risk his life in caring for
ll
bad elephants.
a man can make such a study of
the animal kingdom that he can raise
the art of training to a science No man
is more kind to animals than he and
yet they will cringe before him at
cross word.
There are birds. for instance. like the
falcon and the eagle, that can only be
intimated by the use of a long and
sharp needle. There are insects who
can be well trained if they are first
frightened by a lighted candle or a red
hot coal Snakes are brought into sub
lection by the use of music.
In the training or tanning of the more
ferociOus animals, however, nerve is
the one requisite. You must be the
master all the time; there must be de-
termination in every step you take, in
every word you utter. The crack of the
whip must have a meaning that cannot
be misunderstood
This talk of the hypnotizing of ami
mails is the greatest of rubbish. The
power of the eye is all right as a spec
tacular effect to be used by exhibitors,
but it does not work in real life Feed
the animal well and then walk straight
up to him, showing him plainly that
you are not afraid of him, and he will
step out of your way Then, after you
have made him afraid of you the rest
is easy. It is absolutely impossible,
however. to give rules for the tanning
and training of animals. No two are
alike and, therefore, one must be treat
ed differently from another.