Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-05-02
Bliseellaneous Reaaing.
EXECUTION OF AN ELEPHANT.
How a Man-KIller Was Put to Death In
New York Last Sunday.

New York Last Sunday.
Dick, the man. killing elephant of
the Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros.
circus herd, was executed by strangu-
lation in the basement of Madison
Square Garden Sunday morning. Two
hundred men pulled ropes looped
about the great elephants neck and he
was choked 10 death. The sight was
an unusual one and even the herd OF
elephants that witnessed the execution
exhibited signs OF horror at the work.
Dick was known as bad elephant.
He killed several men in his time and
was ferocious in disposition. He
would not even allow his keeper to
approach him, and made repeated ef.
forts to kill anyone who went near
him. When the show was ready to
leave the garden Saturday night, Dick
could not be moved, as he would not
permit anyone 10 unchaip him, and it
was decided to put him to death.
Chief Keeper Starr, of the elephant
herd, was instructed to have the
beast killed, and he secured great
ropes and 200 men 10 do the work.
"Bill" Campbell, the keeper Of Dick,
pleaded for the life of his charge but
to no avail, as the circus people had
determined 10 kill the dangerous ele-
phant.
Starr, very joyful, went about his
preparations for the execution. He
employed all the circus men who could
he spared from moving the show; he
called On men from the streets, picking
out sturdy ones, who were glad enough
to work to see an elephant die. He
rugged, between rings in the floor aud
iron pillars, two blocks and tackles,
one on either side of Dick, who, sway
ing his body and pulling his chains,
looked on suspiciously.
"SbalI we take away the herd, sir ?"
asked keeper.
Leave 'em alone; it'll do 'em
good" answered Starr, bluntly.
Then Starr got an inch hawser, OF
sufficient length for bis safety, and
With a keeper at the other end Of the
rope, tossed il over Dicks head. II
was easy then to lie the rope at the
ends in loop until it was tight around
Dicks neck with the twist in the rope
under his throat. Just as man
makes the first loop in cravat he is
tying and pulls it taut.
The ends of Dicks cravat were fas-
tened to the tackle. Two hundred
men. grasped each tackle.
care you all ready ?" asked Starr.
"BilI" Campbell walked around the
end of The wall to the other side, 80
that the bricks and mortar hid Dick
from him.
"All ready" chorused the men on
the tackles.
"Pull away, then !" yelled Starr,
and he cheerfully cursed them.
Grunting in unison, some crying
"Heave ho!" the 400 pulled together
on the tackles poor, murderous Dicks
cravat frightened uncomfortably.
He raised his trunk and emitted a
loud, angry roar. IF he knew be was
about to die, there was no note OF
repentance in it.
At the sound a remarkable thing
happened. All the other elephants
turned their heads away from Dick.
To look away from him, of course, the
elephants on his right had to turn
their heads to the right, and the ele-
plants on his left had to turn their
heads to the left. And that is just
what they did. And all the elephants
pulled as hard as they could at the
creaking chains that held them to the
rings in the floor; some of the beasts
swung their trunks here and there,
some trumpeted shrilly, in a very diff
ferent note from Dicks, note of fear.
1t was terrifying to the men on the
ropes; it seemed to them that the
herd would stampede. But the keep
ers ran among them, shouting at them,
prodding them with goads, reassuring
them, quieting them.
"Pull away" yelled Starr.
The hawser around Dicks neck
grew tighter, tighter. He trumpeted
again, even more loudly. He kept
fiapping his ears, his body swayed
more and more. While he could not
change the position of his legs, he
must have been exerting every ounce
of his tremendous power, for one Of
his chains-no one could tell which
snapped loudly. The feelings of the
men on the tackles were almost as
tense as the ropes themselves.
When the chain snapped, half the
men Jumped, scared; the ropes were
perceptibly relaxed.
"Pull !" yelled Starr, and the air was
blue with his oaths.
And pull they did. Dick emitted
one more frighlful blast-a defiance
his last. Then he pitched forward.
His chains held him tottering for an
instant. He rolled over on his right
side.
"Pull I" shouted Starr yet once more.
The biz rope was almost hidden in the
folds of Dicks thick hide. 1t was
tight around his windpipe; it was
choking him to death. His ears flop
ped more and more feebly, his legs
wobbed like pillars in an earthquake,
his side hraved slow er, slower, more
slowly as he breathed more and more
labofuusly, then was still.
The 400 stood holding taut the
strangling rope for perhaps minute
more.
"Slacken up there" Starr ordered.
Murderous, mun-killing Dick was
dead-puor brute. He had paid the