The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-22

alter every DlL Oh II HdQ DSeH
lowed anxious watching followed. No
one knew just what might happen. The
beast might drop dead. She might get
blind drunk and go into a rage. For
half an hour nothing at all occurred.
Marty rocked herself to and fro, as
usual, and showed no signs of hav-
ing taken enough rum and poison to
affect a regiment. Then suddenly, at
the end of the thirty minutes, she APP
peared to have become excessively
tired. She stood stock still, her head
sank downward with a jerky nod and
her trunk became slack and hung with
cut power. Quickly the instruments
that had been prepared were brought
to the Enclosure and the surgeons strip
ped for their work. But within ten
minutes Marty was as bright as ever
and showed no further signs of having
been drugged. DR.. Schaeff prepared
two more quarts of rum with ten grains
of morphine. This was poured into
bucket, and Marty at once began to
drink it. But the moment she tasted it
she looked suspiciously at her keeper
and whisked her ears angrily. Then
she spat it all out again and refused
to touch the rest. When the coaXing
and commanding were continued she
showed signs of lively anger and finally
put her foot on the bucket and crushed
it.
AS there were no signs of any effect
from the morphine already taken, the
operation was postponed until the fol-
lowing morning, and the surgeons
withdrew to decide on some other
method of inducing unconsciousness.
But they had been away only an hour
when Marty began to act strangely.
First she rocked more violently than
ever. Then she began to stamp rhyth-
ically until the whole elephant house
trembled. Her eyes became wicked
and she thrust at everything in sight
with her tusks. Then she began to
trumpet and below and finally she fell
to her knees, grooming and believing
III turn.
BY the time the doctors arrived her
front legs had given way entirely and
she was lying with her head on the
ground. She was struggling madly
with her hind legs, which still retained
their power. But after a time they,
too, gave way, and Marty fell over on
her side with a crash. For time the
angry little eyes showed that the men
tai life of the brute still was in full
activity. But at last they, too, closed,
and the groaning and grunting that
was so loud that it could be heard
over almost the whole eco.
The heavy chains were passed aroun1
the animal quickly and each leg was
fastened to chains that ran over pull
leys overhead and lifted till the ele-
plant lay on her back.
AS soon as the surgeons began work
they found that both hind feet were in
a desperately bad condition. Foster
ing sores had eaten far into the soft
parts and great portions of both feet
had to be cut away entirely. The work
was not one that called for fine lancet
and scalpel work. Prof. Prick used
hand saws, chisels and mallets and an
ak. The first step that was necessary
was to cut away the huge horny masses
! that had accumulated all around the
| soles and toes. This was more like
| chopping at a tree than like an opera
ton on a living being. But none of the
operators forgot for a moment that
they did not have an inanimate subject.
| The glances cast at the eyes of the
PROSTATE giant were frequent and care
| full, and every man stood ready to
| Jump out in an instant. A watcher
was posted at the elephants head to
| give warning at the first intimation of
returning consciousness.
Fortunately the beast did not recov-
err her senses at any time during the
progress of the work. Inch after inch
the horny masses disappeared under
the blows of the little ak until the feet
had something like their normal size.
| Then a keen spokeshave was used to
pare them down thoroughly. When
this tool got down to the tender flesh
Marty began to kick spasmodically,
and all hands got out in hurry. But
! it was false alarm, and the work was
/ taken UP again Immediately.
After the feet had been entirely re-
lieved of the horn, the cutting away of
the diseased portions of the feet began.
| This, the most important and necess-
airy, also was the most dangerous and
exciting part of the operation. No one
/ could tell how much longer the mar
COSTS of the elephant would last as this
was the first one ever anaesthetized.
At any moment the vast brute might
awaken, and to awaken while the in
struments were cutting away at the
nerves of the foot meant that she would
go mad with the pain So swiftness of
work was essential and the surgeons
soon had tools going like lightning. De-
spite the great sensibility of an ele-
plants foot it was found that there
was so much gristle that knives could
not cut it as fast as desired. So re-
course was had at once to common,
| carpenters chisels and mallets, and
they were piled busily. AS quickly as
a portion of the diseased flesh had been
loosened sufficiently by the chisels, a
| common hand-Saw was used to sever 1t.
Still the elephant, beyond twitching
! his legs spasmodically once or twice.
had not given any indications of pain
during the two hours consumed by the
cutting and chiseling and saving. But
when the irrigation of. the wound be-
! gan Marty flung her legs around in so
/ lively a manner that the Enclosure was
vacated in a hurry. The same demon
stration occurred during the cauteriza-
! ton, which had to be done most thor
oughly. But II the animal felt pain
during this time it gave no indication
of il other than by those motions. II
did not below. and it's regular deep
breathing continued without Interrupt
ton.
! When the surgeons announced that
all had been completed the attendants
carefully lowered the chains holding
| the legs and took off the letters that
had tied Marty to the floor. The ele-
plant turned over on her side. but
showed no other signs of life. This
state of Inconsistencies remained I'M
broken for two days and a night. and
almost unbroken for another night and
! day. Occasionally the creature would
work its legs, but 1t did not change its
! position. and remained lying on its
| right side.
on the morning of the third day
Marty had aroused herself enough to
open her eyes when her keeper shouted