The age-herald., 1901-09-30
GENTRY'S DOG SHOW
 ARRIVES IN TOWN Great Crowd Sees Dogs, Mon-
 keps and Elephants WHITE ELEPHANT STORY Was Advertised as an Animal Wor- shipped by the HIndoos, But En- eraetic Young Man Found Out
 the Chemical Process.
WHITE ELEPHANT STORY

The Gentry special train of performing ponies dogs, monkies and elephants came to Birmingham yesterday from Chatta- nooga. During the forenoon the animals, wagons and other paraphernalia were unloaded, and the big white tents erected preparatory to a two-days' exhibition In this city. During the afternoon large number of sightseers visited the grounds, located in Avenue A, near Eighteenth street, where they were permitted to see the perfectly educated and properly han dled brute actors
 Let me tell you something about that elephant over there" said Press Agent Pringle. pointing toward Pinto, one of the star comedians. Readers of the newspapers whose memory will take them back some twenty years, can no doubt recall Rajah, widely advertised at that time as a sacred elephant A great show man. since passed to the great beyond, aided by fiaring posters of unique design, caused the announcement to be made that Rajah had been worshiped for many years by the Hindoos before becoming the property of this snowman. As the story ran, Rajah was white elephant, the only one on earth, and 1t was on this account that the sun worshippers of the Far East bowed down to this their idol. The Amer ican people had no reason to contradict the story that the elephant in question had in reality been idollged by the heath en. One thing was certain, and that was that Rajah's skin was of a peculiar ashy xxyh{ xrtith vivid irna gina ton could call 1t white if he wanted to. Rajah was a beast of extraordinary intel ligence-no one could ever accuse that sacred animal of shedding any light re- garding color or previous condition.
 Tn the course of time the world-famed Rajah, along with the famous show, vis- tied little city in Indiana named Bloom ington. The proprietor of the Gentry Dog and Pony Show. then young man with a penchant for dogs and ponies as well as all kinds of animals, was struck with the appearance of Rajah, and the rest of the show had no attraction for him. There was something so unreal in the color of that elephants hide that the man with the inQuisitive turn of mind determined to fathom the mystery.
 Not being able to strike a bargain with the animal man. young Gentry ap- preached the boss hostler, the result of the conference being that Gentry joined out with the show. Two weeks later he was out of job-the management didn't like his style, for he hung around too much where the sacred elephant was kept. Only one person was permitted to attend to Rajah, the iron-clad rule being that all others must keep their distance. Upon being told that his services were to the general manager and asked for a private interview. Just what transpired behind those closed doors will never be known exactly, as one of the persons Is dead, whils MT. Gentry to this day re fuses to disclose the substance of the heated controversy. One thing Is certain, though, and that Is that a high-salaried position was offered him, which was de- clined.
 Later on, 1t will be remembered, the daily papers, in black-faced headlines, came out with a sensational story to the effect that Rajah was in reality no light CT in color than his fellows-a chemical preparation. carefully put on each day. had done the work. Next thing the pub lie knew the white elephant had sud- denly died-ever after the exposure the public considered the animal dead at any rate. But Rajah was very much alive, notwithstanding newspaper publication to the contrary. Shortly after that mem- orable interview with the circus mana ger MT. Gentry became invested with his proprietorship. and Pinto the perform ing elephant with the Gentry show, if he could talk would call 'Rajah' father.
 "The old fellow passed quietly away two years ago on the farm in Indiana, and had 1t not been for MT. Gentry's dis position not to deceive the public the probability is that there would have been all kinds of white elephants in the busi- ness today"