The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-18
ELEPHANT AMUCK ON PIER.
DiSHES MEN AND FREIGHT ASIDE
~ SCRAMBLE FOR FREEDOM.
One Man Escaped Beasts Fury by Jumping
Through = GLASS DoOr-hcOres Of Men
Finally Drag the Animal Back 10 His
stall BY One Of His Big Hind Legs.

stall by One OF Ills biS HIM. Legs
Gyp, the big Indian elephant that arrived
in the Hagenbeck consignment of wild
animals on the steamship Patricia. broke
loose after being lowered to Hamburg
American Pier 8 in Hoboken yesterday
afternoon. and was not captured until he
had bowled over a dozen or more long
shoremen, made one man jump through a
plate ass door and cut a wide swath Of
wreckage.
Gyp WAS such q good elephant on the
voyage over that his keepers didn't think
any precautions were necessary in remov-
ing him from the ship. He was lowered
TO the pier in a portable stall without
door and showed no disposition to be frisky
until the keepers went back to the Patricia
for their coats. Then Gyp broke from his
fastenings and went tearing up the pier,
dangling several yard Of chain from either
hind leg.
The pier is narrow, and between the
casks, salt bags and other freight piled
on either side, more than hundred long
shoremen were at work with hand trucks.
When they saw Gyp coming they dropped
the trucks and began to scramble up the
freight piles. There was an exciting
mix-up in the narrow space and a number
of the men were unable to reach places Of
safety. Gyp bore ten of them down before
he had gone as many yards and lifted up
another and threw him into a downy heap
of burlap bags. He tore over the trucks,
crushing wood and iron as easily as he
would reeds in his native jungle and pick
ing up barrels and cases with his trunk
and hurting them out of his way.
Near the entrance to the pier is watch
mans shanty with glass door letiered.
NO Admittance.' Oscar Weigel, checker
employed by the company, was busy with
a pile of freight, and didn't see the ele
plant coming until he vas within ten feet
Of him. Weigel made for the shanty, and
Gyp. snorting .madly. chased after him.
When Weigel reached the shanty the
door was closed. He took one look over
his shoulder at Gyp, and then, shielding
his face with his arms, went crashing
through the glass. He landed on the top
Of a desk with no moro serious injuries than
few cuts and scratches on his face anu
arms. Gyp thrust his trunk through the
splintered plate Of glass. gave a coupe of
angry shorts and retraced his course up the
pier.
The keepers had in the meantime been
informed of his rampage, and Gyp saw
them making for him with their sharp
goads. He turned and made for the gate,
reached the open and ran TO the new steel
pier on the north Piled between the two
piers wee lot of fruit crates and hides
that considerably impeded his progress.
Gyp and his trailing chains played havoc
with these, and when he reached the steel
pier he looked around for more things
TO damage He couldn't find any, and
when the keepers came up to him they
found him placdly sur veying the North
River from the stringpieceas though moth
ing unusual had happened.
Gyp consented to he led back TO Pier 3,
but baked at entering his stall and again
broke away. The longshoremen had by
this time recovered from their first fright.
and, drawing their cotton hooks, Joined the
keepers in the elephant hunt Gyp was
driven into a corner and long rope was
fastered 10 one Of his dangling chains.
Fifty hands grasped the ropes. and started
to slowly drag the elephant up the pier
Gyp fumed and followed and tried to make
il a game Of tug-of-war, but more recruits
joined the longshoremens side. and he
was finally pulled back to the portable
stall The keepers piled their goads fun-
ously, and, big and strong as Gyp was. he
realized that he had no chance in such an
uneven contest, and backed sullenly into
the stall. When his temper had cooled. a
half hour later, he was taken 10 the Lacka-
wanna station in Hoboken for shipment to
a firm of showmen az Buffalo.
Hamburg line that none Of the men Gyp had
knocked down was hurt seriously enough
TO keep him from work.