The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-03
HAD EIGHT FEET
OF SORE THROAT
Valuable Giraffe in Circus Has
Serious Illness.
HOW AT0MIzER WAS WORKED
DOCTORS AND KEEPERS HAD TO
STAND ON LADDERS.

A NY man who has known the miseries
n of a sore throat will have some
idea what it means to have that
affection spread over d throat eight
feet long. Poor Nellie. the giraffe in
the Ringing Brothers circus, has been
suffering from a cold and sore throat,
affecting the whole enormous area of
her respiratory tract. Nellie stands
over sixteen feet high from her hoofs
to the top of her horns OF this height
about eight feet are taken up by her
graceful, slender, tapering neck. Like
all giraffes, Nellie is very delicate, and
receives the most unremitting and
scientific care. Through an unavoid-
able accident she caught cold during
the recent changeable weather.
Always a very reserved animal, she
did nothing at first to call attention to
her sufferings. Before her physicians
and keepers realized that anything had
happened to her, she was suffering
from a severe cold OF the influenza
type, complicated with sore throat.
The water flowed from her beautiful,
large, dark eyes, and her pretty nose
Her larynx, vocal chords and other
parts of the throat could be felt,
swollen and hard under the skin.
Poor Nellie developed a most excru-
ciating cough. 1t was agoniZing and
almost eternal in it's slowness. 1t
sounded like a smokestack trying to
cough uD some obstruction. Nellie
rested her neck against the side of the
cage and groaned with pain. 1t was
truly heartrending TO think that every
inch of that marvellous neck was sore,
stiff and infamed.
Try to Save Her Life.
The authorities decided that some
thing would have to be done for Mel
lie at once, or a precious giraffe would
quit a cold, hard world for good. All
the animal physicians and most ex-
peTienced keepers were called in con-
suitation. To relieve the pain and in
Examination temporarily, a mild spray
OF one pint of cocaine was admins
tered. This gave Nellie marked re-
lief.
The next step was to protect her
throat during the remainder of her
illness. A band of warm, dry flannel
twenty feet long was procured. A hal
ter, attached by ropes to the ceiling,
was put on Nellie's neck, in order to
hold it steady Two men,. standing
on chairs and ladders, wound this care
fully around Nellie's neck. so as to
cover ii completely, without compress
ing 1t. This was lightly stitched up
with a sailmaker's needle and thread.
a sort of flannel dressing gown was
then built to cover the rest of Nellie's
person.
Before these steps were taken, an
order had been sent to great firm of
chemists to manufacture a nose and
throat atomized of appropriate size,
Immediately and regardless of expense.
This was made of similar shape TO
those used by human beings. The bot
tie part of it, however, held a quart
of liquid, instead of the one or two
ounces of the ordinary atomized. The
atomizing process was carried out by
means of bulb as large as a football
! The liquid was peroxide of hydrogen,
which is an excellent antiseptic, is eX-
trenely cleansing, and is peculiarly
good for sore throat. Some soothing
and fragrant balsamic medicanen It's
were mixed with it.
Working the Atomizer.
One man held this apparatus while
another took the bulb in both hands
| and squeezed it The liquid was first
| pumped into Nellie's mouth. Not be-
| ing used to it, and not caring for the
| flavor particularly, she returned most
| of it before it had time to accomplish
| much good. But she is an amiable ami
NAL, and in a little While the doctors
| were able to persuade her that the
/ treatment was for her good.
| After that the spray was admins
| tered regularly once an hour. and the
! distressing symptoms in the throat and
| head were kept in check. At the same
| time a diet suitable to giraffe with q
bad cold was provided. This included
| warm bran mash, boiled onions and 3
| little hot whisky and water. Large
doses of soothing paregoric were also
| administered every two or three hours
In spite of all these precautions and
| the good results which the giraffe
| showed at the beginning of treatment
| she had a very serious relapse duTinG
| the second night of her illness. This
| attendants who stayed up all nigh
| with her at one time despaired of pull
ing her through. Her temperature ros,
to 1O3 degrees Fahrenheit, while tn,
pulse fell 10 50 per minute She wa
suffering from an acute fever. TIL,
poor animal rolled her neck ceaselessl,
from side to side. and groaned out o
the depths of her throat, while he
great eyes were filled with tears AM
an expression of unutterab Bile woe
| The devoted physicians and attend
, ants sat at her head, perched on to-
of their ladders, all night. They ad
| ministered large quantities of anti
| pyrine from time to time. to keep dow
the fever. They carefully mopped u
/ the perspiration, which rolled off he
| in rivers.
At daybreak the watchers were de
lighted to see the suffering giraffe dro
into a soothing sleep. When she awOk
from this the crisis had passed There