The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1903-03-13
MAD SEASON.
Two Months During When
Have to BE Extremely "a'c"
full of the Animals.

From February l to All rools u"s
every elephant trainer III the oni'e'
States watches his huge pets 'iglian'-
ly. 1t is the season i'll which elephan,s
go must, or mad, says the 81. LOUIS
Post-Disputch. For two months the
Jungle fever rules the p~achyderms' an
instinct which has survived centuries
of domestication, and which ofttlmes
causes the tamest brute to become
crazed. In Indian jungles during the
must season the elephant herds com
mingle, and the lordly bulls hight Tor
supremacy. In the circus winter quar-
tiers and in the menagerie the solitary
elephants are very likely to go mad.
Once must, always mad" says Steve
Lawrence, a man who has handed ele-
plants for 90 years, and has the rever-
! ence of a mahout for the elephant
folk" Lawrence has known a dozen
elephants who have gone mad. lie has
otticiated at the execution of w mad
elephants, and was acquainted with
most of the man-killing elephants who
achieved a CORY notoriety.
There was Sport" said Lawrence,
"a huge brute 50 years old. that was
executed at Baltimore three years ago.
He was hung to a gibbetfor the murder
of two of his trainers. The gallows
was q railroad wrecking derrick. A
half-inch hawser was placed in the pull
ley at the end of the long arm, and a
moose tied around Sports neck. The
other end of the rope was attached to
4 switch engine, and as it backed away
the elephant was pulled to the top OF
the sibbet and left suspended. He
died in eight minutes, and didn't make
much fuss about it, either.
w hung Jolly, a mean sick elephant,
in the same manner. jolly was a
cross brute, but never killed her ma..
While the animals were in transit FROM
Scranton, Pa, TO Baltimore, the door
of Jolly's car became loose. and she
fell out. The train was stopped. and
We recovered our elephant, but she
had suffered a dislocated shoulder. We
decided to kill her. and did so with a
rope.
Charley, a man-killing elephant,
which once was the star of the Wal
lace company'sherd killed several men
before he was executed. He stamped
Henry Hoffman, at Peru, Ind, and later
drowned a keeper who had taken him
TO the river for a bath. The brute OBJ
lected to leaving the water. and the
keeper struck him. Charley twined his
trunk around the man and held him
under the water. When the man
ceased struggling Charley left him and
walked ashore. Charley was hung. a
double murderer.
Il knew Topsy. the man killer. ex-
eeuted in New York lately. we'll. She
was the original baby trick elephant,
and was the most docile brute in the
F~orepaugh herd. Thousands of cir
cus-goers have seen her perform. As
she grew larger the sense of her pow
er came to her, and she began to show
her temper. I lost track of her dur.
ing the last five years. but 1 heard that
she a killed a nan in Texas, and had
mansled many persons.
Never trust an elephant. l have
trained them. slept on their legs. and
placed my life in their keeping a thou.
sald times, yet | know they canno, b.
trusted.
Maoness comes to them stealth;ly
Inc keeper never realizes that his ne,
Is must until he is caught in the in.
eSoranle trunk, and, perhaps, dashed
to death.
"A man killer Stays IN two wavs. He
losses his victim high in the air. ~
places him under his feet and stamns
his life out. There is a possibility Of
escape in the first instance, bur nons
Whatever in the latter case.
February and March are +hs sa~
serons months for elephant handlers
nave never heard of any MAJ
elephant being cured. Once mus+ ~.
ways must the Indian proverh
my experience supports. The brn,.
shouia be killed the frst time he rnns
amuck- He can never be Trusted sn1
no matter how tame he NAV afterwara
appear. he is but waiting his cb.naa
to kill a man.
a trust a lion, but ! have NJ
.a,th ] the elephants charac1er H.
IS apt to prove as treacherous nc ~
natural enemy. the tiger"
re-