The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-15
ELEPHANT HER OWN SURGEON.
Jewel, Mt the Park Pulls n Wire
Nail Ont of His Foot.
From the New York sun.

From the New YORK sun.
Jewel, the big elephant in the Cen
trail Park mena gerie, limped a little on
Sunday when she was taken into the
yard for an outing, and when Director
Smith observed it he decided that she
was troubled with corns. The limp
was somewhat worse on Monday and
the director ordered Billy Snyder, the
elephant man, who is also official CHI
roDodist, to pare her corns. They
hadn't been cut for year, and as she
had been confined to her stan since
last summer there had been no chance
to wear them off by walking. Corns
grow not on the animals toes, but on
the sOles of its feet.
The keeper pared the corns on Tues
day with the assistance of Keeper Peter
Shannon, a horseshoers knife and a
carpenters draw-knife. The corns
were small ones and easily removed,
and Jewel seemed to be pleased at their
removal. but she continued to limp yes
terday when she put her right hind
foot on the ground in walking.
You must have skipped a corn on
that foot" Mr.. Smith said to Snyder
and told him to go at it again with
the draw-knife. The keeper gave the
knife a few turns on the grindstone
TO get an edge and went to the ele-
plant house with Shannon. The keep
er ordered Jewel to get down on her
knees so that he could get at the sole
of the limping foot. An elephant is
one of the few animals that bend the
hind legs forward in order to expose the
soles of the feet.
Jewel got on her hind knes when
commanded and Channon straddled the
leg to hold it firm while the chiropod-
list was at work Snyder squatted on
one side and took off a slice of the
calloused skin with the draw knife.
Il can cut any more without go
ing TO the quick, but there seems to
be something hard here" remarked the
elephant man to his companion as he
felt of the animals foot. While he was
feeling the hard spot the beast trump
eted as though in pain and started to
get up in a hurry
In doing so she sent Shannon spraw-
ling, and when she arose she stood on
three feet. The keepr got her down on
her knees again and, feeling of the
hard lump, decided that there was
somthing inside that did not belong
there, and made a small opening to see
what is was.
It's a nail by Crickey, and not
corn" he exclaimed.
He seized the head of the nail with
pair of pincers and pulled. The 1ail
came out an inch and then stuck,
as it was bent in the centre. Jewel
trumpeted again in pain, and swayed
from side TO side. She swung her
head around and reached hack to the
lame foot with her trunk, and before
the men knew what she was up to
she had entwined the finger of her
trunk about the nail and with a sud-
den movement she pulled it out and
dropped it on the floor. 1t was
three-inch wire nail.
She got up on her feet and seemed to
be relieved but Director Smith went
to the elephant house and when he saw
the nail he said there was danger of
lockjaw. and he ordered another opera
ton on the foot to kill any tetanus
germs that might be present.
The animal was again made to kneel
and the wound in it's foot was enlar-
ged and cleaned out with spirits of
turpentine and germicides. The wound
ed foot was then dressed and bandang-
ed. The director said that Jewel was
| a valuable animal and he hoped that
the treatment would prevent lockjaw.
How the nail got into Jewels foot is
not known. The floor of her stall is
made of cement