The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-05
SMALLEST ELEPHANT
TRAINER IN THE WORLD
Evan HeaIey, Less Than Five Years Old. and
His immense Playmates More Than
Nine Feet High.

and perched himself a little bright
spot, on top of the great tonnage of
black flesh.
Then Basil had to go through the
performance. and she, too, begged
Evan to let her off, but finally did
what she was hidden like lamb. Each
elephant at once searched his clothes
Tor sugar when he let her get up.
Basil" said Mr.. Healey, sis one
OF the biggest elephants in America
now. She is a little more than nine
feet high. and Babe is almost as big.
but thirty years younger. Basil and
Evan have been friends almost since
Evan was born. He was born in
he was only a few months old we
came to Glen Island, and ever since
them Evan and the elephants have
played together. When we first came
here Basil learned to wheel Evan
around in the baby carriage, and it
soon got so that we could turn her
loose with the little one and feel that
he was safer in the protection of his
great nurse than he would have been
under the care of any human attend
ant.
An Elephant Nurse Girl.
I'VE used to say that Evan had the
very biggest nurse girl in the world
She was as gentle and careful with
him as she could be. She never let
go the handle of the carriage, and she
would push it up and down all day
long if we let her. The baby was so
accustomed to it that he soon began to
play with her trunk, and she, in turn,
didn't like anything so much as 10 be
allowed to reach into the carriage and
fondle him and let him pull her trunk
AC l,a nj H., ont
into the elephant house by preference.
And now no matter what time of the
day he goes there, the elephants are
ready to play with him. If he doesn't
appear at his usual time they make a
great fuss and won't keep quiet until
he arrives
While the trainer was speaking the
big brutes were jostling each other
to reach Evans and tap him with their
trunks. He stood between their legs,
leaning against them, and the ele-
plants never moved a limb without
looking and feeling to make sure that
they would not step on him.
1t wasn't possible to see a bit of him
when he got we'll behind one of the
huge legs, but he was the Master of
the Elephants for all that-Kiplings
Toomaii in real life.
Mr.. Healey brought out a grind
stone, and Evan stood before the ele-
plants and commanded Basil to take
hold. Again Basil groaned with I'M
willingness. Evidently her idea Of
play was not to do tricks. But Master
Evan permitted no maligning. Take
hold, Basil, right away" he said, and
Basil, with one last plaintive groan
and an extraordinarily mournful eX-
turn the handle. THAT won't do"
said Evan. firmly. Take hold like
this" He stopped under the trunk,
pulled it to the grindstone and pressed
the end of it firmly against the handle.
Now, turn it, he said, and Basil sadly
turned it without taking an eye from
the lad.
Nov, BASIL" he ordered, and Babe
unwiilingly did the same. But Basil
had not obtained his usual reward and
she trumpeted and thrashed her
mighty feet around, making a noise
that scared the strangers into jumping.
Close beside Evan the huge feet went
up and down, but Evan never turned.
He finished with Babe, and not until
then did he give the indignant Basil
her piece of sugar.
The grindstone," said Mr.. Healey,
sis being used now by Evan to teach
the elephants to turn a barrel organ.
1t would be a little too expensive to
begin with the real thing. They've
smashed this arrangement several
times. They don't like to learn any
too well, but they always come around
to it. Evan doesn't let them off from
a single lesson, and, no matter how
much they may object, they always do
it in the end"
Kipling's Hero in Real Life.
He has taught them to lie down and
play dead, to throw up their trunks
and trumpet the royal salute" just
as Toomaii did, and to pick out the
American flag and wave it. Their mu-
steal education has been finished so
far that they are ready to play the
real thing.
Evan walks around Glen Island ev-
cry day with the big elephants follow
ing him placidly and watching his ev-
cry motion. He takes them out to pas
ture and to water and drives them
home again as other boys of his age
and size would drive goats. In the
four and one-half years that he has
spent on Glen Island he has not miss
ed visiting his two playmates single
day except when he was ill, and then
the two elephants nearly became Ill,
too.
He is allowed to go wherever he
pleases on the island, with no one to
watch him. He wanders in and out of
the menagerie all day long, but his
father says that he knows too much
to get within reach of the cat animals
and the bears, although he is in and
out of the tiger, lion and panther
houses all day long and his way lies
right alongside of the cages that con-
tain the grizzly, cinnamon and Polar
bears. He has never been hurt by an
animal.
He gets his love FOR animals legiu-
mately, for his father has made many