The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-12-25

and at a certain date the records show
| ed that the depot contained 80 ele-
| plants, bears, dozen or 1Qore wolves,
6 large serpents, 4 Wild bears and 10
hyenas. Some were to be sent off to
| Calcutta and some to Bombay, but all
were to be held until rested and given
a chance to pick up a little flesh.
had general charge of the depot,
with 40 or more native assistants. AS
the animals came in they were trans
ferred to the usual iron cages used
when shipping. While the assistants
bunked down in the forage sheds at
night, L had room at one end OF the
monkey and bird house. board par
tition was run up to enclose a space
about IL feet square, and in this was a
door opening into the animal house. My
last round to see that all was safe
was made at 10 o'clock at night.
For ten days and nights all had gone
well, but on certain Sunday night, a
quarter of an hour before I was to start
out on my last round, I heard the one
eyed tiger cry out in a peculiar man
ner 1t was lust such a cry as he ut
tered when the Hindoo came into our
camp in the jungle-a cry which you
might imagine combined a hail Of well
come and a threat of vengeance. in
stantly suspected that the fakir must
be in the building, and, reaching down
my revolver, stepped out of the room.
Just then there was a terrific roar from
followed by shouts from the men and
queer noises from the elephants and
buffaIoes. / knew that 1 was too late.
AS I stood by the door pandemonium
broke loose.
The Hindoo had kept his vow and
followed US to Benares to secure ven
geance. After his tiger had been placed
in the shipping depot the man began
work on the superstition of two Of my
native assistants, and after a few nights
Ii 4l-e ra91r ~
gave him the key to the animals cage
On this night, after being in the cage
with the tiger for half an hour. he had
turned the beast loose in the big room
and encouraged him to attack one of
the elephants.
The man at once began freeing other
animals and as fast as one was freed
he attacked another. Every assistant
had rushed into the room at the frSt
alarm, and not a dozen of them got out
again alive. They were mauled and
mangled by the elephants and buffaloes.
and attacked on sight by the tigers ana
panthers In five minutes after the
tigers first scream every animal in the
building was mad with fright and
desire for blood, and had l had hum
dred men at my back nothing could
have been done.
In fleeing down passage to get to an
outside door, ran against a buffalo, erept
under the belly of an elephant and brush
ed a tiger, which was tapping up blood
I reached the door and passed out, to
find a crowd of a thousand people sur
rounding the buildings was hardly out
when the central structure took IRE from
the broken lamps, and then the uproar
became something positively terrific.
The door to the forage room had been
broken open-it had been fastened by the
Hindoo who meant that every human
being in the buildings should suffer death
and ten or twelve men pulled out alive.
OF these two died next day of their IN
juries. No one dared to open the great
doors and let the maddened animals out,
nor did the firemen, who came out from
the city, dare go inside TO fight the
flames. A portion of the depot was saved
by a change of wind, but what beasts
and birds escaped the flames were suf-
located by the smoke
Not one single captive of any sort wss
taken out alive. Among the dead were
the Hindoo and his tiger The man had
been .ored to death by buffalo as he
moved about melting the animals to at
tack each other and the tiger was dead
from the bite of a cobra. which he had at
tackled as it glided about.
The battle between the beasts and the
conf1agration lasted for the best part OF
two hours, and never were people treated
to a more barbaric exhibition. While at
lacking the assistants the beasts also
fought each other, and even had no fire