The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-09
ELEPHANT HER OWN SURGEON.
JEWEL, AT THE PARK, PULLS A
WIRE NAIL OUT or HER FOOT.
Men Folks We're Yanking At 1t and Hurt
Her. So She Took IL Out Herself
Hopes That She VIII EScape Lock law.

Jewel, the big elephant n the Central
Park menagerie, limped 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 Of
fetal chiropodist, to pare her corns. They
hadn't been cut for a year, and as she had
been confined to her stall since last summer
there had been no chance to wear them off
by walking Corns grow not on the animal s
toes, but on the soles of it's feet.
The keeper pared the corns on Tuesday
with the assistance of Keeper Peter Shan
non, horseshoer's knife and carpenter g
draw-knife The corns were small ones
and easily reno we'd, and Jewel seemed to
be pleased at their removal, but she con-
tinued TO limp yesterday when she put her
right hind foot on the ground in walking
You must have skipped 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 few turns on
the grindstone to get an edge and went
to the elephant house with Shannon. The
keeper 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 knees when COM
manded and Shannon straddled tho leg to
hold it firm while the chiropodist was at
work. Snyder squatted on one side and
took of slice of the caloused skin with
the draw-knife.
"l-can't cut any more without going to
the quick, but there seems to be something
hard here, remarked the elephant man TO
his companion az he felt of the animals
foot. While he was feeling the hard spot
the beast trumpeted as though in pain and
started to get up In a hurry.
In doing SO she sent Shannon sprawling,
and when she arose she stood on three feet
The keeper got her down on her knees
again and, feeling of the hard lump, decided
that there was something inside that did
not belong there, and made small OPEN
ing to see what it was.
IL Is a nail, by crickey, and not a corn!"
he exclaimed.
He seized the head of the nail with a pair
OF pincers and pulled. The nail came
out about an inch and then stuck, as it
was bent in the centre. Jewel trlmpeted
again in pain, and swayed from side to
side. She swung her head around and
trunk, and before the men knew what she
was up to she had entwined the finger of
her trunk about the nail and with sudden
movement she pulled it out and dropped
II on the floor. Ii was a throe-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 lock- jaw, and
he ordered anOt her operation on the foot
to kill any tetanus germs that might be
present
The animal was again made to knee
and the wound in its foot was enlarged
and cleaned out with spirits of turpentine
and germicides. The wounded foot was
then dressed and bandaged. The director
said that Jewel was valuable animal and
he hoped that the treatment would pre-
vent lockjaw.
How the nail got into Jewels foot is not
known. The floor of her stall is made Of
cement.