The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1908-06-04
CHANG, "BALLYHOO" AND
"BALLYHOO'S" WAISTCOAT
3K:.EsK By ARTHUR E. MCFARLAND. sEs&m

This is the story of a new elephant
act. Chang was the elephant
lank. big-boned, huge-eared, good
natured African, who had been
caught in a trap-hole, when a calf,
on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. He did
not appear in the ring, but he did ap-
pear in the parade and in the news
papers. For every big show" with
any self-respect possesses an elephant
which is positively the largest ele-
phant on earth" And with the
Jungling Brothers Show that ele-
phant was Chang.
"Ballyhoo" Jackson "ballyhoo
man" is one who has once acted as a
lecturer" for the side-show-was
Chang's keeper, walked beside him in
the procession, saw that he ate and
drank all that was good for him. and
slept with him in the monster, spe-
cially constructed private car at
night
In the case of most big elephants
this would have been a good deal of a
bore, for in the main they are likely
to be stupid. But Chang was not
stupid. He had two nightly up
swelling, gray-black bulges on the
top of his Uranium. like the gun-tur-
rets of battleship in their war
paint. He had the vacant space for
education; he had an elephants nat
ural desire for it, and Ballyhoo be-
gan to give it to him.
But he did not teach him any of
those foolish fancy trick which take
The public eye. Other largest ele-
plants on earth might be taught to
push baby carriages and carry doll
parasols. BallyhOO aimed to give
Chang a chance to show that he pos
sessed the kind of brain one actually
thinks with. So he taught him how
TO line up the fOur-ton pole wagons,
and tote" ring banks, and load "Old
Hundred is the wagon that
carries the Quarter-pOles, and the
heaviest of them all.
But the thing to which Ballyhoo
really pointed with pride was this:
He had taught Chang how to warm
and ventilate that monster, specially
constructed private car" AT. least,
chang had come to comprehend that
when the air began to feel raw and
chilly, he had only to stuff the fan
I light with some Old sacking piled in
The corner. And when it grew un-
comfortably ho,, he had only to take
The sacking out again. The sight of
Chang doing that tickled Ballyhoo
nightly. This was in the Eastern
States, where it was never very hot
Or cold that summer, anyway. But
when there was change Of tcmpera-
ture, Ballyhoo called on everybody to
come and see.
If Chang was slow in noticing the
change himself. Ballyhoo would re-
mark, "Ah, Chang, old pardner, don't
you think it's gettin' a bit sneezy in
here?" Whereupon Chang would
start for the sacking at 04ee.
And for the rest of that day Bally-
hoo would go round shaking hands
with people he was not acquainted
with. did you see that? Did you ?
Tchck! And it's just the result OF
teachin' an elephant somethin' that
it's worth his while to know"
Only there is this to remember.
When you have taught an elephant
anything, he is never going to forget
it. Indeed, the elephant that ever
forgot anything would be. a curiosity
among all his tribe. If, moreover
you have once appealed to his sense OF
pure reason, you need never try TO &C
back on 1t. If, again, what he has
learned is something in the way ol
useful information, he is going to put
In hours of spare time rejecting upoI
the advantages of that useful in
formation. He is going to act accord
ingly for all time to Nome. Nor nseC
you ever expect him 40 do the coh
trary.