Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-27
PARK ELEPHANTS HAVE
GREAT NAILS PEDlCURED
HATTIE DOES NOT MIND THE
OPERATION
corns and Stone Bruises Also Re-
moved from Their Feet-Four
Horses Required to
Throw Jewel

NEW YORK, July 26.-It took four
horses and some heavy chains 10 throw
Jewel. the big Central Park elephant
on Saturday, when Head Keeper WI
liam Snyder wanted to pedlcure JeWel ;
nails. Hattie, the smaller OF the TWO
Central park elephants. had Deen
treated earlier in the week. But Hat
tie has more nerve than Jewel IN
deed she seemed to enjoy being pedi-
cured. Jewel, however, is "scary' 10
quote Keeper Snyder. He looked on
while Hattie was having her nalls
trimmed, and the sight seemed to ter
rify him.
were Two days saving of and ming
down Hattie's toe nails, but at lasI, on
Friday afternoon, the job was COM
nlete and her feet were once more In
good condition. A corn or two had
been dressed and several stone bruises
treated. All the time this was gong
on Jewel had stayed at the far END OF
his house. He would trumpet and try
to back through the bars whenever a
keeper came near him.
Early Saturday morning 1t came ms
turn. Keeper Snyder and his men led
the frightened Jewel into the yard In
the rear of his house and tried TO get
him to lie down. But Jewel only
trumpeted and tugged at the chains
which held his front foot to post In
the ground. At last Keeper Snyder
sent for a double team of horses, some
chains, and a block and tackle. jew
els right front leg and right hind leg
were made fast to staples, and the
chains were carried around his body.
one end of the block and tackle was
made fast to tree, and the horses
were attached to the one end of the
leading rope. When they started
ahead. Jewel came down with great
thud. AS he struck the ground his two
left legs went into the air. He gave
final trumpet, and then lay trembling.
With saw and drawing knife Keeper
Snyder went to work.
The ,edicuring of an elephant such as
Jewel is quite job. Once year 1t has
to be done. In the twelve months pre-
ceding the annual pedicurinr q thick
growth comes on the soles of the feet
and the toe nails grow long. Keeper
Snyder says that elephants in the wild
state are never troubled with callous or
long nails, or corns either, for that mat
ter, but the constant standing on the
asphalt floor of the elephant house
causes their feet to get into bad con-
dltion. There are four nails on each
foot.
Saw corns OF
While Jewel lay on her side Keeper
Bob Hurtin held one of his front legs
and Snyder began to saw. Each of the
nails was about three inches thick. A
flake OF nail an inch thick and four or
five inches lone was sawed off, Each OF
the four nails was cut before Snyder
moved on to the next foot. At first
Jewel fiinched, but he soon realized that
it was a painless operation. After all
the sixteen nails were cut, Snyder used
his drawing knife to shave down the
growth on the bottom of each foot.
This was about an inch thick and very
hard. When it had been cut down as
close to the flesh as was desirable, the
pads of Jewels feet we're quite soft, as
soft, In fact as the palms Of working-
MANS ehands. Today the feet of both
elephants will be soaked in neats-foot
oil.
Several hundred persons witnessed
the pedicuring of Jewel. and yesterday
several thousand more watched Jewel