The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-11-26
ELEPHANT SUFFERS
PENALTY OF DEATH
Man-killing Queen" Gives
Life for Her Crime.
DEADLY POISON IN HER FOOD
Pachyderm, Which Crushed Out Her
Trainers Life at New York Zoo,
Apples and Bran Mash, Prepared
by Corps OF Doctors.

New York, Nov. &.-They killed Queen
this afternoon over in BartePs winter
clearinghouse for jungle transients in
Mary avenue in West Bergen. They
killed this great Indian elephant. whose
heart was so capriciously feminine, be-
cause she herself was a murderess.
/ Less than a month ago she had knelt
with all the dead weight of her three and
half tons on the chest OF her keeper,
Bob Shields. and as the life went out
OF him she had lifted her trunk and
screamed wickedly. Queen had been a
circus elephant for forty years.
So to-day Queen had TO pay the penalty.
/ They beguiled her with two red apples
and a pail full OF steaming mash. Queen
ate. with her two little red eyes shifting
from face to face OF those before her,
suspiciousIy seeking 10 know why that
solemn ceremonial Of kindness.
Then the lightning of the cyanide which
had been hidden in those proprietary Of
! ferings smote queen terribly. For the
space Of nineteen minutes 1850 pounds of
! life fought against the dissolution that
/ lay IN the stab OF the drug. In the end
| eighty seven years of one elephants span
on earth had snapped.
Five Days I'm Preparation.
! They began 20 prepare Queen for her
execution five days ago. They reduced
her allowance of food day by day. Drs.
Matthews and English, veterinaries, be-
lieved that perhaps the poison would
strike more meroifully swift if the VIC
! TINS stomach was empty Queen noted
the short ratiOns. She heard the whispers
that passed between the veterinaries and
Charley Curtis, her new trainer. Queen
scented a plot and she grew restless.
To-day, when she saw Frank Robins
come in and stand looking at her criti-
cally. she wondered; she wondered slowly
and ponderously as the elephant folk do,
but persstently
Awful lot Of meat there" Queen heard
her owner say. That was odd, Queen
had never considered herself in terms of
meat before.
Then early in the afternoon strange
people began to come into the elephant
house by tens and dozens. They all came
solemnly, and some Of them spoks in
whispers. There were George Mccarthy.
president of the Hudson County Society
for the Prevention Of Cruelty TO Animals,
and a delegation from his society. Had
| Queen known the grim title Of these gen
tlemen she would have guessed. Then
there were several men from the Jersey
City board of health. animal trainers and
animal dealers. reporters, and even cam
era men with their foolish tripods and
hash-light hxings.
Huge Chains Bind Feet.
| Charley Curtis stood very near Queen.
and then stranger-he was Head Keep
er Bill Snyder, of Central Park Zoo
came in with a whole lot of clanking
chains and began TO fasten them in
double ply about an of Queens feet. She
could have swept Snyder into eternity
with her trunk but Charley kept saying
mo, Queen; no. Queen. good girl Queen. .
so of course Queen did no harm to the
stranger at her feet.
1t was Charley Curtis himself who
held out the two rosy apples with seven
grains of potassium cyanide under their
red cheeks. OF course. Queen pouched
them in twinkling. even though her lit
tie eyes kept shifting over the heads of
the crowd.
People waited four minutes. five min
utes. Still Queen weaved in her chains.
| Charley Reed, an ex-cavalryman from
the Ninth. stood there with his finger on
the trigger of a IS carbine. Nothing
happened.
Then Curtis hurried to make a bran
mash with five more grains of the deadly
stun stirred in it,
Queen took that in great rolls with the
| tip OF her trunk. =
Then swiftly came the terror and the
agony. Chains snapped each time that
Queen sank TO her knees and rose again.
In the end ali but one foot were free, and
every one but the man with the carbine
had scampered in fear.
There were trumpetings and lashings
But why tell how an old lady elephant
! died In agonyg