The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-18
SOME FAMOUS
 SHOW ELEPHANTS Some of Whom, Like Queen, Had to Be Killed HANNIBAL WAS BIGGEST One That Had to Be Killed Was Tippoo Sahib, Hero of Naval Battle.
 Van Amburgh's Tam
 dem Team

From the New York Sun.
 "The putting to death of Queen, the
 elephant guilty of murdering her keep er," said retired snowman, naturally
 brings up recolletions of elephants that
 were famous in their day, among them Hannibal, Columbus. virginus. Pizarro,
 Bolivar and Jumbo.
 By the way, 1t may suprise people
 who remember Jumbo to know that he
 was not the largest elephant ever in cap tivty, although that distinction was claimed for him. He was the tallest, being
 six inches higher than Hannibal was in
 his day. but Hannibal weighed 1000 pounds more than Jumbo-and Jumbo never weighed 14,000 pounds as they said
 he did, nor within 4000 pounds of 1t.
 Moreover, Hannibal was the most per
 feet specimen of an elephant ever ex- hibited. Jumbo was long legged and
 swaybacked, being an African elephant, and he had only ugly stumps where hls tusks had been. Hannibal was an Asiatic
 elephant, finely proportioned, and had tusks seven feet long, white as snow,
 and with the exquisite velvety polish of finished ivory.
 Hannibal was killed by poison, too,
  viciousness. He was the kindest and most docile of beasts and of almost hu- man intelligence. His death was acci- dental It occurred just after the civil war in the mountains in southern Penn sylvania.
 He belonged to Hyatt Foster, then proprietor of the celebrated Van Am burgh show. That was before the days of railroad travel for circuses The show L. on its way to Bedford, Pa. It was along in May, and the old elephant browsed on the growths of laurel that grew pro- fusely along the way, and the poisonous acid in the plant caused his death. Hannibal was the last of a quartet of elephants that the boys and girls of a couple of generations ago who are alive today will remember in connection with the gorgeous golden band chariot of the Van Amburgh circus which they hauled in parades through the streets of the towns where the show was to perform Hannibals companion elephants were Columbus, Virginus and Pizarro. They
 were the first elephants ever broken to harness In this country.
 Hannibal came to America in 1S40, ac-
 cording to Hyatt Foster. A sea captain
 got possession of him at some Asiatic port and brought him to New York, where speculative butcher in Washington mar ket purchased him. The Van Amburgh show people heard of him, purchased him | and named him Hannibal. Then the | show produced the famous four-in-nand I or rather four tandem, elephant team and | the gorgeous band chariot, which far five years was the feature of the shows out | door exhibition and which was seen in about every town, village and city from | the Hudson to the Mississippi.
 "At the opening of the show season In
 1S47 the show was starting out from Phil
 adelphia for a tour of New Jersey and l Pennsylvania. The two elephants, Fi-
 aarro and virginius, whether from dislike
 of new keeper or because they had sud denly turned stubborn, refused to get aboard the ferryboat on which they were l to cross the Delaware river.