Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-04-11
Misfellansuus Rsadins,
THE NATURE OF ELEPHANTS.

They Are chatty, Nervous, Playful,
Cranky-In Fact Just Like Human
Beings.
I'm telling you the TRUTH" said
Harry Mooney. who occupies the chair
of advanced elephant culture in Mr..
Barnum- Bailey's select boarding
school for beasts and birds. I'm
telling you the truth. Those twenty
four elephants of mine are just as
different as any human beings are
and a good deal more interesting than
some.
Here's Mary Sells. for instance.
We got half a dozen Of these elephants
from the Sells Bros. shows and every
| body around the place calls them
Mary Sells and Lizzie Sells and Mighty
Sells and so on. Well, here's Mary.
You hear her squeal? She's talking.
You may take it from me. Mary Sells
| is the most conversationally inclined
elephant 1 ever met.
"She certainly does love the sound
of her own voice, and If you'd lived
with her as long as l have you'd find
| it pretty expressive yourself. You
could tell whether she was cross, or
pleased or in pain, or afraid, or just
passing the time Of day with a friend
as any lady should.
There's only one thing Mary would
do oil nd a
she's doing now, eating her dinner.
Can't you say something. Mary ?
Come! Talk little!"
The elephant let out a squeal that
struck high c; then she played varia-
tions on that note, waving her trunk
in the air and rolling her eyes.
There, there, that'll do! That'll
do, say!" and Mary reluctantly sub
sided into quavering grunts. You
see how friendly and willing she is
when it comes to talking. Well, she's
the hardest elephant to teach anything
else that l ever saw.
She simply can't be taught tricks,
and l think it must be that she was
hurt when she was captured. You just
| see the difference between her and
that next elephant if l touch their
feet"
Going up to the elephant next to
Mary, the professor passed his hand
up and down the great wrinkled legs
without causing more than brief
pause in the elephants attention to his
dinner of hay. Then he turned to
Mary and very carefully approached
his hand toward one of her front feet.
With squeal which was an unmis-
taxable shrek of fear she cringed
away from him. And when he per-
sisted in touching her, though very
gently, she broke into torrent Of
squeals and groans.
Now what do you think OF that?
| She's been that way ever since we've
had her. OF course she can't be
taught any tricks. She'd die of nerv-
Gus excitement before you could teach
her even to stand on three legs.
You see, people don't realize how
terribly nervous some of these great
hulking creatures are. Now there's
jimmie. You might not think, just
to look at her, that Jimmie had a SEN
sitive soul. But if you were that ele-
plants keeper you'd be sure both Of
you would have nervous prostration
before you'd get through the season.
Jimmie Is one of five elephants that
blow horns i'm one of our acts. The
horns are fastened in place and the
animals blow them with their trunks.
But jimmie is that eXcitable that If we
allow her TO get at all nervous before
the act begins she simply loses her
head and forgetS to blow the horn at
all.
She takes hold of it all right and
she seems to remember that it's up
to her to make u noise. But instead
of blowing the horn, which gives a
hnc oh q q HIGH
shrill noise through her own mouth.
Yes, she's very sensitive, jimmie is.
And here's Koko. You remember
Koko? Several years ago when we
opened here at the Garden, koko, who
was then only six or seven years old,
took one look when he got upstairs
in the arena and then calmly turned
around and trotted back down stairs.
He didn't like the crowd and just
thought he wouldn't play.
I'VE had to let him go. You can't
fuss with an elephant in the middle of
an act. l had TO punish him after
ward, of course, but you may be sure
we don't hurt our animals unneces-
sarily. They're like children. You've
got to be stern with them sometimes
and you've got to punish them some
times. But even if we weren't fond
of them, and most of us are or We
wouldn't be here, they represent too
much money for us to be careless of
them.
Take Koko now. He's grown to be
as nice a little elephant as you ever
saw And quick! You don't need to
show him a trick more than once,
he's that clever. About the hardest
on his front feet with his hind legs
in the air; but just let me show you
how beautifully this little fellow does
lit. Get me my hook, jim"
Jim went after the professors stick
with it's iron prod and hook and Koko
saw him bring it back. The elephants
were fastened in a row, with koko at
one end. When he was loosed he took
his masters arm in a firm twist Of
the end Of his trunk and started along
in front Of the other elephants, gent
y but firmly keeping Mr.. Mooney
walking ahead Of him.
You see? He's taking me some
where l don't know where, but you
watch and see."
The elephant walked his master the
length of the row, then let go his
arm and. turning around, backed him
self into position there.
He seems to think this is the head
of the class. Well, you can't stay
here, Koko You've got to work.
Come on out here. Now then, up with
your trunk. ct was curled upward
to the top of his head.) Now, put up
that foot"
The hook was pressed tightly
against one of the hind legs and slow
ly both of them were elevated until
1t looked as if the elephant meant to
turn a somersault. Higher and high
er they went. "Oh! All! Look out
for that trunk" AS his mind legs
went higher Koko's head came down
and finally he was standing on his
front legs and the curved trunk.
That was wrong, and he had to do
it again without helping to support
himself with his trunk. He seemed
to like ii first rate and kept Siding
up to MIR. Mooney, with Enthusiastically
affectionate little grips of the latter's
arm. Three other elephants, standing
alongside, kept bidding for the keep
er's attention, and when one of them
ELECTED some notice from him the two
others engaged in jealous alterca-
ton.
claimant dogs "