The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-04-10
(New York Prcss.D

Old Bet. the first elephant that cver
set foot on the western hemisphere,
landed in New York 100 years ago
next month. She dice i'm 1877 and
was buried at Somcrs. n. y. about
hfty miles north of here. In order
fttingly to celebrate the centenary oi
Old Bets arrival. Babe. the first rlc-
phant born in captivity in America,
and who is now the leader of the herd
with Rarnum & Bailey show. will
make 81 pilgrimage alone to- Som,rs
at the close of the Garden engage
mont and place a wreath ON Odd Bots
grave.
Although Babe. the first baby Gle
phant, is Young as age is counted Will,
elephants. sh" is one of thu hugcs,
"t the herd and the most intelligent
Harry J. Mooney, the chief rlcphan,
trainer of the circus. conceived the
idea of her l'aNing this tribute of re.
spect to old Refs He will
accompany her on this journey anC
VIII HAY" with him Babes own ma.
hout. Otherwise Babe will make TIL.
nllgrimag" alone. Nom" of the othc
members of th" elephant herd will IL,
allowed tn go with her. The trip I,
Som"rS will he made afoot, and per.
mlts for TN" fire." passage of Babe anl
her escort are being asked from tn,
4 "''''AE Wv III tIldl II" along inc route
" Is expected that all will he il hanI
and the roads will be i'm good condi.
ton by the time Babe is ready 1,
start.
IN elephant is not II rapid walker
ana II has been calculated tina, tn,
TRIP Will take about three ,lavs cacl
way. rms means the limit of cacl
days travel will he !; little more THAI
fifteen miles. Al night Babe will HAY,
I" sleep i'll som" garage. Horses tina
ar" unarcustomcd t." elephants ar,
terribly afraid of them. therefore a!
livery stable would hc barred agains,
Babe. ON tho other hand, Babe hn.
been travelling about the unit $,
much with the shows. since the day.
when she was tn" sensation If the ole
Cooper 4 Bailey circus that nothin.
surprises her. Even the Gatlin gu,
explosions of Il fussy automobile dc
not cause her to miss II single mouth.
ful of the vast amount of hay whicl
is her daily ration.
Somrrs. the town whcr" Old Bet:
monument stands ON the village green
was not only this first American Gle
plants burial place. hut her HON,
as we'll. II was also the birthplace,
Of the first circus in the western hcm
isphrre. lIhckaliah Bailey. familiarl,
known as tncl" Hack. was the found
"r OF this first show. and Old Bet wa!
tho only attraction. The first cNhihi
ton was given under Il tent on d,
farm. The site is now occupied b,
a church. and is on the main road I,
the village.
Old Bet made the trip to this coun
try in a sailing vessel. and rcache,
New York in April. 1872. IIackaliah'
brother was Il sea captain and Dough
the elephant at Calcutta on one of hi
VOYAGES. He did not have any clca
idea just what he was going to d,
with her. but thought some mono,
could he made by showing her in tn,
United States. These Bailcys, by tn,
way, were not related in any dcsre,
ia the late James \. Bailey. Captain
Bailey christenrd his elephant afte
ms snip. which was called The Bet
me voyage honeward was Il long one
There was no Suez canal in thos
days, and the long route lay arount
Cape of Good Hope. Captain Bale,
tested out Bets drawing powers as
show animal by exhibiting her at scN,
eral European ports before he set sal
for this country and cleared a hand
some sum-.
When Captain Bailey reached Nc,
York he sold his elephant to hi
brother l1ackaliHh, who ran a hotc
at Somcrs. There We're no railroad
then. and "Tncle Hack and his farm
hands drove Bet along the countr
roads I" their home. They travclc,
at night and exhibited the clcphan
i'll barns in the day time. old BE
created a great sensation in the town
through which. she passed. Every on
locked t" sec TIL" strange beas
Money was scarce. and tho farmer
; dick"rcd with Bailey in all sorts O
ways for admittanrr to his show.
IN n town there WAS not $40 i'm I'll,
whole communities: so Bailey agreed
take apples. oats. hay. straw and 9th
err farm truck in lieu of admissio
fees. Two pairs of hand knitted stock
ings was h special price that Bale
/. made to the farmers wives for thci
tickets.
Bailcy's outfit consisted of two farr
wagons. four horses and Il dog. Oh