New Britain herald., 1922-04-21

short item from Toledo telling Of the | killing of q giant ape after the beasl 1 had attacked its keeper, Tho ape was | said to have been the largest in cap | tiVity, The following story received 1 this morning from Toledo, tells in an | interesting and detailed way of the tMrriblo fight for life the keeper had battling with the ape,
 Toledo, April 2l.--Tony, the largest | apc in captivity, was killed in the Walbridge Park Zoo yesterday after noon after he had attacked and se- vcrely injured Louis Sheror, keeper
 Elephant Goes Wild. Babe, giant elephant, driven wild by the excitement, was trumpctins and clashing furiously about the ele- phant house late last night trying to break ankle chains which are an chorcd to piles sunk deep into the ground. Outside a dozen policemen were on guard with heavy elephant guns, ready to shoot him if he broke out.
 Ape Leaps On Man.
 The ape, which had been notice ably morosc and untractable for sev- eral days. attacked Sherer when the keeper entered his cage to feed him. II was squatting on a trapezc as Shercr entered. The heavy body of the ape suddenly hurted. down and landed on the shoulders of the keeper. Clawing and biting and screaming, Tony bore Sherer 10 the ground.
 Terrific Struggle
 The keeper threw his arm across his throat as he fell and thus kept the animals teeth away from his juguIar vein, the first point of at- tack. But the ape ripped and tore at the mans head and arm, slicing the flesh as with q knife. Sherer man. aged to regain his feet after the first shock and while he guarded his own throat with one hand, with the other he tried to reach the throat of the ape to choke him into submission.
 Beats Apes Skull.
 But the ape was too strong. He drove the man back against the bars of the cage. Outside on the ground and lying against one of the bars, was
 
 the bars, picked it up and, with his free hand, began smashing the skull of the brute. The blows had little If any effect The first ono staggered the ape, but it recovered and returned to the attack before Sherer could knock it down. Thereafter, although Sherer smashed steadily at the thick skull, the ape forced the keeper back and finally through the door of the cage into the park.
 Jumps On Auto.
 With the ape clutching him in both arms, biting and clawing, Sherer stag gered from the monkey quarters into the park, in the midst of crowd of sightseers, attracted by the sounds of battle. Other keepers had come up but the ape and the keeper were struggling so swiftly and were so closely intertwned they could do nothing. Finally the ape released Sherer as suddenly as it had attacked Dropping the man unconscious to the ground, it leaped to the top of an au- tomobile, where it sat grimacing and screaming in rage.
 IS tlnally kllIcu.
 Other keepers took up the battle, and one of them hit the ape with spade just as it was about to spring at him. Another smashed it on the skull with a pickaXe. It slid uncon- scious from the top of the car and Patrolman Hennessy shot it through the brain. Sherer was hurried to toJ oi1 he would probably recover, although badly mangled and very weak from loss of blood.
 Elephant Acts Crazy.
 The uproar attending the struggle penetrated as far as the elephant house, where it put the finishing touches to the nervous frenzy into which the big elephant Babe had been whipping himself for several days and Sherer was the only keeper wuo could control him.
 Babe went completely crazy within half an hour after Sherer, uncon scious, was sent to the hospital. Keep CTS tried to calm him, but he got worse His huge body rocked to and fro, his wicked little eyes became beady and vengeful, and he swept his trunk about the elephant house in Il desperate effort to wrap it around Il keeper and dash the man against the walls. A barrel was in his way and he ripped it to pieces; he tore up everything in sight and then he Bet- tied down into steady effort to break the leg chains which kept him back. The police sent to the gun stores and got all the elephant rifles in the city and the best marksmen on the force surrounded the elephant house to wait for the brute to burst forth The authorities will not kill Babe un- less he breaks his chains.