Such instances are comparatively rare; and it should be said to the credit of the elephant, that while it is really the king of beasts, and capable of greater destruction than any in India, it has less casualties laid to its door than any so-called dangerous animal. The following table indicates this more plainly, and shows the number of persons and domestic animals destroyed by wild mammals in India during the year 1875, the numbers being about the same every year:—
| ANIMALS. | PERSONS KILLED. | DOMESTIC ANIMALS KILLED. |
|---|---|---|
| Elephant | 61 | 6 |
| Tiger | 828 | 12,423 |
| Leopard | 187 | 16,157 |
| Bears | 84 | 522 |
| Wolves | 1,061 | 9,407 |
| Hyenas | 68 | 2,116 |
The Philadelphia elephant Dom, who was named in honor of Dom Pedro of Brazil, occasionally gave way to fits of rage, became unmanageable; and people flocked to the garden to see it disciplined. This consisted of securing each foot at a time, and hauling them apart by strong tackles, so that the huge beast was utterly powerless.
Travelling around the country seems to irritate elephants, and reports are often seen of their outbursts of rage. The famous Chief, owned by Robinson, became enraged at Charlotte, N.C., a few years ago, and, without the slightest warning, killed its keeper. The latter was attempting to illustrate to the audience how the elephant climbed into the special car provided for it, when the animal lost its patience, and hurled the unfortunate man against the car with terrific force, killing him before the very eyes of the people.
Tom, the pet elephant of the Duke of Edinburgh, who was brought from India in 1870 in H. R. H’s yacht, “Galatea,” killed its keeper in very much the same way.
The greatest elephant panic ever seen in this country was that created by Barnum’s Emperor, who suddenly developed all the characteristics of a rogue, while the circus was exhibiting in Troy, N.Y. The trouble commenced when an attempt was made to drive Emperor and Jumbo to the train. The former had decided objections to continuing the tour; and he suddenly bolted, and shuffled furiously up the street in the direction of the iron-foundery of Erastus Corning. The large door being open, the excited animal rushed in, and in a moment was trampling upon the red-hot coal and metal, uttering fierce shrieks. And now utterly enraged and mad, he rushed from the building into the crowded streets, trampling upon men, hurling others down an embankment with his trunk, breaking one man’s leg in his flight, throwing another twenty feet into the air, while a woman was taken from the stoop of a house and hurled into the street. In fact, the demon of rage seemed to possess the huge creature, that ran amuck until he had destroyed four thousand dollars’ worth of property.
Another rogue elephant was Romeo, owned by the Forepaugh Company, who died in Chicago in 1872, having killed three men, and destroyed property valued at fifty thousand dollars.
Almost equally vicious was Mr. Barnum’s Albert. This elephant killed its keeper at Keene, N.H.; and, after being loaded with chains, it was led out into the woods, followed by a large crowd, and a company of Keene riflemen. Its trainer, Arstinstall, marked the location of the heart upon the dark hide of the unsuspecting giant; and at the word, the great animal fell.