AN ELEPHANT KILLS HER KEEPER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10127, 9 May 1896, Page 2 (Supplement)

AN ELEPHANT KILLS HER KEEPER.

Chicago, 111., March 25.— huge elephant Empress, lately given the name of Gipsey, who had a record of killing two men befoio she went on the rampage to-day, attacked and killed her keener, Prank Scott, this afternoon, in the alley in the rear of the quarters at No. 223, South Robey-street. She was the proporty of a circus which lately came up from the South and was wintering here. Scott had been in the employ of the circus for some time, and had but lately been given charge of the elephant, her former keeper having removed to Omaha. The barn where she was confined was the property of the owner of the circus, and this afternoon, about one o'clock, Scott opened the doors for the purpose of taking the huge beast out for her daily exercise. Certain signs of temper were noticed in Empress for several days by Mr. Harris, and he had carefully cautioned Scott against taking her out until she was in a more tractable mood, Scott thought she was all right, however, and after being taken out she ambled up and down the alley several times amiably enough. At command she knelt and Scott mounted to her bead. After standing there a few moments he dug his hook into her head, just back of the right ear, and leaped to the ground. Then the animal's demeanour changed. With an angry trumpet she seized Scott in her trunk, and, raising him, threw him across the alley with such force that his body broke several planks in the door of the barn of John Barrett, No. 102, Seeley Avenue. She stood looking at the fallen keeper a few moments, and then rushing at him again picked him up and crushed him against her tusks. Throwing him against the barn again she tried to kneel upon him, but his body was too close to the barn, and she then started south through the alley, running into Jackson Bouiovard, scattering the crowd, composed of many hundreds of persons, right and left. As soon as she was out of the alley Mrs. Frederick Irwin, of No. 796, Jackson Boulevard, the sole witness of the tragedy, screamed for help, and a police alarm and an ambulance call were turned in. Twenty officers from the West Lake-street station, under command of Sergeant Conroy ; ten men from the Warren Avenue Station, and ten park policemen under Captain Piacek came quickly up and kept the people back, while Albert Davis and J. G. Wood, braver than the others, opened the barn door and 'dragged Scott's body out of the alley. Scott was still breathing when pub into the ambulance, but died just bofore the County ■Hospital, was reached. He was crushed, but there-' were no outward marks of the deadly attack made upon him. No sooner " had Scott ''■ [.been removed than Empress charged into the alley again, running up and down, trumpeting loudly. Her owner, ; Mr. Harris, offered 600dols. to any man who 'would shoot her, but although several men

camo running up with rifles, none of them ventured close enough to do any execution. Every animal trainer in town was telephoned for, and Cyrus De Vry and -James Sweeney, of Lincoln Park, came upon the scene, but Empress no sooner saw them than she put them to flight. Claude Orton, an attache of Harris' show, also tried to approach her, but was driven away. Finally she went into the barn of her own accord, after sho had been out three hours, but when the doors were closed sho butted them down and took possession of the alley again. After another hour of liberty she went into the barn again voluntarily and canvas was put up at the doors, but this she did nob try to tear down. Sho evidently thought it was part of a circus tont. Later the broken door was heavily barricaded, and it is thought she cannot break out again, although no one has dared to attempt to put chains on her. Pood was thrown her, and she now sosms contented. Bernard Shea, her old trainer, has been telegraphed for at Omaha, and will arrivo to-morrow. This is tho third man Empress has kis.ed. In Philadelphia, when with O'Brien's circus, she crushed an attache's skull with her trunk, and later, in New Orleans, she killed her keeper, a man named O'Rourke, by throwing him against a small bridge. Her age is said to be anywhero between fifty and one hundred yours.