A TROUBLESOME PET.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VIII, Issue 40, 3 October 1891, Page 451

A TROUBLESOME PET.

An elephant is a very pretty and pleasing pet under certain circumstances —if one has plenty of room for him, experienced servants to care for him and keep him in health, and abundance of money to spend in making his surroundings just what they should be. But a pet elephant in a great city, with no better place in which to keep him than an ordinary city stable, is likely to turn out an ‘ elephant on one’s hands ’ in fully the proverbial sense. Notwithstanding the proverb, a New York gentleman, Mr R—, in visiting Europe about a year ago, was so greatly pleased with a baby elephant which he saw at Hamburg, that he resolved to purchase it and bring it home with him. The elephant was only two years old, but it already weighed two tons. Its name was Mademoiselle Fanchon, and it was born in captivity in Hamburg. It did not need any taming, for it was already perfectly tame. Mr R — brought his new pet to New York on a steamer, and set about giving her a brilliant education for an elephant. She was lodged in a stable across the Hudson in Hoboken, but was so poorly taken care of there, and seemed so plainly to be entering upon a decline, that Mr R— removed her to his own stable in New York city. Here she made famous progress, and not only increased rapidly in stiength and size, but learned bow to put a tall hat on her head with her trunk, to take it oft’ and bow gracefully, and even to ride on a great velocipede and balance herself upon a ball. All went well with Mademoiselle Fanchon until one day Mrs B—, the wife of Mr R—’s coachman, was astonished and alarmed to see the young elephant enter the door of her kitchen. Mrs B—, uttering a shriek, rushed upstairs and the elephant followed her. Then Mrs B—, seizing her children, rushed out and down the front steps of the house into the street, still uttering cries of alarm. A crowd gathered, but Mrs B— was so much excited that she could not tell them what was the matter.

Presently the elephant appeared at the front window, and the crowd understood the woman’s alarm. Mr R— anil a policeman were sent for. All sorts of efforts were made to make Mademoiselle Fanchon go downstairs. She could neither be coaxed nor forced to take a single step downstairs. Whoever had taught her to go upstairs had totally neglected to teach her to go down again. Honrs and days went by. Mademoiselle Fanchon was apparently quite well satisfied with her new quarters. She sat at the front window, waving her trunk back and forth at the crowd which gathered on the street. The daily newspapers learned of the affair, and sent their reporters to record the baby elephant’s funny proceedings. In the meantime Mr R— set carpenters at work making a staging and a gradual descent to the street, down which Fanchon was to be persuaded to walk. When this was done, and a great crowd had gathered to see the descent, and a detachment of police had formed a line in front of the staging, Mr R— and a coloured servant appeared at the front door with the elephant. Mr R— held Fianchon by the trunk, and the coloured man pulled her by one ear. She advanced unwillingly upon

the staging, and just as she did so, she made a quick turu which pushed Mr R— off the staging and upon the ground, fifteen feet below.

The crowd gave an exclamation of terror, but laughed when Mr R— sprang up uninjured. It was evident that Fanchon would not readily go down the slope, so several bundles of hay were brought, spread carefully around the foot of the incline, and the elephant pushed bodily down. She landed upon the hay without any injury, except a scratch upon one of her fore legs, and soon resumed her old quarters tn the stable.