THE AUTOPSY OF AN ELEPHANT. 



(Bead before the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, May, 1879.) 



The day before last Christmas, our well .known 

 fellow-citizen and showman, John Robinson, lost by 

 death one of the largest specimens of his fine herd of 

 elephants. 'The animal bore the name of " Conqueror," 

 and originally came from Abyssinia. He had been in 

 America fifteen years ; and for the last year or two he- 

 had been an attractive feature of our Zoological Gar- 

 den. Visitors to the exhibition will remember that 

 the bulky creature was heavily chained, and fastened 

 by one leg to a large stump. His immediate compan- 

 ions were eight or ten bisons, who lunched on the fod- 

 der given to the elephant. The great proboscidian 

 did not seem to grudge what the bisons devoured, but 

 he would make them observe his ideas of etiquette. 

 If a bison placed a foot on the hay, the impropriety 

 was rebuked by a blow of the elephant's trunk that- 

 made the "buffalo" fairly bellow with pain. 



After lunch, the elephant would challenge the 

 bovines to a playful contest of strength; and would 

 get down upon his knees to show to his companions 

 that he was no higher than they ! and solicited fair 

 play, without favor offered or accepted. Conqueror 

 was so fond of fun that he would in his way challenge 

 boys to throw stones at him ; and if he succeeded in 

 cajoling them into a contest of the kind, he would 

 gather the missiles that hit his sides and fell to the 



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