CIRCUS DAYS 23 



I said that was true. I would leave New York 

 on the third and catch the steamer leaving London 

 on the fourth of July at Brindisi, at the tail end 

 of Italy, as it was due there on the fourteenth. 



I left New York on the steamer New York on the 

 third, arrived in London on the tenth, stayed two 

 days in London, traveled overland through France, 

 Switzerland and Italy, and on the evening of the 

 fourteenth walked up the gangplank of the P. & O. 

 boat and the twenty-eighth day of July, after tran- 

 shipping at Aden, stepped ashore in Bombay. 



Well, there was no such elephant; nobody had 

 ever heard of any that size, let alone seen one near 

 it, either in Bombay or throughout India, and I 

 went through India looking for it. The largest I 

 ever saw belonged to the Maharajah of Mysore. 

 He was, as nearly as I could judge, about twelve 

 feet, but a bad one and old, always heavily chained, 

 and out of the question for show purposes. 



After I left Singapore, I had been thinking con- 

 stantly of becoming a dealer in animals. The more 

 I considered the idea, the more it appealed to me. 

 I was becoming tired of circus life, especially since 

 my work did not bring me into contact with the 

 animals. On my return to New York I found Gay- 

 lord and told him about my plans. He encouraged 

 me and introduced me to many men I was glad to 

 know, such as Donald Burns, who was a dealer 

 and had a store in Roosevelt Street. 



