JUMBO AND TOUNC TALOUNO. 399 



The editor of the London Telegraph, Mr. Lesarge, sent me a telegram in which 

 he stated that all the British children were distressed at the elephant's departure : 

 on what terms would I return Jumbo? "Answer, prepaid, unlimited." 



When I read the last three words of this dispatch, I am afraid that the spirit of 

 practical joking took possession of me for the moment. I took the Englishman at 

 his word and answered " unlimited." I told him that a hundred thousand pounds 

 would not induce me to cancel my purchase, and then I gave him a pretty full 

 description of my circus, commencing, " My largest tent seats 20,000 persons," etc., 

 etc., and ended with " wishing long life and prosperity to the British nation, the 

 Telegraph and Jumbo." This dispatch was published in the Telegraph the next 

 morning, and was republished on the following day in the principal newspapers 

 throughout Great Britain. It did its part in keeping up the excitement. 



Jumbo had never been out of the Garden since the day he had entered it, twenty 

 years before. When my agents attempted to get him out he would not stir; he 

 seemed to know instinctively that something extraordinary was going to happen. 

 My agent cabled me: "Jumbo is lying in the Garden and will not stir. What 

 shall we do ? " I replied : " Let him lie there as long as he wants to." All this, 

 it will be observed, kept up public interest. 



Then we built a cage on wheels, and sank the wheels into the ground, leaving 

 both ends of the cage open. It was many days before he could be induced to walk 

 through. We let him get used to going through for several days and finally shut 

 him in. It took a score of horses to pull the cage out of the earth, after we had 

 dug around the wheels, and we dragged the cage down to the wharf. There 

 Jumbo met a whole crowd of his admirers, including such fashionable people as 

 Lady Burdett-Coutts, who brought him cakes and dainties. One enthusiast testi- 

 fied his affection by sending some champagne and oysters. On the vessel we had to 

 cut away a part of the deck above his lodgings to make his apartment large enough. 



The original price of Jumbo was $10,000; his final cost was $30,000. He paid 

 for himself the first ten days after his arrival. 



Toung Taloung, the famous white elephant, which I brought from Burmah, 

 cost me $200,000. Like the public, I was greatly disappointed in him. He was as 

 genuine a white elephant as ever existed, but, in fact, there was never such an ani- 

 mal known. The white spots are simply diseased blotches. 



To resume our story : 



Among the elephants on which Mr. Godkin and Dick Brownell were gazing was 

 a mother with a young one, of which all seemed extremely fond. This was shown 

 conclusively at the time the herd was crossing an open space some distance from 

 where they had entered the jungle. 



Without the least warning a large tiger dashed out from cover and made for the 

 little one, which just then was standing with its head in the other direction, caress- 

 ing its mother. The female saw the tiger, but showed no excitement, knowing she 

 had brave friends around her. 



