Elcpliantiana. 173 



believe, several men besides, and then had to be 

 destroyed. 



Mr. Davis told me that the first sign of the distemper 

 is that the elephants begin to play with something that 

 takes their fancy, and become so excited that they 

 do not obey their keepers. So that for all elephants, 

 male and female alike, the means of restraint ought 

 always to be at hand. We will now return to 

 Jumbo's life in this country. 



To naturalists he was of more importance than 

 either of the others, as he was the first example of 

 an African elephant ever known to be imported 

 into England. To myself in particular he was a 

 singularly interesting creature, and I have watched 

 him at intervals since he was no larger than a Shet- 

 land pony. 



Indeed, so anxious were his owners and keepers, 

 that Professor W. H. Flower, the President of the 

 Zoological Society, stated that he would have con- 

 sented to Jumbo's removal even if nothing had been 

 paid for him. More than this, Mr. Bartlett, who 

 has had a life-long experience of elephants, was 

 obliged, many months ago, to apply for means of 

 instantly destroying the animal if he should break 

 out into madness. 



As Dr. Sclater, the Secretary, very forcibly remarks 

 of the great establishment possessed by Messrs. 

 Barnum, Bailey, and Hutchinson : " In so large an 

 establishment, any animal under temporary excite- 

 ment can be withdrawn from exhibition and placed 

 in seclusion, which there are no adequate means of 

 doing in the Zoological Gardens." 



Several correspondents stigmatized this "excuse," 

 as they were pleased to call it, as feeble and irrelevant. 

 To my mind, it is simply convincing. Surely it must 

 be kinder to Jumbo to place him among friends who 



