76 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 



With wild trumpetings, the elephants tore 

 off their chains as though they were cobwebs 

 and fled in all directions. It was a great 

 wonder that Mr. Bates and Mr. Mooney, with 

 the other men, were not trampled to death, 

 for the animals were crazy from panic and 

 in pain from the blows from the poles. It 

 was one of the narrowest escapes they had 

 ever had. 



And when it was all over and the animals 

 had quieted down, they were in the highest 

 state of nervousness and exhaustion from the 

 continued frights. For weeks the elephants 

 were nervous and unsettled and, at the least 

 breeze lifting the flaps of the tents, there 

 would come forth a shrill chorus of cries and 

 trumpetings; and once when a little piece of 

 harmless white rag fluttered round the tent, 

 Coco made a great fuss, several of the others 

 broke their chains and, for a few moments, 

 it was feared there would be another stam- 

 pede. 



Several other things happened in the same 

 way and, the proprietor having noticed that 



