288 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
exhibited traits which, in safety to the public, demanded its destruction. 
Strangulation was the method selected as being the most merciful, and the 
following particulars are extracted from ‘ Nature’:—‘“ At the appointed 
hour those specially invited, among whom were several veterinary surgeons, 
Dr. Forbes, Director of the Liverpool Museum (to whom the body was 
generously to be handed over as a gift from Mr. Bailey to the museum), 
Dr. Roberts and Mr. Burnham, of the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals, found the Elephant standing quietly in one of the 
large tents, in line with some twenty to thirty others. A new Manilla rope 
was loosely wound three times around its neck, and its legs, fully stridden, 
were securely chained each to a post firmly driven into the ground along- 
side each limb. The animal was intentionally not isolated from its fellows, 
as it was feared that if separated by itself it would become restive and ill- 
tempered. ‘The rope surrounding the beast’s neck had one end secured to 
three strong pillars in the ground, some distance away and slightly in 
advance of tle fore feet; and the other, which terminated in a loop, was 
hooked to a double series of pulleys, to the tackle of which ninety men 
were attached. When all was ready, the slack was gently, quietly, and 
without any apparent annoyance to the Elephant, which kept on eating 
hay, taken in ull the coils round its neck were just taut. ‘The word was 
then given, ‘ Walk away with the rope.’ Amid perfect silence the well- 
disciplined company walked away with it without the least effort. So 
noiselessly and easily did everything work that, unless with foreknowledge 
of what was going to take place, one might have been present without 
realizing what the march of these men meant. ‘The Hlephant gave no 
sign of discomfort, either by trunk or tail; its fellows standing close by 
looked on in pachydermatous unconcern; and at the end of exactly thirty 
seconds it slowly collapsed, and lay down as if of its own accord. There 
was absolutely no struggle, and no motion, violent or otherwise, in any part 
of the body, nor the slightest indication of pain. Ina few seconds more 
there was no response to the touch of its eyelashes or other parts of the 
eye, and this condition remained for a few minutes; but through, perhaps, 
the leakage into the chest of a small quantity of air, some slight sensitive- 
ness returned to the eye, seen on touching its inner angle, though not the 
cornea. On slightly tightening up the rope, the chest gave one or two 
short throbs, and after six and a half minutes all movements ceased, and 
sensation was entirely lost; while at the end of thirteen minutes from the 
order to ‘ walk away,’ the eye had become rigid and dim.” 
As we go to press we have heard with the greatest regret of the death 
of Mr. Osbert Salvin, the well-known ornithologist and entomologist. An 
obituary notice will appear in our next issue. 
