DESTRUCTION OF AN ELEPHANT. 
505 
saturated with two ounces of chloroform, and carefully 
covered with oil-silk, to prevent any evaporation, and pro- 
duce its full effects speedily, and applied to the trunk. As 
yesterday, insensibility was produced in nine minutes, and 
we continued to keep the sponge supplied with two ounces 
of chloroform every ten minutes, until thirty ounces had been 
consumed. During that time, nearly three hours, there was 
the most perfect insensibility to pain or feeling, as the sequel 
will show, and which continued for about an hour and a 
half, a much longer period than after the first exhibition ; 
which, perhaps, may be accounted for by a much larger 
quantity having been used, and a much longer time employed. 
This having failed, I determined to destroy her by some other 
means, and, after much consideration, I resolved on dividing 
the carotid artery, but, at the suggestion of some gentlemen 
present, one attempt to destroy life with a gun was made. 
At six o’clock on Thursday morning, this intention was car- 
ried out. The animal having again been put under the in- 
fluence of chloroform, and still lying in the same position, on 
its left side, Mr. Benjamin Johnson stepped on the body of 
the animal, and discharged a rifle, loaded with a bullet, in an 
upward and slanting direction, under the animal’s right ear, 
about three inches from the angle of the jaw. Instantly, a 
jet of blood, about twelve inches high, and the thickness of a 
goose quill, issued from the orifice, showing, to my great 
satisfaction, that the bullet had penetrated a branch of the 
carotid artery. In a short time, the orifice in the artery 
slipped from beneath that in the skin, therefore, an enlarge- 
ment was made, and my former intention carried out, by fully 
dividing the carotid artery, when a large gush of blood fol- 
lowed, and in the short space of twenty-eight minutes the 
animal ceased to exist. During this time there was not the 
slightest suffering or consciousness ; the only movement 
made was putting the head and body a little back, which was 
something like moving a small mountain ; and thus termi- 
nated the poor elephant’s life. I subsequently made a cur- 
sory examination of the body, but as I was not aware at 
what time the post-mortem would be commenced, I could not 
gratify my wish of tracing the course of the ball through the 
soft parts. It was found lodged in the bones at the base of 
the skull ; but it never could have caused the death of the 
animal, neither do I think a ball from any ordinary gun would 
enter the brain case of so old an elephant. The only method 
I should hereafter pursue, as offering the greatest facility of 
destroying life, would be, as in this instance, first to appl} r 
chloroform, and then dissect down to, and divide the carotid 
xxviii. 65 
