Show TELLS OF DROWNING ELEPHANTS did you ever hear bear the terrorized trumpeting of a herd of drowning elephants asked W J williams Wll llama of peru ind at the willard wallard Wll lard it if you never heard the piteous cries of 0 dying beasts you have escaped one of the most heartrending experiences that ever comes to civilized man I 1 was in peru during the flood of 1913 when the wabash river rose to unknown heights causing tremendous destruction of property peru Is the winter headquarters ot of the wallace and hagenback circus and when it was round found that the water was coming higher than had ever been known before the fourteen elephants in the circus were unchained and let go to take taka care of themselves three of them managed to reach a small mound where they stood in the water with their trunks elevated till the end of the flood but the other eleven were drowned with tho the water rushing through the streets and tho the people of the city marooned in the second ond stories ot of tho the houses the elephants swam around for hours trumpeting in terror and sticking their trunks into the open windows of the houses in their efforts to find some spot of safety they cried like children and one could almost understand their language as they pleaded tor for the help which could not be given them tor for not one of them could be taken in through a door or window out ot of the flood they acted more like ilka human beings than beasts and it was almost as pitiful to see them go down under the muddy waters one by one as it was wag to see a human being washed from a roof 1 I shall never forget their dying cries as they sought the safety which could not be found in that flat country where the whole surface of the earth was submerged back in the big circus menagerie however there was even a more tragic scene when the water came up into the cages of the animals they all became frantic from tear fear lions and tigers roared and dashed themselves against the bars of their cages till it was feared they would escape and swim to places ol of human refuge where they would destroy many lives iron bars were bent by the beasts in their fury and as ag the water rose higher their terror and their strength increased when it was seen that nothing could be done and that lives of persons in the city were being endangered the manager of the menagerie went from cage to cage with a rifle and shot one after another of the monarchs mon archa of the jungle till all were dead it cost the circus a fortune but many huma sis lives were saved aasved |