Show II AN ELEPHANT II B fly Francis I alf h It DELEGATION from the National ff I A Association of Press A Agents which was holding hoMing It Its annual meeting in hi tho Int Interests of f the Fut Fur Furtherance therance of or Truth and tho Elevation Elc o of the Show Sho Business M haft had left the meeting place hi tn New York and after inspecting the various ious moral an and entertaining en ent entertaining en- en t IH performances at Conc Coney Concy Island Island Is- Is land was gathered i about one of oC the topped white tables near ar the tho Dreamland Dreamland Dream Dream- land tower Colonel Tody Hamilton prince of ot press agents ag master of or a n picturesque que vocabulary Inventor of r superlatives l es of veracity ern CIl pointed lau laughingly laugh laugh- h- h toward towar the Arena AnJu where the thc t fl to t- t S Sr I r 1 t o J J j 1 Sinn Sato Wilts oil confessed cd the holc I I r J P Proprietor of oC the trained animal exhibition f gluon was Instructing a new barker f j haw to make the mo must out of oC a trick r of oC rone of the l elephants which was being be bc- heIng heh he- he ing used for fol ballyhoo purposes es In front h of or the entrance to his show how Listen to him gentlemen and you OU will be convinced that thai he Is eligible to to membership hi Ja out our truth loving fraternity Ira fra he remarked admiringly The rhe ungainly pachyderm was standing on its hind haul legs trumpeting through ough Its Us upraised trunk a protest against t the I prodding of oC the sharp shan goad gOt which was tas forcing forcin it to walk backward In that thai absurd position The voice olce of oC the k f r- r 1 who wha using Proprietor w vs n C megaphone mega mega- phone came to them distinctly a as ny he heli t rt li- li f invited the thc people to look bolt at One Ono of or orrI c of the animal the greatest triumphs rr trainers trainer's art arl something which has never ne 1 been cn exhibited In an any country country- an elephant Walking Upon It Il 1 Jl S LCJ-S The speech caught an and held theat the at attention at- at of the crowd and when th the elephant was allo allowed tJ to rejoin ils us UI companions and the thc three great ben beasts ls entered the building h in ill single file tile Tom Toni grasping ing Rogers Roger's toil tall In his trunk and Alice following suit suil with the caudal appendage of Tom rom a 11 goodly number stepped u up to the ticket booth and k paid their r entrance- entrance money Th The 4 I Colonel and his associates whose business business busi busl- ness had made them familiar with elephants elephants ele ele- smiled at the credulity of or me the mei i 1 crowd but acknowledged the Proprietors Proprietor's Proprietors Proprietor's Pro Pro- skill shill in attracting an audit audi audi- t epee c You wouldn't b believe Jle e that I 1 spent 1 over ver seven hundred dollars to turn that smallest white a few 1 Or-li Or HBO ago aid Id th the e Colonel as s tho the hat t nis 11 t. t Jt i at t JJ g gy y S 11 S 4 Je l U l. l Lar U ll tJ Uel tO ii tin i dOl dOlo if o r ie Te mp n p purl rl th the tho Col Colonel settled back comfortably In his chair chair chairS chair'S S I w 10 to tell lell tie story stOL thc they demand demand- 1 ed cd 1 I You will have h to JI listen ten to the story of or the famous ls war wal of oC the thc white while eie- eie then Ihen he said natured good I ly ly a struggle which will remain fam lam famous r r oUt ous in the circus world as long as the hs Jg tops are alO It was was in to tue good old days of tierce competition In the thc 1 business the days das when the press pres t agents earned eve every I dollar of their r salaries and sometimes had to go so to the tho of saying 1 things In print r Which were were were- not strictly true There was wast Intense rivalry rl between en the two I big s shows the P T T. Barnum and the Forepaugh aggregations an and the hit hit- I. I tel ler feeling between the proprietors I was transmitted to the The advance agents would steal each ed-ch others other's others other's oth oth- ers er's printed matter ter and posters out of the thc the express s offices 8 and you could c always count on a fight tight between the r t tol whenever tn e the tho two Iwo shows were close enough together They I w would damage damase each others other's property r loc sen nuts on the wagons so 80 that the thet t V K r J I r J 11 upon Its hint hind legs Ils hack hack- Lard bard t wheels wheals would conic como is off of an and cause up- up nets an and do anything to embarrass embarras s w thorval show Each show tried 1 to outdo the other other oth oth- er at every point advertising number 1 of uC performers length of QC the she G t fir parade menagerie collection andI and I everything C which money could caul buy They started l In to see which could i. i q get the the- largest herd of or elephants each t a advertising the largest t herd her In captivity It ity and that competition raised the price of or elephants till nil over the world worl r and denuded every cry small zoological 1 park lr in Europe while It pretty prett nearly hearl bankrupted the shows to feed fee them We hall hail eighty with the thc Barnum Darnum cir fir circus cus eus and finally Sir Mr B Barnum came t tI to toI tomo mo nio and said thai that he had purchased a n I I x Sacred White El Elephant an and told m ma meto me mc a to start giving It publicity Of PC course I didn't know anything about that particular par par- kind of or elephant h hut but t as I 1 al always nl- nl always ways was hire to bo perfectly accurate it in m my my statements I made a n e r stud study oC of It H. 1 I found that as a n matter matte of oC fact acl there was no such thing thinE as a a. white elephant known In natural history history his his- tor tory although there was waa an occasional occasional occa occa- absence of oC the Uli usual Ul I pigment in tho skins of some beasts which give t 4 them a trifle lighter color and that tha 4 the these o animals were apt arlt to have ha a n feu Cew c w V tt spots pots on tho the hod body which were nearl 3 i. i white Just a you ou sometimes s hear lear car o of f u I i a a. negro who Is IJ spotted When sue suea sucha such h J a a. spot occurs In th the center conter of thi the thc he e forehead i the Buddhists u regard d j tho the beast as sacred from the fact tact tha that t the tho god od Bud Buddha hu Is Js aha always s d as at wearing a jewel In ur that position i and it fl Is In looked upon as h his 5 1 mark of ot protection It io So tho the ambition n of overt In Indian lan Rajah to possess one ODe I for tor thc then he be Is billed as The Tile Lord othe o or orth f th the Sacred White hUe Elephant a title e which seems tl to ty till a long felt wan want t ry In tho the heart of am an Oriental potentate r Well YeU 11 ell Barnum's Barnum s agent land b y porno Homo hook or crook procured on one o oC f and sent It t to London but ow ow- owL J I L t. t l f t. L L W io L j L L 1 In Ing hag to the Ow Inte In tenets tenet's nc s of the tho season cason 1 it f was as decided to leave It there in the I Zoological and get up a u controversy con con- ertl which In Itself eJr would be a alood Rood lood advertisement ad for It The average aver- aver ago age Ei Englishman is cr very fond of writIng writIng writ writ- Ing to the Tithes Times to expose a fraud mull and antI we knew that there would be u u. pro Ins i t from flom those who would be bc dis- dis d in the brutes brute's color There are arc hundreds of retired officers who have haw served sel In n India living In London Landon on and the they know lenow all alt about Sac Sacred ell White Elephants and tune on 01 0 their han hands s. s They The were only too Iou lou to certify to its genuineness am and thC they wrote Ioto the thc peppery kind o of re replies re- re plies piles to th the criticisms which might IJ be expected ted froth from men who had spent spell the best of their theil lives p under n a ahot hot sun Ull and amI lived Jived upon curries am and red recd p pi pliers lJur Of course coarse I saw that the letters were copied in the tho home papers and before the circus season season sea sea- son opened I had hru th the Great American Public watching anxiously for the reported reported re reported re- re ported galling falling of the Sacred White Elephant I 1 should have o been on rn my guard for Cor the Forepaugh uh bunch Just kept kepi sawing wood and saying nothing but wh whenever ne e I met their press 3 agent enl he lie gave me roe the quiet laugh Our elephant ele ele- elephant was WM Malty shipped acid d i J ican Sou ou can Imagine that 1 I made matle the most of It In the papers I J had hd cm om filled up for fOI two days and then them while ours outs was ts still In ocean mid out comes c cement cement- that his s1 Sacred White Elephant would woul land anti In New cw York the following da day I know knew It it was a a. Cuk fake for fOl the they were very cry difficult difficult difficult dif dif- to lo obtain but they stole our our thun thunder cl Just the Mie same I managed k nr 4 J h hod eminent dentist examine the beat to bet get a p peep ep at it while It wa was being unloaded told antI although althouS 1 it was only a I dirty yellowish ello color colot I 1 knew I hat Thal It would make ours look like a decided br brunette nette lJ by comparison They had we rk It well and kept it quiet but knowing that there thele was a gel inthe in inho the tho ho woodpile and th t. t mone money would bring him out o I spent It like a drunken drunk drunk- en sailor In trying to et ct information Forepaugh ha had eminent scientists examine the beast and b give bC C their theil certificates eer- eer cel that it Il was genuine and antI a all 11 the Inside Information I could get gel was wa that the elephant had been purchased through Cross the great animal dealt leal- leal or CI In fn Liverpool and that It had been kopL for L. L secluded In ln his Ills place there thero nil all i winter nn icam at who on who w was f Fuli Foro paulh's paugh's foreign a agent and life his gr groom i man named Telford were elc the only people leople who had access to It It t and the they had lad spent hours da every day In Its stall CIO Cross ross S would give us no information as aso asto asto to o how or 01 where he obtained the elephant ele- ele hanl for Forepaugh bou bought ht all of oC the he animals for Cor his through him while we me dealt with his great rival rl Hagenbeck o of Hamburg Fore Forepaugh paugh got all the newspaper space pace for the next Iv few days and when our OUI elephant arrived It looked dark colored for ur a u cle- cle when compared com with the false fake one It was hard to educate the people people peo- peo jle up to the significance of the little white spot Jn in n the center o of the fore fore- forehead head but any anyone one but a blind man could o ld see C that Forepaugh's fake Cake was 1 In n color We e went at It t horse Co foot t and artillery and the fight cot cost the he two shows more than thun a quarter of or ofa ora a i million dollars doliar and anti lasted until wo we patched up a truce in lit St St. Louis to sai ave saVo o us both going Into bankruptcy I got bot some of oC Cross's employees to swear that the they had seen cen the elephant being be be- ing painted in ht Liverpool and Forepaugh Forepaugh Fore Fore- paugh replied b by getting a n commission of sharps from Crom Ann Arbor to examine the beast and swear that the color was natural There was good money in perjury and scientific opinions those days but I never let Ie up for a minute In my endeavor to get et at the truth o of th tint the matter for COl I knew it was hanky panl panky and antI I l' l lam am a n diligent searcher after truth espe espe- especially when a rival riyal has sunk gunk It to tine the bottom of a well I experimented with some of the elephants until I near Inear nearly took their thick hides off but I could get no satisfactory results until I called call calf ed in Marchand the chemist and asked ask ask- asked ed him If he could coul give me mo something to bleach leach an elephant lie had an especially strong solution of peroxide of hydrogen in made up upA and I selected ll the the smallest smallest t animal out of our heldor herd held of or eighty eight to h try it on It happened to be the one ono which you ou Just saw working out oil the ballyhoo over o there which you ou noticed was the ordInary slate color We c soaked oakel cloths cloth in the peroxide and antI ere co covered the beast with them and then put blankets bankets on top After they had been on for 01 a while we wc washed tho the animal with ammonia and water wah I and repeated the thc performance per perform ance anee until that elephant was wa as ns white fie rs snow sno was to tu onen olen In Phila Phila- delphia so o I shipped our fake fako over oer there and when thc they had their theil street I t l l j r t Then Sum Hum and hl his Telford proceeded to Ret het cl hit piny parade I followed right Tight behind It ft with our bleached animal on a truck which was ras placard placarded C Tic The notices called att attention to lo the tact fact act that Forc- Forc all alleged l' l OI 1 elephant was carts I simply painted pointed and that the men menu who did lift It l were wore bunglers at the thc business Look at this one read our largest pl placard card We Tell You that it Is Sa a a. I Fake ac So 80 is jg Forepaugh's but he Wont Won't tell This II ID iH a a. Better Job by hy a I Better Detter AItI Artist t That made matte the Forepaugh Fore Fore- pau paugh h people hot and antI tho they replied d with n a new hunch of affidavits an and an expert ex cx- x- x pert perl opinions from rom a lot of of Pennsylvania professors Thai couldn't offset our up show-up thou though h and ind the whole situation had become so mixed that the public thought all allor of or the elephants were fakes We re had hadlie the lie only genuine one and the best fake nl alo o o. o but they were a pair pall of cof white elephants In eVel every sense sense of the term and a losing proposition The one which we ha had bleached would only keep white for tor about two tWe weeks week andas and andas andas as each treatment cost seven sc hundred dollars Barnum called me off The Forepaugh bunch was trying to poison it it t and as the whole thing was dead as a money making venture ali and white elephants a drug druE on the market we let et this one regain its natural color Vh n the great r at herd herl was broken up It t wits wt sold or off orf and I I. I r never cY 1 saw it t tn n again agahi atri until tonight But what was waa the Inside history of ot the fhe Forepaugh white elephant a asked asked ask ask- k- k ed cd one of or his companions an and Ibe l 1 colonel smiled ct as he lighted a n fresh i cl cigar ar I ne never ne er knew It until this year rear w when en one night over a friendly drink Sain Watson atson who j i.-j now a clown with the he Big DIg Show confessed the whole thing Forepaugh Is dead and the tho shows Allows have been consolidated so there i Iq no further object in In Keeping the thing thing- quiet It t seems that agents found out that Barnum had purchased th the elephant from an Ian Im- pc Indian Rajah In fact he ha lad had purchased two th the first one olie haIng having having hav hav- ing Ing- died on Its way catty WI to England It IL was the misdirection of a cable announcing announcing an nn- the death heath nn and ordering another another anther an- an other ther at an any co cost t which put them wise to o the fact tact that thai Barnum had 0 a rarity Watson on had hod never nC heard rd of a sacred elephant c but bUl he started out to got gel one when he hc read that cablegram They were scarce articles and antI Barnum had bought the only two t which were wele to lo lobe tob tobe b be had for Cor love or money In all In In- In dia Wa dla so he and Cro Cross s got their heads together to- to gether gethel |