bars of the wheeled enclosure. But it was of no use. Not even the world’s largest elephant could break free this time. Jumbo was taken out of Regents Park and transported down the Thames to the coast. From there, the elephant was hoisted onboard the HMS Assyrian Monarch for his long awaited trip across the Atlantic.
Jumbo reached New York harbor on Easter Sunday. With great fanfare, he marched through Midtown Manhattan to Madison Square Garden. The circus season had just kicked off, and he was now a member of P.T. Barnum’s extravaganza. For the next several years, Jumbo would toil for Barnum. He traversed the country, shuffling from town to town. He rode on what must have seemed to be an endless train, being loaded up in a boxcar every night and unloaded every morning.
Jumbo was paired with Tom Thumb, the world’s smallest elephant. Together, the pair of contrasting pachyderms would parade around the arena at the close of afternoon and evening programs. Life in the circus was a grind. The typical season lasted eight months, from March to October. Performances occurred six days a week, twice a day.
By his twenty-fourth year, the greatest star on Earth had been worn out. Whereas Barnum and others had made millions of dollars from this elephant, Jumbo himself had little to show for it. His body was exhausted, his strength sapped, and his vitality drained. Jumbo could barely even lie down. When he did, it was a struggle to return upright. Scott thought privately that Jumbo might not make it through another year on the circuit. And yet, another circus season had just begun. Opening in New York, the Barnum and Bailey big top had already traveled through Pennsylvania, New England, and Maritime Canada. By September it was in Ontario.
There are several versions of events that unfolded on September 15, 1885: the night that Jumbo the elephant was killed. Each begins in a similar manner. The circus was in St. Thomas, a small town located in the southern region of the province. The final performance had just ended. Tom and Jumbo were in the process of being led back to their respective train cars by Matthew Scott. While all three were walking along the tracks, the sound of a fast approaching freight train could be heard in the distance. It is at this point where the stories diverge.
One version has Scott, heroically but unsuccessfully, attempting to lead the elephants to safety by guiding them down a shallow embankment that bordered one side of the tracks. Another has the trainer scrambling off on his own, leaving the pair of elephants to their own devices. In both scenarios, the first to be hit by the locomotive was tiny Tom Thumb. Tossed into the air like a rag-doll, he crashed into a nearby pole and sustained serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. Tom, years later, would be sold to the Central Park Zoo in New York City, where he would spend the rest of his days.
Jumbo was the next to be struck. It happened in one of three ways. The first account has the elephant initially following Scott down the embankment. However, Jumbo got confused or scared by the on-coming train, raced back up onto the tracks, and was hit from behind. Another has Jumbo rushing along the tracks. He was apparently looking for a gap in the line of stationary train-cars, which bordered the opposite side. But he missed the opening, and, when he doubled back, the train smashed into him. A third version has Jumbo escaping from Scott and charging towards the train. He rammed the engine head-on.
As for how Jumbo ultimately died, that also depends on which version of the story you believe. Some said that the world’s most famous elephant was killed almost immediately. While others stated that he suffered for at least three hours before dying. Barnum himself cooked up his own tall tale: claiming that Jumbo died instantly after sacrificing his own life to rescue little Tom Thumb from the speeding train.
In the end, none of these unknowns, discrepancies, or fabrications are important. Jumbo died that autumn day. He spent his life working for the Regents Park Zoo and the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Before the days of radio, television, or motion pictures, he was one of the first international superstars of the entertainment world. Indeed, over the past two centuries, books have been written about him. Songs have been sung in his honor. Movies have been made depicting him. An Ohio town was once named after him. He has been used to advertise countless consumer products.
To this day, Jumbo remains firmly planted in the English lexicon. That little, sickly elephant—once mocked as Mumbo Jumbo—grew into a large, powerful, and resistant fellow-creature, one still worthy of our respect and veneration.
Mary
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
