Attempt to Hang an Elephant.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 421, 20 November 1889, Page 5

Attempt to Hang an Elephant.

The Berlin correspondent of tha ' Daily Telegraph' describes an attempt made to hang 'Rustuin,' one of the two Indian elephants presented in 1881 by the Prince of Wales to the Zoological Gardens at Berlin. The animal some few years ago ran his warder t''rou££h the body with one of his tusks. The poor keeper diod from the effects of his wound. Sentence of death was not at the time paesed on the culprit ; ib was deferred, and only quite recently solemnly proclaimed. ' Rustum ' was, however, not condemned to the scaMold for this omne alone; he is said to ha\e learned, nothing from the clemency shown to him atber the above-mentioned outrage, and to have displayed on divers occasions since that time evident symptoms of a wicked and depraved nature. A^oreover, his e.\ternal appearance, as compared with th it of his colleagues in another part of the elephant house is declared, and with justice, to be anything but- attractive, and to have bi'ought discredit on the establishment. Some gossips attributed this to want of food — it being affirmed that he has had to live on almost starvation rations, besides having had his feet in irons since the commission of his foul crime. Be that as it may, the director of the Zoological Gardens after long and deliberate consideration, and after having consulted all the ex perts, sentenced • Rustum' to dio by strangulation. The mode of his death had also been pieviously carefully conpiaered. Some proposed that he should be shot ; but this method \va* considered dangerous, lest the bullet should n t take immediate edect, or lest the spoitman's hand shoulH trembly ajnl miss hio mark. Others proferied poisoning, and some suggested the electric currenc. All these propositions were rejected in favour of a process of strangulation by a three qua ter inch steel wire. Every precaution having been taken, the noose was let fall over the monster's head at what was considnred a, favourable moment. This was when he passed oufc of his halt-opened oage in order to sniff the morning air. Nj fewer than forty-two men were stationed in the vioinity to draw the noose tight. Whether it was that the dumb creature had a presentiment that these were his exeoutioners, ruthlessly bent on depriving him of light and life, pv whether it was that the arrangements were clumsily m,ade, the main point is certain — namely, that * Rustum,' as soon as he felt the pressure of the wire, quietly made a slight movement in the opposite direction, and snapped the substance that was to strangle him as if it had been cotton thread. The executioners were discomfited ; the chief officers were dumbfounded ; but 'Rustum ' took no further notice of them, and continued his promenade around bjs out of door enclosure. The next attempt to settle 1 Ru-tum ' is postponed till after the directors return, in October.

"Talk of mothers'in-law and sons-in-law nob agreeing," remarked Titmarsh. "My mother-in-law and I agr^e. She saya I owghb not to have married her daughter,, and I coincide with her." Bjones : *' Thab young fellow seems rather pessimist^." Mevritfc : '■' Xes. Hea an anjateur phob'gr.apher, a,nd ftlways takes a ppo? v^ew pf \\t^ u