HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1955-05-19, Page 2Some Tales of Jumbo
Famous Elephant
Of all the famous animals the
London Zoo has housed in its
eentury and a quarter of exist-
ence, none—despite the great
fame of Brumes the polar bear
—ever captured the imagina-
tion of the entire country as did
Jumbo. The elephant went to
Regent's Park ninety years ago,
a scruffy little baby, and his de-
parture for America, eighteen
years later, was accompanied by
nation-wide lamentations.
Jumbo was captured when
rather less than a year old on
the banks of the River Settite in
Abyssinia in 1861. His captors
sold him to the Paris Zoo. After
staying in Paris for three years,
Jumbo was exchanged for a
rhinoceros; Paris got the rhinoc-
eros, and the London Zoo got
jumbo.
Jumbo arrived at Regent's
Park in June, 1865, and was
handed to a keeper named Mat-
thew Scott. The youngster stood
only four feet high and was in
a filthy condition. His feet had
been neglected and had become
malformed, His temper was terr-
ible; he destroyed the doors of
his house and drove his tusks
through the iron plates. Scott
took hold of Jumbo by one ear,
and Superintendent Bartlett took
the other, and they thrashed
him soundly.
Later Jumbo was taken into
the gardens and meekly took
children for rides on his back at
2d. a time; but once back in his
house. his behaviour continued
to be bad. Nevertheless, he be-
came a great money-maker for
the Zoo. At first keeper Scott
was allowed to retain all those
twopences, but there came a
time when the Zoo authorities
decided otherwise. From then
then onwards Jumbo made £ 800
a year for the Zoo.
Jumbo's tusks, broken when he
thrust them through the iron
plates, began to grow again, but
they emerged through the skin
near his eyes. It was decided to
operate. But as the operation be-
gan, Jumbo gave a scream of
fright and tried to kill his keep-
er, who just managed to escape.
For the second attempt at an
operation, all precautions were
taken against Jumbo's possible
behaviour, but this time he was
as good as gold, just as if he
understood that he would be re-
lieved from pain. But once back
in his house, he continued to
raise Cain.
Jumbo was quite a problem
to the Zoo. It was decided to find
a mate for him. The Zoo bought
Alice, a tiny female elephant,
for £500 from an East ' End
dealer. Superintendent Bartlett
and Alice walked all the way to
Regent's Park and then sat down
together to supper.
Jumbo at first showed no sign
of being influenced by female
society; indeed, his behaviour
got worse. But the people who
flocked to the Zoo to see him
knew nothing of what went on
behind the scenes; when he ap-
peared in public he was as docile
as could be.
The Zoo put up with him far
sixteen years, then the Superin-
tendent petitioned the Zoo
Council to be allowed to pur-
chase a powerful rifle toshoot
him. But at that critical moment
came a letter from New York,
from Mr. Phineas Barnum,
proprietor of "The Greatest
Show on Earth," offering £2,000
for Jumbo. This was accepted
and his life was saved.
As soon as the news spread
that Jumbo had been sold to
Barnum,:ritain went wild with
excitement. Nobody outside Zoo
eircles knew that Jumbo was
scheduled to be shot. Thousands
of letters reached the Zoo from
both children and parents.
Music -hall singers sang ballads
about Jumbo. One typical verse
went as follows:
"Jumbo said to Alice, 'I love
you.'
Alice said to Jumbo, 'I don't
believe you do;
T. V. Top Is Guestproof and Family -Resistant
By EDNA MiLES
Ever have hot .coffee spilled on
the top of your TV set? Or have
you tried to wipe off rings
made by the glasses that care-
less guests put down on the
handiest spot?
Of course you have. Prob-
ably the results were none too
good and you bemoaned the
damage to your set, then tried
to cover the marks with a vase
car a lamp.
Good news for the home-
maker lies in announcement of
a new laminate being used in
some table -model TV sets. The
new material combines the pro-
tection of plastic with the rigid-
ity of metal. It comes in a var-
iety of colors to fit in with any
living -room decor.
One set, for instance, comes
in pretty shades of coffee,
sand, cordovan or gray. And
beneath the color, the surface
is functional. It's guaranteed
tot to chip, crack, peel, stain
or scratch. It will stand up to
heavy abuse from guests or
children and keep its good
looks meantime.
Guestproof laminated top on this TV set is impervious to spilled
liquid. Won't start or scratch, chip, crack or peel.
Actually, you may use the1 you like. Handprints, spots and
top of sets having this laminat- stains all wipe free with a
ed material as a serving pot if 1 damp cloth.
If you only loved me, as you
say you do
You'd never go with Barnum's
Show
And leave me in the Zoo.' "
Another song was entitled:
"Why Part With Jumbo?" Then
there was the "Jumbo March"
for the piano which all the little
girls and boys who loved Jumbo
learned to play.
There were letters to the
newspapers, 4111 of indignation;
there were protest meetings. But
the Zoo stuck to the bargain:
£2,000 for Jumbo as he stood;
Barnum to pay all transport ex-
penses and to arrange the
transport.
There arrived from America
"Elephant Bill" Newman, said
to be an expert in handling
elephants, and a Mr. Davis,
Barnum's personal representa-
tive. Little did they know what
was in store for them.
Jumbo, now eleven feet tall,
walked placidly enough into a
travelling cage mounted on a
low trolley. He was chained by
his forefeet, but he struggled
hard and pounded the sides of
the box. He' weighed six tons.
Heavy drayhorses were harnes-
sed to the trolley, which moved
off and at once sunk to its axles.
It took four hours to get clear
of the gates of Regent's Park.
Night fell and huge crowds
collected. It took five mare hours
to cover 100 yards, again and
again the trolley sank down to
its axles. The crowd took up a
chant: "The Yankees will never
have Jumbo."
It took all' night to get to the
docks; there was a procession
of hansom cabs and pedestri-
ans. At seven a.m. Jumbo had
breakfast, plus a copious drink
of beer given him by a weeping
woman who had followed him
from the Zoo.
After the beer, Jumbo was
given some whisky. It later •
transpired that the Americans
who had come to fetch him were
so "het up° that Barnum offer-
ed another £1,000 if the Zoo
would take the responsibility of
getting Jumbo to New York.
The Zoo refused.
Jumbo was first put on a
barge and then hoisted by a
hydraulic crane on to the As-
syrian Monarch, where a huge
amount of stores for his journey
had already been placed.
The ship, with Jumbo aboard,
sailed on March 27th, 1882. So
great was public interest in
Britain that daily bulletins were
put into waterproof bags and
dropped overboard in the hope
that news of Jumbo would.
DRUMSTICKS GALORE -- Folded
up underneath like retractable
landing gear are the two extra
legs which this chicken ,was
blessed—or cursed. The creature
was on exhibit at the Biological
Institute of the University of
Istanbul, Turkey.
reach Britain. During the whole
voyage cartoons and sarcastic
verses appeared in British pub-
lications.
Jumbo arrived in New York,;
on April 9th. There was £450
customs duty to pay on him.
The elephant received a tumul-
tuous reception and was placed
on show at Madison Square
Gardens in New York.
For three years Jumbo toured
the United States with Barnum's
Circus; meanwhile the children
of Britain continued to mourn
for him. In the late summer of
1885 the Show was in Canada,
September 15th of that year the
Circus. was tented at St. Thomas,
Ont., where Jumbo suddenly
took a violent dislike to an on-
coming train. He charged the
locomotive full tilt, and was
killed outright.
Jumbo was skinned and stuf-
fed, and put on show standing
next to his skeleton. Some years
later this somewhat gruesome
exhibit was brought to London.
On the death of Jumbo, Bar-
num bought his mate Alice and
had her fetched to America,
where she was exhibited as
"Jumbo's Wife," but she surviv-
ed her mate by only two years.
PRINCESS MARGARET AT DEDICATION -•- Princess Margaret (left) appears before a group of
Girl Guides os she arrives for the dedication of the Anglican Church of Sts. Philip and James
in London.
Her death was even more
tragic than Jumbo's;
November 20th, 1887, Bar-
num's Circus and Alice were at
Bridgeport, Connecticut. A ter-
rible circus fire swept through
the menagerie and killed all the
animals, including Alice.
Star -Gazers See
Red
Observations which astron-
omers in many parts of the
world are planning to make
through more power telescopes
may solve in 1955 the centuries-
old question: Are there men on
Mars?
One astronomer has said that
if we could meet a creature
from Mars we would probably
find him "too uncanny and too
clever for us." He might, also be
millions of years ahead of us in
evolution.
Scientists are still divided on
the question of whether Mar-
tians exist on the red planet so
many millions of miles away.
Some say the only life is a
strange kind of bright vegeta-
tion which makes Mars look red.
But the Astronomer -Royal, Sir
Harold Spencer Jones, believes
it is desert that gives the planet
c its ruddy colour. He has pointed
out that other parts of the sur-
face are greenish in colour.
It is believed that the rarefied
atmosphere of Mars is rather
like that which. exists 100,000
feet above the earth's surface.
Warm-blooded creatures, be-
cause of the lack of oxygen,
could not therefore exist on
Mars, says one world-famous as-
tronomer. But he does not rule
out: the possibility of some kind
of life flourishing there.
What form might it take? That
is what the astronomers hope to
find out.
It was the Italian astronomer
Schiaparelii who, he 1877, start-
ed the notion that there might
be living, thinking Martians.
He found that the dark
patches on Mars which earlier
'observers had called "oceans"
'were connected by narrow
streaks, sometimes many hun-
dreds ofmiles long. He called
these streaks channels or canals.
' What astronomers now want
to find out is whether these
channels were constructed by
Martians to carry water from
the melting polar caps for pur-
pose ,of irrigation. Or are they'
just surface features of Mars?
If the question of who lives
on Mars is not satisfactorily an-
swered this year it may be on
September ilth, 1956, when
Mars will be comparatively
close to the earth —• only 35,-
500,000 miles away.
Modern Etiquette
By Roberta iLee
Q. What should a person do
when he has completed intro-
ducing two persons?
A. He should try immediately to
draw the two acquaintances into
conversation.
Q. Is it always necessary that a
Chaperon be a married woman?
A. No, any woman of mature
years may serve in this capacity.
Q. While confined in a hospital,
many, of my friends brought me
gifts. I have thanked most of
these persons either personally
or over the phone. Is it neces-
sary for me to write them each
a "thank you" note?
A. Only to those you have not
thanked personally.
Q. When cheese is served with
apple pie, should it be eaten
with the fork or the lingers?
A. Usually it's more convenient
to eat it with the fork. But it's
not improper to pick it up with
the fingers if you choose.
TABLE WALKS
Here's the recipe for a really
outstanding dessert — orange
chiffon pie, no less, made with
lemon pastry for extra goodness.
But perhaps I'd better start Off
with the pastry recipe. You'll
find it so wonderful with many
different sorts of filling.
LEMON PASTRY
1/ lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
s/,s teaspoon salt
1/ cup shortening
4 tablespoons water
Start oven at 450" F. Grate the
lemon rind; squeeze the juice.
Sift the flour; measure. Sift again
with salt. Cut in shortening with
a pastry blender or two knives
until mixture resembles coarse
cornmeal. Add in water and
lemon juice, a tablespoon at a
time, mixing with a fork until
all dry ingredients are moisten-
ed, Form into a ball. Chill for
one hour. Roll out on lightly
floured board to 12" circle. Fit
into 9" pie plate. Trim to 1"
edge. Fold under edge and flute.
Prick closely with fork on sides
and bottom. Bake 12 minutes or
until golden brown.
* H W
ORANGE CHIFFON PIE
1/2 recipe lemon pastry
rind of 1 orange
1 envelope unilavored gelatin
• cup orange juice
2 tablespoons leucon juice
4 eggs
i/i teaspoon salt
• cup sugar
Make up lemon pastry (see be-
low). Grate the rind of orange.
Sprinkle gelatin over % cup
orange juice to soften. Separate
yolks and whites of eggs. Mix
orange juice, salt, and % cup
sugar in top of double boiler.
Place over boiling water and
cook, stirring constantly, until
mixture thickens slightly and
coats a metal spoon. Add gelatin
and stir until completely dissolv-
ed. Remove from heat. Add
lemon juice and orange • rind.
Chill until mixture has consist-
ency of unbeaten egg whites.
Beat the egg whites until -'stiff
enough to.. hold sharp peaks.
Gradually beat in remaining 4
tablespoons oi' sugar, beating
well after each addition. Gently,
but thoroughly mix the thicken-
ed gelatin mixture into whites.
Pour into baked pastry shell and
chill until firm.
R * 14
GINGER -APRICOT ROLL
8/ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
• teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
s/ cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/ cup apricot jam
Start oven at 375° F. Grease
and line with wax' paper a 10" x
15" x 1" baking pan. Sift flour;
measure. Sift again with baking
powder, salt, ginger, Separate
yolks and whites of eggs. Beat
egg whites until stiff enough to
hold sharp peaks. Gradually
beat in ae cup sugar, continuing
to beat until stiff. Beat egg
yolks until light and as thick as
whipped cream. • Gradually beat
in remaining i/a cup sugar. Gent-
ly but thoroughly mix egg yolks
.into egg whites. Divide flour
• mixture into three parts. Sift
one-third of flour over eggs and
mix in lightly and thoroughly.
Repeat for remaining two-thirds
of flour. Spoon batter into pre-
pared pan, . spreading mixture
into the corners of pan. Bake
for 12 to 15 minutes. Loosen
edges with knife and turn out
onto clean dish towel sprinkled
with confectioners' sugar. Peel
off waxed paper and trim edges
of roll. Starting at one end of
roll, roll up and let stand until.
cool, Beat cream stiff. Unroll
the cake and spread with apricot
jam and whipped cream. Roll
up again, Chill for 1 hour.
Makes 8-10 generous servings.
* e
BLACK AND WHITE
BROWNIES
% cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
¶squares unsweetened
chocolate
A cup nuts
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
i/ teaspoon salt
lb teaspoon vanilla
Start oven at 350°F. Grease 8"
x 8" x 2" pan. Sift flour; measure.
Beat eggs until light and as thick
as whipped cream. Melt choco-
late over hot water; cool. Chop
nuts fine. Work butter until
light. Gradually add sugar, con-
tinuing to cream until fluffy.
Stir in eggs. Add flour and salt
and beat until smooth. Stir in
nuts and vanilla. Divide batter
in half. Add the cooled chocolate
to one half. Pour light and dark
patter into pan in alternate
spoonfuls. When all batter is
added, swirl through with a
spatula. Bake 25 minutes. Re-,
move from pan and cool. Makes
16 squares,
.. *
BRAZILIAN FROZEN CREAM
i/ cup water
2 squares unsweetened
chocolate
11/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon instant coffee
s/ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
Add water to chocolate and
heat until chocolate is melted.
Heat milk until a film forme
across the top. Add coffee and
chocolate mixture, stirring until
well -mixed, Mix sugar, flour
and salt together. Stir in milk
mixture and cook, stirring con-
stantly until mixture thickens,
Cool and add vanilla. Pour into
a refrigerator tray and chill un-
til firm. Beat cream until stiff,
Remove mixture .from refriger-
ator. Beat until mushy and
smooth. Gently mix chilled mix-
ture into whipped cream. Return
to freezer. tray. Chill until firm..
Makes 11/2 pints.
Two persons who have chosen
each other out of all the species,
with the design to. be each
other's mutual comfortand en-
tertainment, . have, in that action,
bound themselves to be good-
humored, affable, discreet, for-
giving, patient, and joyful, with
respect to each other's frailties
and perfections, to the end of
their lives. —Joseph Addison.
MERRY MENAGERIE
TRAINING anLx. kVu
SCHOOL
"Well, well! Looks like Tiger
just flunked out!"
4Wh re's the Runny? erne
That's all that's needed to make this gadget a free -wheeling
dog track. Dewey Blanton peers from his auto as he supervises
exercise of his six racing greyhounds, loathed to this race track -
like bumper device, Spring connections on the leashes absorle
shock, keep the dogs in check while they run. Device gives them
a workout and a chance to fulfill a tmiversal doggy desire,—
the
esiresthe impulse to run after moving objects.