A great rivalry had for some years existed between Mr. Barnum and a
Philadelphia circus man, and the public was greatly surprised, just
before the opening of the season, to find that, according to newspaper
report, the latter also had quietly and unostentatiously imported a
sacred white elephant known as the "Light of Asia," which, from the
descriptions of the few favored scribes who had seen it, was a marvel
of beauty and color. Rumors also were circulated that Barnum's white
elephant was not genuine, but only a diseased or leprous elephant with
a "blaze" of cream color down its trunk, and discolored or spotted
legs, while the Philadelphia showman's animal was of snowy whiteness,
without spot or blemish. Public sentiment ran high, especially in
Philadelphia, where the shows were to exhibit simultaneously. While
public opinion was divided as to the genuineness of these "sacred"
animals, it may be well to say that the Barnum animal was as good a
specimen of the genuine white elephant as could be procured, while the
Philadelphia elephant, pretty as a picture and superbly snow white in
color, was supposed to be a lively "fake."
[Illustration: WHEN A "WHITE ELEPHANT" WAS NEEDED.]
While on exhibition, this "Light of Asia" was almost entirely covered
with a black velvet-spangled cloth, and the trunk had been manipulated
in such a way that visitors could touch it, and as no coloring matter
came off on their hands I presume that part of the body had in some way
been "sized" or enameled.