JUMBO’S COMPANION ELEPHANT ALICE, AT THE ZOÖLOGICAL GARDENS, LONDON.
Her name is Alice. She is a native of the west coast of Africa, and was
born in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four,
the same year that Jumbo—nearly four years old—was brought to me.
She was born in the midst of a tribe of wild elephants that roamed about
and sported in the freedom of their native element in the region spoken
of above.
When Jumbo had grown into a good-sized Elephant Boy, I suggested that we
ought to get him a sweetheart, so that, although he was a prisoner,
chained and manacled in the Zoölogical Gardens, London, he would have a
companion through life of his own race. So, having Jumbo entirely under
my own care and management, I persuaded our Garden Directors to send to
Africa for a female baby elephant. I must say the Directors were very
good to me, at that time. They saw that I had got a fine specimen of the
elephant tribe in my Jumbo, and that he was going to beat the world as a
curiosity and wonder—which the sequel has proved.
So they sent ambassadors all the way to Africa, with instructions to buy
or capture a good specimen of the female baby elephant.
These men went down from London to the great sea, and arriving on the
west coast of Africa, after considerable search, found such a specimen
as they thought would answer my purpose. They brought it over safely and
deposited it in my care and keeping.
The arrival of this female baby elephant—not a year old—caused me
great joy, and I cannot find words to express to my readers the pleasure
and happiness I experienced at beholding my Jumbo’s delight when he
first saw Alice coming along. Jumbo was now about four years old, and I
stood head and shoulders above him in height.
If I could have the pleasure of that day over again, I would make a
considerable sacrifice. However, when I passed by Jumbo’s stable, where
he roamed at leisure, the moment he saw Alice led along toward him, I
thought he would have broken that stable front out to get at us. His
delight and pleasure, expressed in the liveliest manner possible, and
which I understood, exceeded that of any boy when he meets his
sweetheart for the first time. At least my Jumbo was more demonstrative
and, I verily believe, possessed more real affection and love at first
sight than most of the young men of the present generation do in a like
situation. Jumbo’s great antics on this occasion were very entertaining,
and if I may be pardoned for saying so much about these dear children of
the forest, it did me good to behold them at the time, and even now I am
happy in recapitulating the circumstances.
I immediately associated the young female elephant with Jumbo in a
separate stall. We named her Alice; he was very proud of his sweetheart,
and continued to cut great capers for quite a time.
Jumbo always showed the greatest regard for Alice, a good deal more so
in fact than some young men show for their sweethearts in this or any
other country.
Jumbo and Alice lived very happily together in the Zoölogical Gardens,
London, for about seventeen years, and want of space prevents me from
telling of the numerous interesting events that came within my knowledge
as I tended and raised these young folks through their childhood to man
and woman’s estate, so to speak. But I will observe, before leaving this
part of the subject of Alice’s history, that I never, in all my
experience among animals or humanity, saw more respect, deference, and
affection shown by a male to a female than Jumbo paid at all times to
Alice, even during his sickness. And in return, he received that true
feminine affection and devotion from Alice which characterizes all true
daughters of man or beast since the days of Adam and Eve. Nay, I will go
further, I don’t think that Alice ever deceived Jumbo; she certainly
never flirted with any other elephants (and she often had the chance).