Sunday, November 30, 2008

Barnum & Bailey Program 1908 #14


Scan11030, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

This interesting picture shows the elephant herd not long after the show's return from from Europe. The fifth elephant from the left is wearing a martingale and might possibly be "Columbia" who, according to circus lore, was responsible for the Barnum, Hutchinson, Bailey combine in 1881.

COLUMBIA (Young America) (female)
1880 Cooper & Bailey Circus (First elephant born in America)
Born March 10, 1880
Weight 214 lbs.
Height 35 inches
Trunk length 12 inches
Father "Brasil"
Mother "Hebe" (Babe)

1881-87 Barnum & London Circus
1888-05 Barnum & Bailey Circus (Including 5 years in Europe)
She unfortunately developed a vicious disposition and was executed in 1905.
If correct, the man in the dark uniform standing next to her would be George Bates the only man that could handle her in her final years

Posted by Buckles at 11/30/2008 06:19:00 AM

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, Columbia was the second elephant bred and born in USA.

The first was to the same group of elephants in St. Joseph, Mo in 1875when they were on Howe’s Great London. Henry Barnum, the show’s general manager, named it “Joe” in honor of the city of its birth. The evidence suggests it lived only a few days.

Mandarin was sire of Columbia. All the writings of the time say so. He too was one of the Howe’s Great London elephants.

That Brasil or Basil name surfaces in connection with the birth but is wrong as far as I can ascertain. I believe he was a Forepaugh bull.

01 December, 2008 17:00

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