The Day They Had an Elephant Hanged

Angela Brown wrote this piece in the Associated Press in 1999.I have paraphrased to shortened her report on this bizarre event.

In a town called Erwin in Tennessee, a rogue circus elephant was hung in 1916.

Angela described the hanging.

"The railroad crane squeaked and strained as it slowly hoisted the 5-ton elephant. The chain around the animal’s neck tightened as the crane ascended, lifting first the front feet and then the back feet off the ground.

Moments later, with about 3,000 people watching, Mary the circus elephant was dead, her lifeless body hanging 6 feet in the air."

This bizarre tale has endured until this day though the people of Erwin would like to best forget about it.

As the story went,Mary was owned by Sparks World Famous Shows, a small traveling circus. She was featured prominently on advertisement posters: “Mary — the largest living land animal on Earth; 3 inches taller than Jumbo and weighing over 5 tons. A positive feature at each exhibition.”

Before the performance in Kingsport on Sept. 12, 1916, Mary and the other elephants walked through town in the circus parade. Walter “Red” Eldridge, a drifter who had joined the circus the day before in Virginia, was handling Mary.

When the elephant stopped to nibble on a watermelon rind, Eldridge hit her head with a stick. Suddenly Mary lifted him with her trunk and threw him into the side of a wooden stand. Then she walked over and stepped on his head.People ran screaming, but the elephant never charged the crowd. In fact, Mary quickly calmed down and the show — with her in it — went on that night.

The next day, the circus traveled about 40 miles to Erwin, and rumors about Mary’s attack began spreading. Some residents heard the governor had ordered Mary killed. Others claimed Kingsport residents were headed to Erwin with a cannon to blow her up.

The mayors in nearby Johnson City and Rogersville threatened to cancel circus shows in their towns if Mary kept performing.

Circus officials were reluctant to take action because Mary was such a valuable part of their show. But they knew they had to do something and apparently decided to kill her in spectacular fashion.

Circus workers wrapped a chain around Mary’s neck and attached it to a 100-ton derrick car, used for lifting and moving railroad cars. The chain broke during the first attempt. Witnesses said Mary broke her hip and did not squirm as much when she was hoisted the second and final time. She was buried near the track.

There were all kinds of stories on events before Mary was hanged.One strange and unbelievable account that remains popular had the townspeople of Erwin actually putting Mary on trial, convicting her of murder and sentencing her to death.

So believe it or not, they do hang even animals in days of yore!