The Day They Hung The Elephant

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Unicoi County, Tennessee
Surname/tag: Jones

Taken from the Book The Day They Hung the The Elephant by Charles Edwin Price.

It begins in St. Paul, Virginia where" Sparks World Famous Shows" stopped for a one day stand and the story ends in Erwin, Tn three Days later.

The Elephants, each with a trainer on their backs, lumbered up center street with Mary leading the way. Mary tried to reach for watermelon rind that had been scattered for the pigs. Her trainer, Eldridge, prodded Mary with his elephant stick to keep her going. Mary shook a little and snorted. Once again, Mary reached for the rind, causing all the other elephants to stop. Anxious not to hold up the line any longer, the impatient Eldridge whacked Mary sharply on the side of her head with a stick. Suddenly the whites of Mary's eyes flared as she wrapped her trunk around Eldridge's slim body; then she lifted him into the air. The crowd gasped. Mary flung Eldridge through the side of a wooden soft drink stand.There was the sickening crunch of wood and human bones. Then the elephant calmly walked over to where Eldridge was lying, place her foot over his head and squashed it like a ripe melon. They do not know if Eldridge was dead when Mary crushed his skull. Big Mary slowly backed away. The other elephants were loadly trumpeting, adding their noisy contribution to the screaming of onlookersl People were running in all directions trying to escape. A blacksmith, Hench Cox, charged from his blacksmith shop, brandishing his 32-20 pistol. He fired five times at her. Mary groaned, shook, as the bullets struck, but they did not penetrate her tough hide. All was chaos, the other trainers trying to keep their charges in control. The people started chanting,"Kill the Elephant".

"Sparks" said he was willing to kill her but did not know how. He said, "There ain't gun enough in this country that she could be killed". Sparks lied. Elephants could be killed easily by firing into their ear canal. Sparks probably knew that Mary had killed before, because one of the trainers mentioned that she had killed before. The Elephant was supposed to then travel to Johnson City and Rogersville, but both canceled when they heard the story.

The next day when the newspapers hit the streets with their accounts of the incident in Kingsport; more fuel was added to the fire. The case arguing for Mary's destruction was growing. Erwin, like Kingsport, was a rough and ready town by those days, growing by leaps and bounds. By 6:30 on September 13, 1916, Spark's elephants, including Mary, were led from the Clinchfield train, marching steadily toward the end of a long row of flat cars that brought up the rear of the train. Mary was pushing the circus wagons from the flat cars onto a steel ramp. The circus was being set up in Erwin, so Mary was helping with the moving of the wagons.

So many stories had been written in the newspapers, and Mary was now so notorious, that it would be nearly impossible for Charlie Sparks to sell Mary. By mid-morning, most people in Erwin also knew that Mary had killed a man in Kingsport the day before, but they had been more philosophical about it. The cities Fathers were not issuing ultimatums like thunderbolts. While the circus was being set up in Erwin, Charlie Sparks was still trying to make a decision about Mary. Elephants did not come cheap. Mary was worth about 8,000 dollars at the time. Sparks also heard rumors that the State of Tennessee was getting in on the act and was going to order the elephant destroyed. Furthermore, he had heard hat a vigilante committee from Kingsport was on its way to Erwin, armed with a relic Civil War canon, intending to kill Mary themselves.

A publicist named John Herron came to speak to Sparks about what to do with Mary. He said he had talked to a Clinchfield engineer and the engineer had suggested that they take her down to the railroad yards, tie a chain around her neck to one engine, and one around her body to another engine. Then the two engines would "pull apart and tear her head off". They found that idea rather disgusting , so Herron suggested they send for the one hundred ton derrick car from Johnson City so that they could hang Mary from it. Mary was staked out behind the main tent, near the entrance to Dr. Harvey's office. Mary spent the day swaying back and forth. (This saddened me).

Sixteen year old Guard Banner, a car man for Clinchfield railroad, was scraping dirt and grime from underneath a rusty hopper when he heard "Old Fourteen Hundred" steam into the yard. It was a one hundred ton Derrick car. Banner crawled out from under the hopper as BUD JONES, the acting Fireman jumped down off the engine. Jones had gotten an urgent call to bring the derrick back, although he had not been told why.

The Derrick wreck master Sam Bonderant said "We got us an elephant to hang. It killed a feller over in Kingsport".

Shortly before 4:00 p.m., a crowd of onlookers began assembling at the Clinchfield Railroad yard. The curious arrived in wagons, on horse, afoot, and even by car. Mary's trainer waited patiently until everyone was ready. When Mary marched to the scaffold, the circus would accompany her. They were determined to pay last respects. One acrobat, a woman, who had ridden Mary in hundreds of circus parades walked briskly into town. When she passed someone, she hid her tear streaked face. She loved Mary and could not bear to see her destroyed. The woman disappeared into a shabby room at one of the towns hotels, locked the door behind her and began to sob uncontrollably. The trainer decided he would take the entire herd of elephants on Mary's last walk. Approximately 2,500 people assembled in the railroad yards.

The procession turned northwest passing between Liberty Lumber (our grandfather Horton's store) and Krystal Ice and Coal Company (companies i remember well)

Fireman BUD JONES thought something was wrong with the elephants. Mary was acting up - hesitating and bellowing at the top of her voice. Jones had an eerie feeling that Mary knew something was going to happen. From his position on Old Fourteen Hundred, Fireman Bud Jones, Like Guard Banner, noticed the large number of people on the coal tipple. He hoped the tower could withstand the weight. He estimated the crowd at about 3,000 people. Roustabouts quickly chained Mary's leg to the rail. Mary shook, swayed, and trumpeted. Mary panicked and tried to pull loose, but she was securely fastened. The extra adrenaline coursing through her body might give her enough strenghth to pull loose- then she would be impossible to control.

A seven-eighths chain from the Derrick was thrown around Mary's neck and she started to bolt. Slowly the powerful derrick motor began reeling in the chain. In a moment, the chain began to tighten around Mary's neck. Mary's head was lifted. Her wind was being cut off. Her front feet left the ground, Mary struggled. Her hind legs lifted and began to wiggle back and forth. Soon she dangled five or six feet above the railroad yard. Suddenly, there came a report like a rifle crack and Mary fell heavily on her rump with a sickening crunch. The cable had snapped. Immediately, everyone started to run. Bud Jones climbed the train tower in a panic. Meanwhile, Mary sat on her hunches. She had broken her hip in the fall. Once again the chain tightened and once again Mary was lifted into the air. The chain held, and a few minutes later Mary fell limp. She was dead.

The only chore remaining was to drop the animal into its grave and shovel the dirt in over her.

(This was extremely difficult for us to relay to you. The cruelty in the killing was overwhelming)

Taken from the book of the same title. Submitted by Connie Horton