'Does anyone know who the beautiful male with the balls on his tusk's is? This picture is dated 1872, yet is seems Harry Cooley was killed in 1870 by an elephant named Gypsy, who was actually Empress, the first elephant imported into the United States.'
Harry Cooley « Ray City History Blog
W. H. Harris had acquired Gypsy for the Nickel Plate Show around late 1885.
Purchased from the deep South’s W. W. Cole’s Circus, she proved to be a huge brute that put fear into everyone. Charley Curran, the trainer, examined her tusk stubs and noting many notches there-on, exclaimed, “I knew it!, this is Pogie O’Brien’s notorious outlaw and as she has nine notches filed into her tusks, she has killed at least that many people”. “Well”, dryly commented Harris, “we bought her as Gypsy, so don’t anyone mention her bloody history”. – White Tops, April 1930, Col. C. G. Sturtevant.
Alexandria Post News,
Alexandria, Douglas County, Minnesota
Thursday, April 2, 1896, page 7, col. 5.
A VICIOUS BEAST.
A Big Elephant in Chicago Kills
Her Keeper.
Frank Scott Pounded to Death—The
Animal Tears Down a Frame Build-
ing—Her Victims Now
Number Seven.
Chicago, March 26.—W. H. Harris’ big elephant Gypsy became unmanageable at its winter quarters on the West side Wednesday afternoon and before she could be gotten under control killed her keeper, tore down a frame building, and created general excitement, which drew thousands of people to the scene.
Killer Her Keeper.
Harris’ circus is quartered at the corner of Roby and Jackson streets in a six-story brick building and Gypsy occupies the greater part of the first floor. Her regular keeper is Bernard Shea, but Shea is at present engaged at the Ak-Sar-Ben music hall in Omaha, and the animal was temporarily in charge of Frank Scott, a lion tamer. Wednesday afternoon early Scott, against orders, took Gypsy out for a ride in the alley. Gypsy did not seem inclined to stop at the boundary of the alley and Scott gave her a jab with an iron hook. The beast became enraged, and, throwing her keeper from her head, where he had been riding, proceeded to pound him with her trunk and succeeded in killing him, knocking him through a board fence.
The elephant had her own way for about four hours, when she went back into her stall and allowed Orton to chain her. Harris has owned the animal for five years and has had no trouble with her before.
Her Seventh Victim.
Omaha, Neb., March 26.—Bernard Shea, the former keeper of Gypsy, the elephant which created so much trouble in Chicago Wednesday, will take the first train for Chicago to assume his old position. Mr. Shea has been Gypsy’s keeper off and on for the past ten years and says he has never had any troubles with her. In an interview he stated that Gypsy is only another name for Empress, the original old Empress, the first elephant imported into this country, and that the killing of her late keeper, Scott, makes the seventh victim of her vicious character.
THE FIRST WAS HARRY COOLEY, IN 1870, AT FOREPAUGH'S WINTER QUARTERS IN PHILADELPHIA;(my highlight) George West had the life crushed out of him in 1874, traveling on the road with Robinson’s show. “Jimmy, the Bum,” was the next man, at New Iberia, La., in 1882, followed by William Devoe, with O’Brien’s show at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1886. Patsy Hulligan was the sixth victim, and he had his arm torn out at Cincinnatti in 1894, and died two days afterwards.
Glad to See Him.
Chicago, Mrach 27.—Trainer Shea arrived in town last night and made haste to reach Gypsy’s quarters. The meeting between the two astonished those who beheld it. Shea patted the elephant as he asked: “How are you, old girl?” Almost instantly Gypsy wrapped her big trunk around the waist of her friend and held him firmly, yet tenderly, for many minutes. Then, receiving a reassuring kiss from Shea, the monster slowly lowers him to the floor. While her trainer remained in her quarters Gypsy trumpeted merrily, and it was not until the keeper left the place that the beast ceased these manifestations of her joy.
Transcribed from microfilm copy of newspaper at Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, MN.
New York Clipper Excerpts 1872-73 - Circus Historical Society
From the Elephant database:
| Species: | Asian elephant |
|---|---|
| Sex and age: | Female, unknown years |
| Dead date: | † |
| Death reason: | euthanised: shot, agressive |
| Facility: | Harris Nickel Plate Shows |
| Arrived | Harris Nickel Plate Shows 1892-00-00 from Clark Brothers Circus Clark Brothers Circus 1890-00-00 from Forepaugh & Samwells Forepaugh & Samwells 1887-00-00 from OBrien Circus OBrien Circus 1886-00-00 from Grand Circus Royal & English Menagerie Grand Circus Royal & English Menagerie 1881-00-00 from Great Inter-Ocean Shows Great Inter-Ocean Shows 1879-00-00 from Campbell's New York and Philadelphia Zoological and Equestrian Institute Campbell's New York and Philadelphia Zoological and Equestrian Institute 1878-00-00 from Dan Rice Circus Dan Rice Circus 1873-00-00 from OBrien Circus |
| Born: | wild |
| 1867-1891: Killed 4 people. 1896: killed Frank Scott 1902: killed James "Whiskey Red" O'Rourke. 1888: "(Clarks broters) in 1888 purchased some of the Pogey OBrien show equipment and the elephant "Empress." This bull was a bad one and was known to have killed four men. George Hartzell, a well known clown of that period, and the elephant man, along with a few others from the OBrien show, went with the Clarks. Hartzell stayed with the Clark show five months. Homer C. Walton. Bandwagon, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Mar-Apr), 1965, pp. 4-11. Records about Empress (Gypsy) was updated 2010-09-26: prev locations Sources, among others
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