July 03, 2008 11:42 am In my recent book "Nutfield Rambles," I included two stories about elephants in the 20th century. In the book, however, I didn't answer the question of when did the first pachyderm appear in the local area. I do remember reading that ancient elephants (mastodons) once lived in the northeast. They, however, went extinct many thousands of years ago before old Nutfield was settled so, I suppose, they don't really count. The first elephant was brought to American in 1789 having been bought by a ship's captain in India for $450. For the next 29 years the animal toured up and down the east coast of our country. Because it was the only elephant in America, the animal was never given a name and was known simply as "The Elephant." Sad! In 1796 The Elephant was sold for the (then) princely sum of $10,000. Locals from our area were given the chance to see the animal in the 1797 when it was exhibited in Portsmouth for six days. The promotional advertisement said he was four years old and weighed 3,000 pounds with a length of more than 15 feet. One contemporary diary by a clergyman reported that, after seeing the elephant, he had discovered that in fact "he" was a "she." Each day the elephant reportedly ate 130 pounds of food. It was further claimed that she has been known to drink 30 bottles of dark beer with her meals and could even remove the bottle's cork with her trunk. Elephant was also fond of "spirituous liquor." The pachyderm was claimed to be so friendly she didn't need to be chained. There was no report of how she acted after consuming a trunk full of whiskey or dark porter. Admission to see the animal was 25 pence for adults and nine pence for children. Elephant died in 1818. The second elephant to arrive in America was called Old Bet. She was brought into America in 1808. Her owner, Hechaliah Bailey, toured the east coast with his menagerie of a trained dog, several performing pigs, a horse and Betty the elephant. For many years his ticket taker was P.T. Barnum, who later became the world's most famous impresario. Hech Bailey is considered to be "the father of the American circus." Bailey would walk the animals from town to town in the dead of the night to prevent locals from getting a free look at Old Bet. Most of his shows were in barns and the backyard of taverns. I suppose that even today, Pinkerton Academy's Stockbridge Theater is the only suitable large local venue for any performing elephant that might wander through Derry. On May 16, 1816, Bailey and Old Bet put on a show at Sweetser's Tavern in Chester, N.H. This building is now a private residence on Chester Street called the Dexter House. The sunken garden in its side yard is a local landmark. After the Chester performance, Old Bet would continue her nocturnal wandering and go onto her next show in country towns like Derry and Londonderry. Poor Miss Betty did not survive long after her appearance in Chester. On July 24, 1816, Mr. Bailey walked the animal to Alfred, Maine. There he was confronted by an irate farmer who believed it was wrong to charge admission to see one of God's creatures. The Alfred man was also upset that Bailey scheduled a performance on the Sabbath. The righteous farmer grabbed his riffle and shot Old Bet dead to enforce Maine's blue laws. The farmer was later tried in court and found guilty but the crime had been done; Old Bet was dead. Showman Bailey would soon replace Old Bet with America's third elephant, which he named Little Bet. This animal is considered the first trained elephant in America. Bailey at his performances would give a lecture about elephants. He told one crowd that Bet's hide was so tough that bullets would bounce right off. A group of teenage boys decided to test this "fact." The waited until after the show and from behind an elm tree they fired their riffles at Little Bet. One bullet hit her in the eye and she fell over dead. nnn Rick Holmes is Derry's town historian and his latest book, "Nutfield Rambles," is available at the Derry Museum of History, 29 West Broadway.
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