On This Day in History, April 9: BIG Attraction at Brooklyn Bridge
Crowds of New Yorkers were at the docks on April 9, 1882 when a transatlantic steamer arrived from England. They were there to welcome P.T. Barnum’s newest “oddity” to the U.S. From the ship’s hold came Jumbo, probably the largest bush elephant ever held in captivity. At the age of 16, his height at the shoulder was estimated at 11’6′. He weighed 6½ tons.
In England, Jumbo resided in the London Zoological Gardens. Thousands of children, including the royal princes and princesses, had ridden on the gentle giant’s back in a howdah. But by 1881, the zoo’s management was worried that he might become unmanageable as he matured. So when Barnum offered to buy the beast for 2,000 British pounds, the zoo quickly agreed.
Announcement of the sale raised a storm of protest — even the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria publicly condemned th deal and the Fellows of the Royal Zoological Society sought an injunction to prevent Jumbo’s removal. Americans, however, reacted to the news with a patriotic pride that Barnum was quick to exploit. When an English newspaper asked what he would take to cancel the sale, Barnum piously replied that for 40 years he had always provided his countrymen with the best of exhibitions, and he could not change that now. Barnum also made much of his discovery that Jumbo’s keeper, Matthew Scott, had staged a series of incidents in which the elephant appeared to refuse to leave the zoo.