• Prof. Ward enlists half a dozen local butchers 41 to assist in the dissection. The operation continues through the night and until the next evening lest the remains begin to decompose and the smell prove overwhelming.

• A Dr. Tweedle 42, the local Officer of Health, rules that the remaining flesh should be burned, as health considerations prohibit its burial.43 It takes 6 cords of wood and 24 hours to reduce the mountain of flesh to ashes.44

• Jumbo's hide itself, when fresh, weighs 1538 lb. It is brought to Griffin's pork factory in St. Thomas, where one ton of salt is required to cure it.45 Jumbo's bones, which weigh in at 3 tons,46 are shipped directly to Rochester, N.Y., in a railway car bearing the legend: In this car are the mortal remains of the immortal Jumbo.

• They go to Rochester, N. Y., there to be prepared and mounted at Ward's natural science establishment.47

• An examination of Jumbo's teeth and bones indicate that he was still growing at the time of his death. Indeed, Barnum had begun to worry that he would be unable to get Jumbo through railway tunnels if he had grown much larger.48

• Not content with the publicity surrounding the accident, or the stuffed remains, Barnum launches a lawsuit a against the Grand Trunk Railway for $100,000 49 in damages for the loss of income generated by Jumbo.50 For its part, the Grand Trunk Line claims that the circus is in violation of its contract by loading other than at crossings; but Circus officials claim to have consulted the local G.T.L. office, and received instructions to proceed with loading, as no trains were due for over half an hour.51 The suit is decided in Barnum's favour, and the Circus is awarded free travel for a year.52

• News of the incident travels all over the world. In England, the Daily Telegraph publishes s front page article with the headline "Sad End of Jumbo, Killed by a Collision with a Railroad Train."53 After Jumbo's death, Barnum estimates that Jumbo had given rides to ten million children since his arrival in America, and an equal number during his stay in England.54

• Sept. 24, 1885 - The St. Thomas Weekly Times publishes it's account of the incident, which includes a letter from Professor Ward confirming the hide's safe arrival at his establishment in Rochester, an obituary, a death notice, safe arrival at his establishment in Rochester, an obituary, a death notice, and a poem:

The Story of Jumbo

An Account of the Career of a Noble Elephant. 55

List to the tale of Jumbo,

A beast of high renown,

Who famed became the wide world thro'

The pride of London town!

His life was one of loardly case,

He ruled it o'er the Zoo,

And dwelt in state with his fair mate,

Dame Alice, famous too.

Good Uncle Sam cast longing eyes

Upon this famous beast,

Ask but your price, he slyly said -

I care not in the least.

And so Jumbo was quickly sold,

And London lost her prize;

In a steamer large his huge bulk placed

Swift o'er the ocean flies.

His mate, dame Alice left behind,

Did not a long while mourn,

For her twin offspring, youthful cubs, 56

Recalled their parent gone.

Full many a triumph Jumbo met,

When landed on our shore;

Alas! his life is now cut short -

We ne'er shall see him more.

The beast which conquered all our hearts

An engine has laid low.

Ah! why did keepers him permit

Upon that track to go?

When Alice heard the awful news

About her lord and master,

She sighed and cried, and nearly died

Because of the disaster.

• Barnum's original intentions are to donate Jumbo's remains to museums, but his wife suggests another course of action: to continue as before with Jumbo's remains. As Barnum says in an interview in the New York Times, even dead, Jumbo "is worth a small herd of ordinary elephants."57 For another four years, Jumbo's hide continues to tour the US and Canada, drawing large crowds who line up to pay their respects to this famous elephant.58 In another, characteristically crass move, Barnum purchases Alice, Jumbo's female companion while at the London Zoo, and exhibits her alongside Jumbo's mounted hide as "Jumbo's Widow."59

• 1889 - Barnum completes his pledge and donates Jumbo's stuffed hide to Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, as part of a grant (consisting of $50,000 as well as many specimens) to establish the Barnum Museum.60 His skeleton is donated to the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of Natural History. Jumbo, true to form, becomes the star attraction of the Museum, and the University adopts him as their mascot. The yearbook is renamed the Jumbo, the student handbook the Pachyderm, and the Tufts athletic teams are nicknamed the Tufts Jumbos. Alumni with two degrees refer to themselves as "double Jumbos."61

• April 7, 1891 - Phineas Taylor Barnum dies, aged 81.62 It is estimated that Jumbo generated a profit for Barnum of $1,000,000 on his original $10,000 investment.63

• 1939 - The Barnum Museum is closed and changed into student lounges, the building renamed Barnum Hall. Yet Jumbo remains in the building, presiding over the main hall, alongside a bronze bust of Barnum, and a preserved albino elephant.64 It becomes customary for students to place a penny in Jumbo's trunk around exam time for good luck.65

• 1942 - Jumbo's hide undergoes restoration, and taxidermists replace his tail, which is looking worn, with a replica. The real tail is preserved in the university archives.66

• 1949 - Jumbo's place at Tufts is threatened by the rival University of Bridgeport, in Connecticut. Bridgeport's claim (for Jumbo as its own mascot) rests on the grounds that it was the actual home of Barnum and his circus, and that Barnum only owned half of the elephant, the other half belonging to his partner, Bailey. The Tufts president, Mr. Leonard Carmichael, responds to this challenge by stating that as Tufts had taken such good care of Jumbo until that point, it had the right to choose which half it wanted, and it wanted the front half. The claim is quickly and quietly dropped, and as a gesture of goodwill, Tufts presents Bridgeport with the preserved albino elephant that is Jumbo's companion.67

• 1970 - The Boeing corporation unveils the first of its series of 747 "Jumbo" jets, the 747-100. Based on Prof. Ward's measurements at the time of Jumbo's death, there would be enough room to fit 9 elephants of Jumbo's size inside a 747's cargo hold, although it would be unable to take off. The planes are still in service to this day.68

• Apr. 16, 1975 - A mysterious fire breaks out in Barnum Hall. The building is destroyed, and Jumbo's remains are reduced to ashes. Phyllis Byrne, a quick thinking Tufts administrator, wades into the smoking building and scrapes Jumbo's ashes into a peanut butter jar. This impromptu reliquary is entrusted to Mr. Rocco J. "Rocky" Carzo, the university athletics director, and is subsequently locked away in a safe in the athletics department. It becomes a tradition for athletes take out the jar and rub it before an important game. A small (smaller than life sized) statue is erected in the "Quad."69

• Oct. 1984 - In anticipation of the centenary of Jumbo's death, the first commemorative coins are issued by the Jumbo Centennial Committee in St. Thomas. They feature Jumbo squaring off against a steam engine on one side, and the St. Thomas coat of arms on the other. The coins may be purchased as souvenirs and are legal tender in the town until Sept. 30th , 1985. By the end of May, 1985, over 45,000 of the coins have been sold.70

• July 1, 1985 - A life-sized statue, created by Sussex, New Brunswick artist Winston Bronnum 71 out of reinforced concrete, is unveiled in St. Thomas, Ontario, in a ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.72 The project is funded completely by private sector donations, and the site is donated by the City of Saint Thomas in conjunction with the Elgin County Pioneer Museum.73 The statue, which weighs 38 tons, is shipped in two pieces in tractor trailers for the 1,070 mile trip from New Brunswick via the Trans-Canada Highway.74 The journey attracts media attention across the country and in the U.S.75

• 1992 - Tufts University ranks 18th in the country for favourite college nicknames, according to a poll by the National Directory of College Athletics. The Tufts Jumbos place between the Pittsburgh State Gorillas and University of Alaska-Anchorage Nanooks. First place goes to the U of California-Santa Cruz (the Banana Slugs).76

• 1995 - St. Thomas Mayor Steve Peters writes to the Museum of Natural History, requesting a loan of Jumbo's skeleton for local exhibition. William J. Moynihan, the Museum's director, refuses, citing the fact that the bones are still used for purposes of study. It is Museum policy not to lend out such specimens.77

• Sept 23, 1995 - The Elgin County Pioneer Museum is presented with blackened pieces of Jumbo's tusks, given by Tufts University to Mayor Peters when he visited the campus. These go on permanent display, joining the Museum's other Jumbo memorabilia, including several items retrieved from the dead elephant's stomach.78

• Apr. 1, 1999 - The St. Thomas Times-Journal publishes a front page story with the headline "Monumental theft: Thieves swipe Jumbo."79 The story is actually an elaborate April Fool's Day joke perpetrated by the Times-Journal staff on the citizens of St. Thomas and Elgin County, hinted at by the fact that the newspaper has no staff reporter with the name "Sloof Lirpa."

• Oct. 29, 1999 - With the retirement of Mr. Rocco J. "Rocky" Carzo, Athletic Director Emeritus, a new ceremony is adopted at Tufts University. The "Passing of the Ashes," it is to be called, wherein the heirloom peanut butter jar, containing Jumbo's ashes, is passed on to the incoming Athletic director.80

• While Jumbo was born in Africa and is classed among African Elephants, there were many peculiarities about him (aside from his immense size) that have led scientists to speculate that he might belong to a distinct species. Where ordinary elephants have a convex back, Jumbo's back was characterised by a distinct hollow; and his head was curved where other elephants are hollow; there was some peculiarities about his toes, and his knees were higher up in the leg than is usual for an animal of his species.81

FOOTNOTES:

1. Mike Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy," Tufts University web site. http://www.tufts.edu/as/stu-org/observer/1999/sept2/sports/2.htm.

2. "The Great Jumbo Killed: Struck by the Locomotive of a Freight Train," New York Times, (Sept 17, 1885), 5.

3. Tufts University archives: http://perseus.tufts.edu

4. From an account given by P. T. Barnum shortly before his death in 1891, quoted in Steve Peters, "The Day After," (unpublished), 27.

5. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 23.

6. Peters, 25.

7. Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy." An alternative etymology is given by P. T. Barnum in 1891. He states: "The word jumbo itself has African origins. There is a dictionary reference as early as 1823 to jumbo meaning a clumsy or unwieldy fellow." quoted in Peters, 25.

8. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 23.

9. Jeffery Krasner, "Tufts Tradition in a Jar: Mascot's Ashes Give Rise to a new Honor," Wall Street Journal, (Nov. 3, 1999), NE4.

10. John Ruskin, quoted in "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

11. Barnum, quoted in Anonymous, "Jumbo," St. Thomas Times, (Sept. 18, 1885), 2.

12. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

13. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

14. Anonymous, "Jumbo," 2.

15. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

16. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 27.

17. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

18. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 27.

19. Anonymous, "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario," (website, no longer extant).

20. Anonymous, "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario," (website, no longer extant).

21. Anonymous, "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario," (website, no longer extant).

22. There is some discrepancy between some sources as to whether the accident took place on the 15th or the 17th. The local newspaper accounts I have read have unanimously indicated the former, and I believe this to be true.

23. The circus's and Jumbo's second visit to St. Thomas. St. Thomas-Elgin Tourist Association website: http://www.elgintourist.com/stthomas/jumbo.shtml

24. Sources have varied as much as an hour as to the exact time of the accident, but it is clear that it happened within this window.

25. The New York Times indicates rather that the circus had 31 other elephants. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885) 5.

26. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

27. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

28. This version of the events of that day differs in small but significant ways from the one published by Barnum. His account states that Jumbo sacrificed himself to save Tom Thumb, pushing the smaller elephant out of the way at the last second, and bearing the brunt of the collision himself. Barnum's story also includes a account of Jumbo's demonstrations of affection toward Mr. Scott, who is said to have wept openly at the death of his long time companion. Krasner, NE4.

29. Anonymous, "Jumbo dies in train accident," Times (London), (Sept. 18, 1885), 5.

30. Malcolm Warrington, "Jumbo - the Elephant." http://www.scrapalbum.com/jumbo.htm.

31. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times ,(Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

32. Mark Bellis, "Jumbo - Back from the Dead." Written originally for the Toronto Star, this article was never published, but is on the author's website. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bellis/jumbo.htm.

33. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

34. Peters, 7.

35. A copy of one of these photographs can be seen at http://perseus.tufts.edu

36. Thomas Carmichael, "The Death of Jumbo," St. Thomas Times, (Sept 18, 1885), 1.

37. This is confirmed by coverage of the event in the New York Times, but for some reason the St. Thomas Weekly Times of Sept. 24, 1885, has this as "Professor J. A. Ward of Ward's Natural Science Institution.". (pg. 2).

38. St. Thomas Weekly Times (Sept. 24, 1885), 2.

39. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 27.

40. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 23.

41. Local St. Thomas butchers Mr. Pete Peters and Mr. John McCollum are two of these. St. Thomas Daily Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 1.

42. Or, Medical Health Officer Tweedale, according to the St. Thomas Daily Times, (Sept 17, 1885), 2.

43. Some of Jumbo's remains escaped the pyre: the St. Thomas Daily Times of Friday, Sept 18th, 1885, indicates that many of the 6,000 onlookers to visit the site left with souvenirs. Most of the stiff bristles which had covered the elephant's lower lip and ears had been removed; A Mr. Waite Honsinger obtained a portion of meat, which he turned into tallow; and a small piece of the trunk was obtained by an unnamed youth, who said he intended to have the skin tanned and converted into the cover of a scrap-book. Another unnamed man procured a slice of the meat which he subsequently grilled and ate. I quote here the passage in full:

One enterprising individual personally cooked one of the juicy slices upon the fire while the coals were at white heat, and after it had been roasted partook of a feast of elephant steak. The manner in which he got outside of the juicy slice imbedded in sweet gravy was a wonder to the onlookers, and he averred that he relished the choice morsel as only an epicure could. (2)

44. Peters, 11.

45. Anonymous, "Jumbo", 2.

46. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 23.

47. Anonymous, "Jumbo," St. Thomas Daily Times, (Sept 19, 1885), 1.

48. Barnum, quoted in Peters, 23.

49. There is some discrepancy as to the dollar value of Barnum's suit. The St. Thomas Daily Times of Sept. 17th indicates that Barnum's contract with the Grand Trunk Railroad specifies that the company will not be responsible for any loss sustained to an amount larger than $15,000; yet Barnum valued Jumbo at "$300,000 for exhibition an breeding purposes, and will bring suit against the Grand Trunk Railway Company for damages in that amount" (pg. 2.)

50. Anonymous, "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario," (website, no longer extant).

51. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885) , 5.

52. Mark Bellis, "Jumbo - Back from the Dead." Apparently, the G.T.L. recouped their loss by later charging Barnum the equivalent of a full year's travel for a detour. This fact, the oddity of the ‘unscheduled train', and the rapidity of Prof. Ward's arrival in St. Thomas, lead Bellis to speculate that Barnum colluded with the railroad to have the aging Jumbo killed for the publicity.

53. Daily Telegraph, (Sept 18, 1887), 1.

54. Barnum, quoted in Anonymous, "Jumbo", 2.

55. The title and author of the poem are illegible in the microfilmed records.

56. This is the only reference I have come across that refers to Jumbo having offspring. The Daily Times notes that a posthumous calf is expected in February 1887, but I have been unable find any further reference to it. St. Thomas Daily Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 2.

57. "The Great Jumbo Killed," New York Times, (Sept. 17, 1885), 5.

58. Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy."

59. Anonymous "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario" (website no longer extant).

60. Ibid.

61. Krasner, NE1.

62. P. T. Barnum Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut. http://www.barnum-museum.org/html/jumbo.html.

63. Anonymous, "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario," (website, no longer extant).

64. This specimen is presumably that of Tom Thumb, although I have been unable to find definitive proof of this. Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy."

65. Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy."

66. Krasner, NE4.

67. Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy."

68. Boeing Corporation website. http://www.boeing.com.

69. Anonymous, "The Death of Jumbo, St. Thomas, Ontario," (website, no longer extant).

70. Peters, 11.

71. This is not the only animal crafted out of concrete by Bronnum. His other commissions include a lobster for Shediac N.B., a moose for Cow Bay, N.S., and a potato for Maugerville, N.B. Images of these and the Jumbo statue can be found at http://members.nbci.com/yanciw/ontario/st_thomas.html.

72. Sloof Lirpa, "Thieves Swipe Jumbo," St. Thomas Times-Journal, (Apr. 1, 1999), 1-2.

73. St. Thomas-Elgin Tourist Association, "Jumbo the Elephant." Http://www.elgintourist.com/stthomas/jumbo.shtml

74. Sloof Lirpa, "Thieves Swipe Jumbo," St. Thomas Times-Journal, (Apr. 1, 1999), 3.

75. St. Thomas-Elgin Tourist Association website: http://www.elgintourist.com/stthomas/jumbo.shtml

76. Friedman, "Jumbo Leaves an Enormous Legacy."

77. Mark Bellis, "Jumbo - Back from the Dead."

78. These items include a small nickel-plated pig and a human tooth. Mark Bellis, "Jumbo - Back from the Dead."

79. Sloof Lirpa, "Thieves Swipe Jumbo," St. Thomas Times-Journal, (Apr. 1, 1999), 1.

80. Jeremy Wang-Iverson, "Sports Award to Join Homecoming Event," The Tufts

81. Anonymous, "Jumbo," St. Thomas Daily Times, (Sept 18, 1885), 1.

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