Curley Pickett has been a farm hand for the last two years in Corsicana, Tex. Before that he was an elephant trainer for the Al. G. Barnes circus where his special charge was Black Diamond, a land elephant. Last week Farm Hand Pickett, learning that the old circus was coming to town, invited his employer, Mrs. Eva Donohue, to see Black Diamond. When they arrived at the circus the elephants were being unloaded. They stood by and watched. Black Diamond spied them, gave Pickett a malevolent look, wrapped him in his trunk and tossed him over a box car. The nine-ton beast then smashed Mrs. Donohue to the ground, trampled the life out of her. When Pickett had been sent to the hospital, keepers held a council, wired to Circus Owner John Ringling for advice. Mr. Ringling condemned Black Diamond to death. The keepers tried to feed him poisoned oranges but he was wary. They considered drowning him. Finally they took him. shackled between three other elephants— to a cotton field, chained him to two trees. Hans Nagel, keeper of the Houston Zoo, was elected executioner. He approached to close range, raised a big-game rifle, fired. Black Diamond howled, tried to jerk away. Nagel fired again, could not penetrate the elephant's skull.* While the monster wildly trumpeted and twisted, Nagel kept on firing, exhausted all his ammunition. He asked for more but it was not until 60 shots had crashed into Black Diamond that he sagged and toppled. Circus performers at the execution wept as Black Diamond fell. Afterward, Executioner Nagel ran to his home, went to bed, whitefaced, ill.
*The best spot to shoot an elephant is in the brain, between the eye and the ear.