in the circus, in 1916, pretty much anybody could handle the animals.  so it was no surprise when a new hand, a hotel janitor named red eldridge, mishandled mary, the five ton, $20k star of the sparks brothers circus – and it shouldn’t have been any surprise when she picked him up, hurled him against the wall, and stepped on his head until it burst.  a blacksmith retaliated with five shots into the elephant’s body, which didn’t faze her in the slightest.  owner charlie sparks was faced with a pr nightmare – traveling shows were under increased pressure not to take advantage of locals, and no city would let a circus come in with a dangerous elephant. sparks made the call to have the elephant put down – but, a true showman, he would do it in public, make it a spectacle.

the chain broke almost as soon as they hoisted mary off the ground, and she fell, breaking her hip with a crunch heard by all the onlookers – onlookers who cowered in fear, not sympathy, as the loose elephant sat, slumped, in excruciating pain.  they hoisted her up again, and hung mary for half an hour, and she died, swaying, on september 13, 1916, in erwin, tennessee.