Murderous Mary, the elephant that was hanged for

murder, 1916
Mary was a five-ton Asian elephant, also known as Murderous Mary, who performed in the
Sparks World Famous Shows circus. After killing a trainer in Kingsport, Tennessee, she was
hanged in 1916. Her death is sometimes interpreted as a cautionary tale of circus animal abuse
during the early 20th century.

On September 12, 1916, a hobo named Walter Eldridge, nicknamed Red because of his rusty-
colored hair, was hired as an assistant elephant trainer by the Sparks World Famous Shows
circus. A drifter who had been with the circus only a day, he had no experience of handling
elephants, but the only qualification required was the ability to wield an ‘elephant stick’ — a rod
with a sharp spear at one end. Eldridge led the elephant parade riding on the top of Mary’s back;
Mary was the star of the show, riding at the front. There have been several accounts of his death.
One, recounted by W.H. Coleman who claimed to be a witness, is that he prodded her behind the
ear with a hook after she reached down to nibble on a watermelon rind. She went into a rage,
snatched Eldridge with her trunk, threw him against a drink stand and stepped on his head,
crushing it.

As the terrified spectators screamed and fled, a local blacksmith shot Mary with a pistol,
unloading five rounds of ammunition into her thick hide to little effect. She stood still, suddenly
calm again and seemingly oblivious both to the bullets and the commotion as the townsfolk
encircled her with chants of “Kill the elephant, kill the elephant!”.

The circus owner, Charlie Sparks, reluctantly decided that the only way to quickly resolve the
potentially ruinous situation was to kill the elephant in public. It was decided to hang the
elephant by the neck from a railcar-mounted industrial crane. On the following day, a foggy and
rainy September 13, 1916, Mary was transported by rail to Unicoi County, Tennessee, where a
crowd of over 2,500 people (including most of the town’s children) assembled in the Clinchfield
Railroad yard.

On the following day, a foggy and rainy September 13, 1916, Mary was transported by rail to Unicoi County,
Tennessee, where a crowd of over 2,500 people (including most of the town’s children) assembled in the
Clinchfield Railroad yard.

As she was led to the railway yard, Mary was followed by the circus’s other four elephants, each
entwining their trunk in the tail of the animal in front just as they had done on countless parades.
Charlie Sparks hoped that their presence would keep her compliant but, as a chain was placed
around her neck at the “scaffold”, they trumpeted mournfully to her and he feared that she might
try to run away. To stop this happening, one of her legs was tethered to a rail. No one thought to
release it as the derrick whirred into action and, as she was hoisted into the air, there was an
awful cracking noise, the sound of her bones and ligaments snapping under the strain. She had
been raised no more than five feet when the chain around her neck broke, dropping her to the
ground and breaking her hip.

The industrial crane was powered up again and this time Mary was raised high in the air, her
thick legs thrashing and her agonized shrieks and grunts audible even over the laughter and
cheers of those watching below. Finally she fell silent and hung there for half an hour before a
local vet declared her dead. Her gruesome end is recorded in a photograph so horrifically surreal
that some have suggested it must be a fake — but, all too sadly, its authenticity has been
confirmed by other reports and photographs taken at the time.