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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2015)
Page 12 Commentary Street Roots • Dec. 24-31,2015 Tusko the elephant’s 1931 Christmas crusade BY DOUG KENCK-CRISPIN Tusko’s triumphant Christmas display. He George “Slim” Lewis said, “We had visions assembled a firing squad of officers and a of Tusko stampeding in a crazy rage few Oregon National Guardsmen, and they through the heart of Portland, killing and n December 1931, a most curious guest destroying everything in his path.” took careful aim at the elephant. Just as was in our Portland environs. A really The police were quickly summoned, and they were about to fire, Portland Mayor big, seven-ton guest His name was a few officers arrived at the shack with George Baker telephoned in from his Tusko, and he gave himself a memorable rifles and a jug of moonshine. The handlers holiday in Tillamook and said they were to Christmas present. and police passed around the latter and not shoot Tusko until he was completely Billed as “Biggest Beast That Walks the spent Christmas Eve watching Tusko, rifles free of his chains. Apparently the Mayor Earth,” Tusko Was an Asian elephant that and elephant hooks across their laps and didn’t care to go down in history as the man had toured the nation with circuses and wondering if he would free his rear legs who gave Portland’s children a dead developed a really bad reputation. Tusko from their iron bounds. elephant for Christmas. Tusko had been would often run free, strike his handlers, Christmas morning found Tusko even issued a stay of execution - at least for the and was regarded at times as completely more enraged and the authorities moment. unmanageable. He was covered in chains - Wondering how much longer those stout his legs in cross hobbles, martingales on his Eventually a trap was devised with a chains Would hold. The streets around the tusks and something like a chain basket stout cable, a pile of sawdust and a bag of workshop were closed in addition to the shrouding his head and trunk. Eventually Hawthorne Bridge. Nonetheless, a crowd of oats. Tusko’s front leg was snared, and the abandoned in Salem, Tusko “the much wild beast Was finally subdued again. Three curious Portlanders gathered, and soon unwanted elephant” was brought to thousand Portlanders gave up a dime each numbered several thousand. They were Portland in late November of 1931 and to see Tusko on that Christmas, and about enjoying the Christmas spectacle, and temporarily placed in a rundown and huddled all around, “the better to be among 50,000 in total viewed him while he was in ramshackle workshop on East Main and. town those few months. In the spring, the first trampled by the raging elephant if Water streets, in the shadow of the Tusko traveled to Seattle. He died there in he should escape,” as Slim sardonically put Hawthorne Bridge. 1933, of deep vein thrombosis. it Tusko’s handlers set up shop exhibiting Today, Tusko’s skeleton resides in several Tusko put on quite a show for his holiday the elephant to Portland visitors for just storage cabinets in an undisclosed admirers! The elephant “gave a one dime. Hundreds came to see Tusko, basement at the University of Oregon. He demonstration in Portland, of how hard and some days the handlers would collect tusks are. He decided to butt his way is used as a teaching tool for students. up to $40 from the attendees. There, in his through a solid concrete wall reinforced There are hopes of displaying his skeleton drafty shed' Tusko was chained to large with steel. He broke several inches off his in a public space - but an elephant skeleton concrete blocks, arid was starting to get a tusks, but he smashed a hole large enough takes up a huge.footprint; so far an little irritable. He was in his musth period for him to walk through.” His adoring appropriate ;yenue„has riot been found. (when male elephant’s hormonesand ■ crowd roared with glee as Tusko broke It’s easy to look at Tusko’s tale as a sad testosterone are raging) and particularly down the Wall. little holiday anecdote from Portland’s past. excitable, agitated and indeed - dangerous. Portland Police Chief Leon Jenkins But I like to consider the elephant as Tusko Standing and shivering in his tin walled decided that enough was enough, arid that the Triumphant, and having an opportunity hovel, maybe Tusko had just had enough. the safely of Portlanders outweighed to finally show an awestruck Maybe he was tired of and admiring Rose City being “unwanted,” and crowd just how dominant desired to be the and powerful he could be. Triumphant Tusko that he once was. Maybe a touch Freed of (some of) his of the Christmas miracle chains, smashing down • that is a component of so walls and terrifying the many stories this time of police, as thousands of his year wafted into his fans cheered him on - at humble abode. Whatever least for one/Christmas day the reason, on Dec. 24, -Tusko was finally, once Tusko used the flexible again, a majestic, finger at the end of his commanding elephant - trunk and unscrewed the the true king of his pins that secured his front domain. leg shackles. Having accomplished this task, Sources: The Oregonian, “I Tusko was almost free - Loved Rogues,” by George pissed off arid deep in “Slim ” Lewis and Byron musth. Tusko’s handlers Fish, Interviews with Prof. P H O T O B Y B EN M A X W E L L /S A L E M P U B L IC L IB R A R Y realized the danger that TUsko on display in Salem, Edward Davis (UO) and our fair city faced. As Bob Lee (Oregon Zoo). C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T I Doug Kenck-Crispin is a coproducer o f the Podcast K ick Ass Oregon History. F ind more a t ORHistory.com. A ll Street Roots vendors complete a form al training session with Street Roots staff and receive a badge. Please buy our > newspapers only from bodged vendors. On Monday , Dec. 21, The Oregon Zoo euthanized another Tusko, it’s 45-year-old bull elephant, to end it’s suffering of a foot problem.
