Elephants

ELEPHANTS MADE CRANBROOK FAMOUS – Former Resident States that Eastern people are Highly Interested

            The following excerpt from a letter written by B.E. Howard, formerly manager of the Imperial Bank here, to a Cranbrook friend, indicates that eastern people feverishly followed the news dealing with the recent chase of the escaped Sells-Floto elephants.  Here is what Mr. Howard has to say of the publicity into which Cranbrook has been thrust –

            “The elephant jungles around Cranbrook have become quite famous in the East, and some of our best hunters were thinking of going there for the fall shoot.  However that is all off now.  I see by the morning papers that Tommy Roberts captured the last of the herd and treated him to champagne.  I might say that the latter part of that story is not altogether given credence.  Some people say that the bottle Mr. Roberts used on the elephant was empty; but be that as it may, the elephants are gone and unless someone can assure our hunters with regard to the champagne – what they wish to know is that the bottles are not empty – there will be no exodus of Ontario sportsmen to the Cranbrook woods this year.”

            Mr. Howard is now resident in Toronto.  Having been more or less out of touch with matters here for some time he expresses astonishment at the phenomenal growth of Kimberley and the growing commercial importance of the district generally.