When Modoc Ran Free

At family gatherings or on holiday, my sister, mom and I sit around the table and talk about old times....reminisce about 'the good old days.' The story I enjoy hearing, is the one about an elephant named Modoc....in the middle of town, in Indiana. Mom was about 9 or 10 when this happened, and she seen Modoc in person, but not quite so up close as some other people did then.

It was November in 1942 when the ad in the paper, said the circus was coming to town. Wabash Indiana had some excitement for about a week back then. The Great American Circus had come for its last performance until after WWII. Alot of its male performers were going off to war.

The day came for the circus, the people were filing into the High School gym where it was to be held, when outside was the main attraction .... 3 big Asian Elephants. Judy, Empress and Modoc. They were securely tied on the north side of the school, when a group of dogs came by and startled the elephants. They all got loose, Judy and Empress were caught within minutes, but Modoc made a run for freedom that lasted for 5 days! By the time she was caught, she had lost over 800 pounds and had crossed the Wabash River 5 times, and crossed the county line, once.

In 1942, the High School was on Hill Street, close to the downtown area. When Modoc got loose, she headed for downtown. Her first encounter was with Mrs. Kessler, who had just gotten off of work, and wanted to stop in at the drug store, then was the Bradley Brothers to get a bite to eat before going home. Well, Mrs. Kessler had a fur mink coat on that day, and Modoc thought she'd check it out. Needless to say, Mrs. Kessler hid for cover when she saw the elephant coming. Modoc soon lost interest in the strange 2-legged animal when she smelt the peanuts in the store.

Modoc had pushed her way in through a 42-inch door to get at the peanuts. The clerk was flabbergasted when she looked up and saw an elephant in the store! As Modoc was poking at the peanut machine, she knocked over a few table and chairs, pushed the soda fountain about 12 feet away from it's base, picked up Mrs. Kessler, laid her back down on the floor, rolled Mrs. Kessler around with her trunk a couple times who by this time had passed out from fright. Then Modoc left out the back door and continued on her long, adventurous journey.

The people downtown thought it was some kind of circus stunt, so they really didn't mind seeing the elephant walking in the streets. Modoc was on Highway 13, north of town when she had her second encounter up close with a human. She found a barn to go into, and a 10 year old boy was also in the barn playing when he seen the elephant. He ran to his father and he too seen Modoc right there, in the barn. However, Modoc didn't stop there, she traveled on through-out the night.

After turning around somewhere, she was heading towards Lagro. Many people thought she should be shot, but Modoc's owner said that she was worth over $5,000 alive. A pretty penny back in 1942. By the 2nd day of the chase, news of Modoc's adventure had reached all across the country, from New York to California. On the front page of the local paper on the 2nd day, the police had put a bulletin requesting that people keep their distance, to allow the elephant to rest some. The searchers had found her resting in a field. After several hours of allowing her to rest, they tried to capture her in the field there. Two men had put a big animal hook into Modoc's ear, and that got her angry, and she flung them into the river. And she ran off again, the chase continued. On the 3rd day of the chase, she had cross the county line, into Huntington Co., which was a relief to Wabash Sheriff Vern Howell.

When Modoc was at the Glenn Burnett farm near the junction of 124 and 105 near Andrews Indiana, the owner tried to lure Modoc into captivity by using the other 2 elephants, Judy and Empress. But she was scared off by too many people in the area. She was on her way to Monument City, which is now non-existent and underwater due to the Salamonie Dam. By the weekend, she had crossed the river 5 times and lost nearly 800 pounds.

On the Claude Krieg farm is where they were able to catch the Mighty Modoc, as she became known by now. Ezra Smith, who was also called Corona, was a 6ft-7 black man from South Carolina who heard about Modoc and the chase. He was an ex-circus performer and knew elephants, and offered to help. He talked to the elephant, and fed her 10 loaves of bread to get her into the truck. When Modoc was finally in the truck, the back latched good, she ate 20 more loaves and drank 30 gallons of water!

There were lawsuits that followed, but none came to any real agreement and were finally dismissed after years in the courts. By Christmas of that year, the owner sent a letter to the city saying that Modoc was content to be back home, and getting fattened up again.