Death by elephant: The story of Black Diamond

Oakwood Cemetery, the city cemetery in Corsicana, Texas, is a large, very old, quiet and beautiful place -- a point of pride for Corsicanans. There are a number of notable folks resting in peace within its grounds - government officials, pioneer settlers, Indian fighters and war veterans…and Eva Speed Donohoo, the victim of one of the most unusual causes of death.

I came upon Eva’s story years ago while visiting Oakwood Cemetery. When I found her gravesite, her headstone was unique because beneath her name and dates of birth (November 18, 1877) and death (October 12, 1929) were the words: Killed by Al G. Barnes Circus Elephant.

October 12, 1929, was the much-anticipated day the Al G. Barnes Circus came to town…the day citizens of Corsicana, oil field workers and cotton farmers from near and far lined the streets to see the circus parade through downtown. Then, in the afternoon, they’d crowd under a tent to see the show. The big attraction, of course, were the elephants and the main attraction was a 32-year-old Asian male named “Black Diamond.”

Now, here’s the twist. For seven years, Charles “Curly” Pritchett had been Black Diamond's caretaker, but he had recently left the circus to work for Eva Speed Donohoo, a prominent landowner, businesswoman in Kerens, Texas, and former society editor for the Houston Post.

Eva had spoken about the farmhand’s job with Curly while he was feeding Black Diamond and when he agreed to come and work for her, the two had simply turned and walked away from the creature.

When Curly found out the circus was coming to Corsicana, he got in touch with the circus owner, who agreed to let Curly come to the unloading of the elephants and then to lead Black Diamond in the parade.

The huge, black elephant had spent his first 17 years in the wild before being captured and sold to an American circus. Well out of his familiar habitat and forced into unfamiliar jobs in the circus, the bull elephant had killed three trainers in his first eight years in the circus. After each of the first two killings, Black Diamond was sold to another circus until finally coming to the Al G. Barnes Circus. The third trainer to die was the one before Curly Pritchett.

Curly had a reputation for being gentle and taking good care of his charge, ensuring the animal had plenty of food, was exercised and washed regularly and removed from the dark, confining boxcar whenever an opportunity presented itself.

There were no incidents during the seven years Curly Pritchett was the elephant’s caretaker. However, the man who replaced Curly was told of the three previous deaths and to prevent another attack, sawed the elephant's tusks short and placed a heavy iron bar across them to restrict his trunk's movement.

As reported in The Neosho Daily News:

“Corsicana, Tex., Oct. 12. A typical small-town crowd which gathered here today, line the street to watch the Al G. Barnes circus parade.

“During the parade, the procession came to a momentary halt, stopping Black Diamond, right where Eva was watching the parade, standing between two parked cars. A moment later, Black Diamond picked up Curly and tossed him over the nearest car, breaking his wrist. Pushing the parked cars and smashing them with his weight, he used the remainder of his sawed-off tusks to drag Eva back into the street, finally stepping on her.

“Screaming in fright, bystanders ran out of harm's way while some of the men tried to pull Eva away until circus handlers managed to tighten the chains attaching Black Diamond to the other elephants and used them to pull the enraged brute away. Eva was quickly transported to a local hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

“An angry mob of local citizens soon descended upon the circus grounds demanding the death of the guilty elephant. When word leaked out about the previous three deaths, the pressure to put down the killer became stronger. Late the next day, word came from the circus owner -- Black Diamond must die, but he wanted it done in the most humane way possible.

“That ‘most humane way’ was 17 rifles firing 70 bullets into the elephant’s body, a few miles out in the country.

“A taxidermist removed Black Diamond's head and after preservation, transferred it to the Houston Museum of Natural History. An undertaker who was a member of the firing squad, received one of the huge feet and made it into a stool, which is still displayed in the Karnes County Museum near Kenedy.

“The local butcher was given the hide which he sold for 10 cents a strip. The owner of the pasture received some of the bones. Spectators took the rest as souvenirs. Soon, nothing was left of Black Diamond except a large spot of bloodsoaked ground. Even that was scooped into jars and buckets and carted away by souvenir hunters.”

Two weeks later, the stock market crashed and every circus in America went bankrupt and disbanded.

In the Oakwood Cemetery in Corsicana, lies Eva Speed Donohoo, the only person killed in an elephant stampede in Texas.