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TO LISTEN. Star of an American circus for 18 years, Mary the elephant is condemned to death for having killed her caretaker during a movement of anger.
By Frederic Lewino and Gwendoline Dos Santos
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In 1916, Mary the elephant has been the star of the Sparks World Famous Circus for eighteen years. It is billed as “The Largest Living Land Animal on Earth” and attracts a terrific crowd. She had been bought at the age of 4 by the father of the current owner of the circus, Charlie Sparks. He had raised her like a child of the family, pampered and loved. She has never been beaten and only obeys gentleness. Her caregivers are strictly forbidden to jostle her. On the track, his act consists of standing on his head, playing musical instruments, hitting a ball with a baseball bat held by his trunk.
On September 10, 1916, when the circus was staying in Saint-Paul, a small community of miners from Virginia (United States), the elephant trainer, a…
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