Published by The Lake County Independent, Libertyville, Illinois on April 24, 1896.
    Bessie Rooney, the 10-year-old sister of Michael Rooney, the bareback rider, was about to be hugged to death by a bear the other day at Tattersall’s circus in Chicago, when Babylon, one of Ringling Brothers’ big elephants, knocked the brute down and saved the child’s life. The bear, who is known as “Growler,” has a vicious temper. He was chained near the elephants. The little girl is a friend of the elephants, and was romping with some of them when “Growler” seized her and closed his paws around her slender form. Babylon, who had been an interested spectator, brought his trunk down with crushing force on “Growler’s head. The bear was stunned by the blow and released the child, who had fainted. The elephant then picked her up and placed her where the bear could not reach her.
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