Lallah Rookh
Encyclopedia
Lallah Rookh, was a female Asian elephant
in Dan Rice
's circus
. Lallah Rookh was known for her tightrope walking
act.
Lallah started her circus career in Franconi's Hippodrome under the name Jenny Lind
, which she kept from 1848 to 1851. In 1851, she was renamed Juliet
and paired with another elephant, Romeo
.
Lallah worked with the animal trainer Charles Noyes who, in 1853, left Franconi's with Lallah and a white camel
to join with Rice's circus in Columbus, Ohio
. Rice renamed her Lallah Rookh after the popular poem by Thomas Moore
and she began performing in the show two days after they arrived.
Lallah was the first elephant in the United States to perform a head stand
consistently. Her most famous feat was her tightrope walking act. Lallah walked on a specially made rope, six inches in diameter and twenty feet long, which hung four feet off of the ground between two pairs of crossed beams. Midway through her walk, Lallah would stop and raise her foreleg and Dan Rice would give her an American flag to hold in her trunk as she continued the rest of the way.
In August 1860, Rice had Lallah Rookh swim across the Ohio River
in Cincinnati, Ohio
to drum up publicity for his new "Monster Show." It took her 45 minutes to swim across the river. A month later, Lallah died of a fever brought about by her swim.
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
in Dan Rice
Dan Rice
Dan Rice , was an American entertainer of many talents, most famously as a clown, who was pre-eminent before the American Civil War. During the height of his career, Rice was a household name...
's circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
. Lallah Rookh was known for her tightrope walking
Tightrope walking
Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...
act.
Lallah started her circus career in Franconi's Hippodrome under the name Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
, which she kept from 1848 to 1851. In 1851, she was renamed Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
and paired with another elephant, Romeo
Romeo Montague
Romeo is one of the fictional protagonists in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet...
.
Lallah worked with the animal trainer Charles Noyes who, in 1853, left Franconi's with Lallah and a white camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
to join with Rice's circus in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Rice renamed her Lallah Rookh after the popular poem by Thomas Moore
Lalla-Rookh
Lalla Rookh is an Oriental romance by Thomas Moore, published in 1817. The title is taken from the name of the heroine of the frame tale, the daughter of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb...
and she began performing in the show two days after they arrived.
Lallah was the first elephant in the United States to perform a head stand
Head stand
The head stand is a pose that is an inversion posture of standing head up. The technique is used in different settings, like yoga, breakdancing and beginner gymnastics.-In Yoga:The head stand is called Sirsasana or Sirshasana in Hatha yoga....
consistently. Her most famous feat was her tightrope walking act. Lallah walked on a specially made rope, six inches in diameter and twenty feet long, which hung four feet off of the ground between two pairs of crossed beams. Midway through her walk, Lallah would stop and raise her foreleg and Dan Rice would give her an American flag to hold in her trunk as she continued the rest of the way.
In August 1860, Rice had Lallah Rookh swim across the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
to drum up publicity for his new "Monster Show." It took her 45 minutes to swim across the river. A month later, Lallah died of a fever brought about by her swim.