The phrase "seeing the elephant" is an Americanism which refers to gaining experience of the world. It was a popular expression throughout the United States in the mid-to-late 19th century, notably during the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, Mexican–American War, California gold rush, and American Civil War, and on the westward expansion trails (the Oregon Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail, etc.).Mitford M Mathews, ed., A Dictionary of Americanisms: On Historical Principles (University of Chicago Press, 1951), 550.
During the 20th century the phrase faded from popularity, but when historians first started taking note of its recurrence in historical newspapers, journals, and literature, they often incorrectly assumed it described a negative experience. Though negative emotions may have been prevalent among some people going to "see the elephant", more often it was initially paired with feelings of excitement: American pioneers of the Overland Trail wrote of the anticipation of heading west to "see the elephant". Elephant "sightings" often began with excitement and high ideals, only to ultimately prove disappointing or disenchanting. The high excitement followed by frustration epitomizes the "elephant" as something most wanted to "see" once, but few would have wanted to "see" again. Furthermore, early explorers used the phrase as a way to describe the experience of seeing something new.
Origins As early as 1590, the English used the idiom "seeing the lions", which is likely an ancestor to "seeing the elephant".Dave Wilson, "Elephant, To See The. " Wordorigins.org. June 13, 2006. Accessed May 6, 2010. This referred to the Tower of London, thought to have been one of the world's oldest zoos. English monarchs kept a menagerie of animals inside the Tower including several types of cats. Travelers and visitors were hopeful for a glimpse of the animals, especially the lion, which was considered the living emblem of the King of England.James Owen, "Medieval Lion Skulls Reveal Secrets of Tower of London 'Zoo'", National Geographic News, Nov 3, 2005.
The phrase may have taken on its American form in 1796 with exhibitor Jacob Crowninshield's Asian elephant display in New York City, at the corner of Beaver and Broadway. A young, eight-foot-tall animal was shipped from India to become the first live elephant exhibition in America. It drew visitors from as far as Pennsylvania and Virginia, making "I saw the elephant" into a famous claim of worldly experience.
The fixed exhibition gained such renown that, in 1808, Hachaliah Bailey purchased the first circus elephant, "Old Bet", from Jacob Crowninshield for one thousand dollars; and while this was a steep price tag, the hefty returns on his purchase allowed him to later invest in more animals.Esse Forrester O'Brien, Circus: Cinders to Sawdust (San Antonio, TX: The Naylor Company, 1959), 6. Old Bet traveled extensively with Bailey, who charged 25 cents to those curious to "see" the elephant.
The phrase was shown to have possibly gained widespread usage by the 1830s from the book Georgia Scenes, published in 1835 by regional author Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, which included the dialogue "That's sufficient, as Tom Haynes said when he saw the Elephant." Longstreet's book about rural Georgia (during a gold rush) had little to do with the more western venues for later "elephant sightings".
A Washington, D.C. newspaper article from 1848 mistakenly gives an alternate origin for "seeing the elephant". This article, entitled "Seeing the Elephant", says the phrase came from a Philadelphia theatre "a few years" earlier. A play their theater was putting on was in need of an elephant but the few circulating circus elephants were not available and so they made a makeshift elephant and put a man inside to control the few movements the animal had to make. The audiences loved it and were extremely responsive. Unfortunately, the man they put inside was fond of his spirits, and one night he became so drunk he walked the elephant off the stage and into the music pit. The audience left laughing and joking, "Have you seen the elephant?""Seeing the Elephant," Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, DC) April 06, 1848, Issue 10,956, col D
Gerald Conti, in his 1984 article "Seeing the Elephant",http://wesclark.com/jw/elephant.html notes that the origin may date back much further. He writes: It is likely, however, that the expression dates from well before this time. In the 3rd Century B.C., Alexander the Great's Macedonian warriors defeated the elephant-mounted army of King Porus in the Indus valley. Surely these men brought memories of the strange beasts back to their hearthsides to thrill and excite their families. Considering the remarkable distance traveled by this army and its exotic exploits, it may be that "seeing the elephant" became synonymous with journeys and experiences in strange and far-off places. Another colloquial origin story many online sources cite is that of the optimistic farmer:Anthony Kirk, "Seeing the Elephant", California History 77 (Winter 1998/1999), 176.
[There is an] old tale of the farmer who upon hearing that a circus had come to town excitedly set out in his wagon. Along the way he met up with the circus parade, led by an elephant, which so terrified his horses that they bolted and pitched the wagon over on its side, scattering vegetables and eggs across the roadway. "I don't give a hang," exulted the jubilant farmer as he picked himself up. "I have seen the elephant."
Military In some military quarters, having "seen the elephant" has been used as shorthand for having experienced combat.
Elephants on the Overland Trails
The first references to elephants in trail narratives and letters are positive allusions. Such references appear primarily in the writings of emigrants on the Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail. Hopes at the beginning of the trail tended to be high and the "elephant" excitement directly linked to this level of anticipation. John Clark's quote from 1852 is a perfect example of the eager emigrant: "All hands early up anxious to see the path that leads to the Elephant."Merril J Mattes, ed., Platte River Road Narratives (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988), 61. Not everyone was as eager to head west. If wives began the trail unwillingly and were tense about the trail to come, the "elephant" often reflected these concerns unconsciously. Amelia Hadley wrote in early June 1851, "Some of our company did not lay by and have gone on they are anxious to see the elephant I suppose."Kenneth L. Holmes, Best of Covered Wagon Women (University of Oklahoma Press, 2008), 130. While her entry is not necessarily pessimistic, it definitely lacks the enthusiasm others had at the same point in their journey. In May 1852, Lucy Rutledge Cooke exuded zest: "Oh the pleasures of going to see the Elephant!!"Holmes, Covered Wagon Women, vol 4, Bison Books Edition (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.) 288. These types of exuberant elephant entries are more common for the early months of trail life. In reading through dozens of trail diaries, not a single author was found who wrote of dreading to "see the elephant" in this beginning stage of the trail.
Even entries from the second or third month on the trail were perhaps anxious but rarely glum. In a letter back to his wife, a doctor wrote: "We are now advanced on our trip about 200 miles and in all this trip I have not seen the 'Elephant.' I am told, however, that he is ahead, and if I live, I am determined to see him." This man actually wanted to see the elephant. As the trip westward progressed pioneers began to write in their journals that they were beginning to see glimpses of the elusive animal. Joseph Wood wrote: "Now methinks I see the elephant with unclouded eyes."Mattes, 62.
As travelers became tired and hungry and saw family members and travel companions die of disease and accidents, reality began to set in. The elephant was not everything they hoped it would be. On June 3, 1852, Polly Coon wrote:
Found our mess very much dejected with their nights watching and drenching but consoled themselves that they had seen some of the Elephant. Everything being wet we concluded to tarry 2 days & dry & repair & wash.Polly Coon, "Journal of a Journey Over the Rocky Mountains," in Covered Wagon Women, eds. Kenneth L. Holmes and David C. Duniway, vol 5, Bison Books Edition (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997), 188.
Although the tone is dismal, Coon is still writing of the elephant not as a consequence but as a consolation or benefit of an unfortunate happenstance; in her case it was bad weather. Merrill Mattes, the Great Platte River Road historian, found that bad weather was often a catalyst for pioneers to put the elephant in their journals. A hailstorm induced Walter Pigman (1850) to write: "The boys concluded the elephant was somewhere in the neighborhood." During a storm in 1849, Niles Searls "had a peep at his proboscis." Neither of these references paint the pachyderm in either a good or bad light, but the fact that its usage comes during vicious storms might allude to something more. Storms on the prairie can be dangerous but also tremendous and breathtaking. They probably wrought havoc on wagons and stock, but the pioneers likely could not help but be impressed by the unmatched forces of nature at play on the open plains. This mixture of fear, misfortune, and overwhelming new experiences is at the center of the elephant emergence.
One bad day was not often treated to elephant status in a pioneer's journal, but successive unfortunate days or occurrences were not only notable themselves but also noteworthy of an elephant reference. George Bonniwell (1850) described incident after incident, including bad roads, no water or grass, and then wrote, "This is a trying time to the men and horses. I have just been to get grass, and got up to my 'tother end' in mud ... First glimpse of the Elephant."Joyce Badgley Hunsaker, Seeing the Elephant: The Many Voices of the Oregon Trail (Texas Tech University Press, 2003), xvi. In 1853, Helen Stewart described in her journal a botched river crossing and then not even a day later her mother's leg was run over by the wagon. "Pa said we were beginning to see the elephant."Joyce Badgley Hunsaker, Seeing the Elephant, p. 181. Bonniwell and Stewart's first glimpses of the elephant were common situations. Bad roads, no water or grass, and distressing river crossings were common issues dealt with on the trail. Even emigrants getting run over by their wagons were surprisingly common. First glimpses of the elephant were the most common journal entry. However, sometimes the first peek was not as remarkable as later more epic appearances that finally led pioneers like Abigail Scott Duniway (1852) to acknowledge its presence, "We had seen the "Elephant" before we got there but it is the cream of the whole route, we slipped through, the Cascade Mountains between two storms."Kenneth L. Holmes and David C. Duniway, Covered Wagon Women, vol. 5, Bison Books Edition (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Lincoln, 1997), 167.