Elephants help circus arrive in grand style.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), October, 2001 | by Callimachi, Rukmini

Byline: Rukmini Callimachi Daily Herald Staff Writer Fourteen elephants, a herd of white stallions and a half-dozen camels ambled from the train tracks in Des Plaines to the nearby Allstate Arena in Rosemont Tuesday, announcing the return of the Barnum & Bailey circus to Chicago. The elephants walked first, braving the afternoon rainstorm and largely oblivious to the jets from O'Hare flying overhead.

On account of the weather, the pavements were mostly empty of on-lookers, except for a few diehard circus fans who donned Barnum & Bailey memorabilia and a handful of children shepherded by adults with umbrellas. Inside Allstate Arena, the zebras, tigers, leopards and Tibetan yaks, who had been transported separately, were already installed in their...