From Bull City to Alton

“AWFUL TRAGEDY!” claimed the headline in the Monday, October 13, 1879 issue of the Osborne County Farmer.

“Gen H. C. Bull, our Honored Representative, gored to death by his pet elk. Three Other Persons Badly Injured by The Infuriated Beast – Two Will Probably Die.”

This bull elk was General Bull’s pet, kept in a park with several other wild animals on a 10-acre site about a quarter mile east of downtown Alton or Bull City, as it was originally named. The tragedy occurred on Sunday morning, October 12, 134 years ago.