This is the memory palace, Monet de Mayo.

She first set foot on America in November of 1795.

We know this.

It says so in the logbook of a trading ship called America, which set sail from Calcutta

a month later.

And we know the ship's captain paid $450 for her, which was a big investment.

Add to that figure the cost of food and of revenue lost by taking up space that could

have in stock with barrels of spices and bolts of fabric and non-perishable things, instead

of using it to transport a live elephant.

The captain had big plans for her.

You know this from letters he wrote to his forebrothers.

He thought people would flip out about an elephant back home, because there had never

been one back home.

Never been a single elephant on the whole continent of North America.

He figured that had to be worth more than a crate of Darjeeling tea or cardamom.

He bet he could turn his $450 into $5,000, easy.

We don't know if he did.

The historical record loses track of the elephant after a while.

Newspapers tell us she drew crowds in New York right after the America returned to America.

She stood tied to a stake at the corner Broadway in Beaver downtown.

And people paid to see her stand there.

And we know that the captain brought her down south when Winter came.

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