To Hang an Elephant
They're not proud of it in Erwin, Tennessee. But once upon a time, they hung Murderous Mary, a five-ton cow elephant, by the neck until dead. Why? Depends on if you believe version I, II or III of the story.
It was 1916, and things were changing fast. World War I raged in Europe. Dadaism, ripe with comic derision and irrationality, took hold in artistic circles. Freeform jazz took hold of the American music scene. Margaret Sanger opened the first birth-control clinic. It was a good year for scapegoats. It was a good year to hang an elephant.-- from Blue Ridge Country Magazine, Roanoke Virginia