Summary of Chapters 1-15 "Modoc"

       In chapters 1-15 of "Modoc", by Ralph Helfer, Bram has to leave his widowed mother behind in order to chase after, and fight for his soul mate, Modoc the elephant.  Bram and Modoc were born within the same hour on the same day.  Helfer shows that as the two friends grow and mature together, their friendship deepens and becomes as strong as steel. They become so interconnected, that Modoc saves Bram's life by sensing he is dangerously ill.  Helfer informs the readers that all of Bram's ancestors were animal trainers for the circus.  Bram's father, Josef, taught him how to be an elephant trainer since the day he and Modoc were born.  According to Helfer, his father's teachings show Bram the importance of training animals with love and respect, not discipline and pain.  When the circus is sold to an American businessman, the animals must be shipped to the United States, leaving all of the old circus workers jobless.  They stay in Bram's family barn where young Modoc once lived.  Josef's health is deteriorating fast, and his death is imminent.  Helfer implies that the cause of Josef's illness is the stress of worrying about what will become of the circus, now that it has been sold to a new owner.  When Modoc and the rest of the circus animals get loaded onto a boat headed for America, the now fatherless Bram stows away and risks his life in order to be with Modoc.  A violent storm soon hits the ship in the Indian Ocean.  The author describes the hurricane as having huge swelling waves and a downpour of rain.  The storm rips a hole in the side of the vessel and rips Bram from Modoc's tight grip.  They are reunited once more when Modoc appears on the top of a nearby swell.  Helfer notes that Modoc saves thirty four lives by letting them lay on her back as she floats over the waves.  After days of floating at sea, a ship comes and rescues the humans.  Since they don't have a big enough ship for Modoc, Bram decides to stay with her in the ocean.  Helfer concludes by saying that when the two friends decide to give up their hope for survival, an enormous ship saves them and brings them safely back to land.

Modoc (middle) performing her routine in the circus

Helfer, Ralph. Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1997. Print.