Mark Twain 
The Stolen White Elephant, and A Dog’s Tale (Illustrated Edition) 

"The Stolen White Elephant" is a short story written by Mark Twain and published in 1882 by James R. Osgood. In this short story an Indian elephant, en route from India to Britain as a gift to the Queen, disappears in New Jersey. The local police department goes into high gear to solve the mystery but it all comes to a tragic end.