D. R. Miller

Miller's wife Isla was known as the "First Lady of the Circus" in America, but if there was anything Miller loved almost as much as his wife it was the elephant. He had an almost child-like adulation for this symbol of the circus, which proved to be his lucky charm throughout his circus career. He bought his first elephant in 1937 and well over 200 Asiatic and African elephants went through his hands in subsequent years. Twenty to 25 elephants were always carried by the Carson and Barnes Circus during its heyday and at one time he had as many as 57 elephants, more than any other circus proprietor in the world. He established an elephant breeding facility in Texas, which he had planned to move to Hugo, Oklahama; he had moved his circus there in 1941 and it had remained his winter quarters and home to many dozens of performers.
The Independant