Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-12-09
The Wild Beast Trade.

pur ct sim pe He is trader on q large scale,
but is generally very careful not to handle that
live stock in which he deals; nor, for that mat
ter, do any Of his employees. His business is
the importation of every variety of wild beast
and bird, from an elephant to q gulnea-pig
trom an ostrich to Java sparrow. Does the
proprietor OF menagerie lose his elephant, he
repairs to this gentleman's repository. tie
states whether he would prefer an African or
cording to his fancy, and in due time the ami
NAL arrives, and is Immediately shipped to
wherever his new owners caravan may hap
pen to be. If an African lion is wanted, dis
patch is at once sent to CapetoWn; if horned
horses, giratfes, or rhinoceroses are in demand
orders are at once sent out to ship to New
iork all that can be bought or found. The
fact is this gentleman has some fifteen en-
ployes, who are scattered over Africa and Asia,
whose sole business consists in collecting rare
wild animals for him So complete are all his
arrangements that none are found to compete
with him in the business. He has the entire
trade to himself, aud supplies every menage-
rie IN this country with such animals as they
ueed troa time to tune. There are over
thirty menageries travelling about the coun-
try every year. Every year they lose certain
percentage of their animals from natural death
mails are generally delicate, and never become
accliuatized, consequently do not live long.
This makes them very costly. Others. again,
like the giraffe, often die of sea sickness ON the
voyage The giraffe, too, is so awkwardly built
that it does not lie down with It's legs under II,
like others of the antelope tribe; consequently,
if the vessel rolls at sea it losses Its balance, Is
swung against the side ofits cage, and trcquen,-
~ breaks its long, ungainly neck. lhis risk
run. up the price of gi1affes to high figure.
\ year or two ago a well-known Snowman who
had imported four girstfes through the gentle
mans agency, but who took the sea risk on
himself, lost them all on the voyage. lie could
not now get four equally good specimens under
s25, 900. But when cargo does come safely
across the profits to the importer are very
large.
1t is a great mistake to suppose that any OF
these animals are captured when full grown.
A tull grown lion, could he be trapped and put
in cage, would soon pine away and die. A
.ull grown, wild elephant is the most savagey
,reacherous of animals Even when captured
Young and trained in circus, the elephant be-
trays these inborn qualities more and more ss
ne grows older. Il is only of late years that
elephants have been imported from Africa.
Nlapv persons will recoect z. I. Barnum 8
advertisement Of the first one-a dwart-whlch
was to appear in his menagerie. The animal,
however, died on the voyage, and was conse-
ourntly never seen in this country. Our
,ronopolist dealer in wild beasts soon after
obtained four young elephants from Africa
and retailed them here to different showmen at
about IS, 600 apiece They were babies. The
eiephant is an animal Of very slow growth.
When FIVE years old it does not stand moro
than three feet high; and one out OF the four
ailudcd TO above, was only thirty inches high.
They were however perfect God send to SHOW
men in the way of startling novelties. One,
the thirty inch one, was cooily exhibited as a
dwarf. Another was shown as an offspring OF
an old female elephant, which had been IN this
country years before the youngster, hrst saw
the light 10 bis native African jungle. Three
Of these young elephants are still aliVe e ~ tnis
country, but they have grown out or all Know
edge. especially the dwarf. The showmen who
EXHIBITED the young calf asserted to have been
horn here made great hit, as it is pretty gene
raIly known that elephants will not breed 10
this country. Lions breed freely. In fact,
there are few menageries which do not have q
litter of cubs every year But the mothers a.
wav. destroy or desert them, and they are OBJ
lised to be brought up on milk given to them
in bottle. similar to that used in rearing ba-
bies by hand. The hippopotamus has also
been known to breed IN the Geological Gardens
in London Like the lioness, she destroys her
Young as soon as they are born; but the attend
ants 10 London did once succeed IN rescuiDg
Young one from it's mother, and in bringing, 1t
up by hand. But animals brought up. IN TINS
artificial way, and born In confined cage,
never grow up to be such fine specimens as
those born in state OF nature.
AS a general thing all animals are captured
when young by the natives, acting under ID
.srucions from the white agents. Ii hons are
wanted the natives sally up the country, and
e;ther XIII the parents and then secure the
cubs. or track the oness 10 her den. and then.
waiting till she goes hunting for food,
seize the opportunity of stealing the cubs
Ia capturing elephants they drive them'
old and young, into an lnclosure' nam
string the old ones SO as to disable them from
protecting their calves, and then easily secure
The voung ones. An African lion commands
b;vber nrice in the market than Asiatic hon
on acconnt of his more noble and commanding g
,nnearapce. His name is much thicker and
lnncer than that Of his Asiatic brother, and Is
black. The quantity and length OF the name
i ,he test of the value of lions. An AFRICAN
lion sells for S3,O0O an Asiatic only -, ,OOO.
Tbe same with tigers Royal Bengal tigers
ull command $4,000 pair; Brazilian only
81 600 pair. Camels and dromedarles 6rlng
about 81 POO apiece, but white cameis nave
been sold at s., 500 each. A good ostrlch can
be bought for about s4Oo; elephants from n1
sG 600 to IS, 600; horned horses so called
though they are really only variety OF antel'
opc.) from 81 800 upward
The importation of animals is only branch I
oftbe business; but it is in this case very exten-
sive, for the last fifteen years the value OF the
animals imported having averaged over
500, 600 year. Of course, needs OF every
menagerie are known; and when one, wants 10
sell surplus animal or Two, or to replace tIen'
hlv sold direct to this gentleman or through
him, on commission, to the proprietors OF other
menageries. A very fair meuagerie may. be
stocked for $4,000; but some few of the giant
shows value their stock Of animals at two and
three times that figure. The aggregate value
of all the wild animals in the different cara a
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