American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-05-18
About Tanned Wild Beasts.

STATES aDolt Il dozen SO-callcu mcnagerleS
OF them, but three or four possess reall,
good collections of animals, and in n
single one are certain of the rarer beast
to be found at all. One solitary speci
men of the giraffe is living in the country
and the only hippotamus ever brough
alive to America died ten years ago, an'
his stuffed skin now ornaments IA New
York museum. 1t may be interesting t,
note that no less than three showmeI
were made rich by the exhibition of thi
| one huge unwieldly brute, and so con
WINGED are all men in the business of tn,
sure and certain return of huge profit.
from an investment in Hippo tina
| for years there has been a standing ofiel
! for one of these monsters living and in
! good health, a sum which any one of hal
a dozen responsible men stands ready t.
pay on the very day that Mr.. Ii. is intro
duced.
1t is asserted, however, that with the
, exception of this individual specimen, all
| other importations of the more delicate
animals have proved disastrous failures,
and the showmen have lost heavily.
Several hippopotami, score of gi.
ratfes, and hundreds of the more rare and
| fragile antelOpes and other animals most
susceptible to the influences of climate
have been brought from their native wilds
to this country, but the keen cold of our
inhospitable climate has ruthlessly slaugh-
tered them so speedily that it is asserted
no manager ever has got back a full re-
| turn of his money thus invested.
An elephan. costs from So, 900 to $4,000
for what are called small ones, up to s12,-
for very large one. The price is, how
ever, naturally somewhat affected by the
age, docility and education of the speci-
linen. An animal that has been taught
to go through an interesting series of
tricks may, though small, be more valua-
BILE than a mucl larger one, whose early
schooling has been neglected. A very
large one was sold for s. 1000 few years
since, but the lOvness of the price was in
great measure due to the fact that for
certain disabilities of age, etc, he was
unable to bear the fatigues of constant
travel
There are but few specimens of fine
lions in the country, probably the largest
pair being two that were said to be the
finest in all Europe, but which were Sc
cured by an American manager and
brought to this country. The price was
$500 in gold. Single animals bring
from 81 200 to So, 800 each, according to
age, size and education. Those born in
the cage have formerly been considered
more docile and tractable than those re-
claimed from their native plains, but GER
tain occurrences of late years have led
shOwmen to distrust them as being almost
beyond belief false and treacherous. In
the case of Massartee, the wretched man
who, a few months ago, was literally torn
to pieces and almost devoured alive, in
the very presence of an audience in Eng
land, by his own troupe of tanned and
trained animals" the original attack was
made on him, and the first blood drawn
by lion that had been born in the show,
brought up by hand" and fed from the
dav of its birth by the very man whom it
was afterward the first to strike and slay.
A rhinOceros costs from $1,000 to So
OOO, and is always most attractive fea-
ture of the exhibition. At the ZooIogicaI
Gardens in London has lately been re
ceived what is known as the ''double-
horned Samaritan" rhinoccros, the great
popularity of which is that it is covered
with hair instead of having the usual
sOleleather trunk look of the more IA
miliar species. This particular specimen,
the like of which was never seen before |
in England, cost in Calcutta, 81 600 ster
ling, or Sd, 900 in Gold, to which must be |
added the cost of transportation, attend |
ants, food on shipboard, before the sum
at which the ugly beast is valued can be |
definitely arrived at.
A fine pair of royal Bengal tigers, fresh |
from the Indian jungle, were sold lately |
for 1000. This royal tiger, be it known,
is a very rare and beautiful animal, al |
ways advertised, though seldom seen,
some inferior one of the huge felines,
panther, being made to per-
senate the noble beast.
A panther, young and healthy, will |
about $4,000 to $4,000, and a
pair, male and female, if they agree and
can be exhibited in the same cage, are
worth probably $4,000.
Leopards, though very beautiful and
graceful, have not the large size and for
look of their larger confreres, the
ion and the tiger, and being consequent
Y not SO attractive feature in the exhi-
)ition. can be bought for much less
money, being worth about $500 to
50, 900 pair.
Ordinary camels are worth about 5000
ZACH if young, strong, and in good
health. Four years ago pair of very
inc white camels We're imported, being
he first of that breed ever seen in this
After having Travelled through
he country for single season they were
purchased by the manager to whom they
low belong for the handsome sum of
5000.
The smaller animals, especially the
are very expensive. MONKEYS
rom Africa are by far the most valuable,
hose from South America not bearing
cclimatization well, but soon dying of
Monkeys have no fixed
rice, but cost according to the species (of
which there are many, the age, size, state
If health, and scarcity of them in the
market Hundreds of them are, like par
OTIS, cockatoos and other strange birds,
brought from foreign lands by sailors as
orecastle pets.
Others of the smaller animals, such as
'possums, raccoons, squirrels, peccaries,
ant-eaters, together with the
ess rare and valuable birds, such as paro-
awks, etc, have no fixed market price,
tut are usually picked up singly as
nance bargains, or Thrown in as boot"
r makeweight in some agreement for
ther and more costly animals.
Ostriches are considered worth $500 to
800 pair. These are usually Matched
rom the eggs under the domestic goose,
+ other tame bird, and then reared with
he greatest care to maturity. 1t is almost
impossible to capture a full-grown os-
rich without intlicting injuries SO severe
hat it soon dies These huge birds do
OF bear with hardihood our climate and
ne necessary confinement of the exhibit
ION, but in few months, or years at
lost, pine, grow emaciated, and die. In :
'aveling they have to be watched con-
nually, with the most unremitting care,
} see that the inquiring country boy in
is thirst for knowledge does not feed the s
lrd with nice little lunches of railroad
pixies or dainty repasts of old horseshoes s
nd tennenny nails. The eager pumpkin {
ispenses to the ostrich these dainties !
18th a liberal hand in accordance with :
artain travellers stories he has read {
hich inform him that delcacies of the I
letalllc sort are his favorite food. The {