The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1875-11-09
AMONG WILD BEASTS.

AMONG WILD BEASTS.
"I have been scalped by . leopard,
hugged by bears. knocked galley west
by elephants. had my whiskers pulled
out by vicious monkey. ,bsen clawed
by tiger, had my shoulder smashed
by lion, and hundred times been
kicked across tho street by an ugly
camel, and yet i am still alive to tell
it," 0i ..f..l
Such were the words of the great
lion tanner and wild beast king, Charley
White, TO the writer, who applied to
him for certain information regarding
the manner of training ferocious ami
mails for public performances.
"Well, haven't you got some notable
instance of interference between you
and death or harm which you can
chalk up to the credit Of some OF your
animals?"
"Ceetainly I have. My pet lioness
Rose has saved my life many times
! by her good teeth and claws. Several
times when have felt that my time
had come has the noble girl sprung to
the rescue and gwen me another
chance"
''Is she the only one that you owe a
debt of gratitude in that way?"
"No; but once had lion that /
called Jimmy who made q savage at
tack on me when was performing be-
fore the audience. He seized me by
the shoulder, ribs aud arm of my right
side, and threw me to the bottom of
the cage instanter, and began to gobble
up my muscles as fast as he could. Al
though his claws had been clipped, and
his teeth had some difficulty in onter-
ing my thick clothing, he was breaking
my bones in fno style. made as
good fight as 1 could with my left
hand, in which had whip, and the
men outside hurried with iron bars and
spikes as soon rs they could, but they
would have all been too late only for
Rose She had been lying on her
belly apparently asleep, though the
sequel showed that she had been watch
ing everything pretty closely. When
she thought things had gone about far
enough she gave one sharp. vicious
thunderbolt. She seized Jimmy by
the neck and shook him as n terrier
would rat till he yelled for mercy. 1
was badly mauled, but L took my whip
in my left hand and went through tho
rest OF tho performance. / made jim
my go through all his tricks-mount-
ing on my back, standing on his hind
legs, and all the rest OF it. ResD stood
by and watched him. She noted every
motion and stood ready to take hold OF
him again in case of necessity"
"How did Jimmy welcome your"
20, he was glad enough TO see me-
that sort OF animals have little power
to remember spites or injuries.
''But don't they remember their
keepers after long absences?"
Sometimes, and that is what both
ers me. / have had my animals recog-
nizs me after an absence of several
months. They would hear my voice
and footstep and come rubbing up
against the side of the cage and put
their paws out between the bars.
Strange to say, they do not know a man
by his features, but by his dress, and
more particularly his voice. III should
go into my cages with n strange suit of
clothes, and should not speak, they
wouldn't know me, and ten TO one the
beasts would try to do me mischief.
But let mo put on the spangled dress
again, or let them hear my voic., and
all would be right.
This conversation led to some talk
about how these fierce beasts are
brought under the subjection of man.
Mr.. White was willing to impart infor-
nation, and some of the results of his
many years experience are given below:
Animals taken full grown from the
woods and iungles are generally much
more easily trained than those that
have been born in captivity and brought
up by the human hand or by the moth
ers in the cage. These latter, or pet"
animals, nearly always acquire many
tricks and manners which they have to
unlearn before the can be properly
taught. Then, too, their constant IA
miliarity from cubhood with mankind
tends greatly to divest them of that
fear OF the human animal which is the
first essential in their education to
proper subjection. On the other hand
those beasts that are brought up so as
to know no sentiment but fear, soon
learn that their i'll temper will not be
tolerated for moment, an that fit of
sulks only brings heavy punishment.
The first great agent in training wild
beasts just taken from their native
forests is partial starvation. They are
kept without food until they are both
weakened in strength and subdued in
temper and fierceness. Food is then
given them by degrees, always by the
same person until they learn to rscog-
nize man. As soon as expedient their
claws are cut so closely that their pow
er OF mischief is nearly destroyed from
these weapons; they are then muzzled,
and having been sufficiently acccustom-
ed TO the presence OF the keeper, they
are then exercised in cage one at a
time. The slightest sign Of viciousness
is instantly punished by a sharp blow,
until the animal learns to know the
whip and to understand the word OF
command.
The same routine is pursued in the
case OF lions, tigers, panthers, leopards
and all other animals OF the cat kind,
which must ever be controlled by fear,
and must he constantly watched lest
their treacherous natures break out.
To teach an animal to jump through
a hoop, q piece of meat issuspended in
such a manner rs to be oaly accessible
by leap through tho ring latter few
repetitions the animal soon lesrns TO
connect the ideas of food and the ring
and the act OF leaping, and will soon
make the leap and be content to wait
for the reward. II will be noticed that
a cage Of performing animals is always
fed during or Immediately after their
exhibition.
The nose in tho most vulnerable spot
A sharp blow on the nose with n a whip
will give lion ar tiger equisite pain,
when hit with sledge hammer be-
tween the eyes he wouldn't mind at all.
Next to the nose the paws are the most
sensitive portions of the frme.
IL is often asserted that red hot irons
are used in training animals for public
performances. This is all mistake.
Hot irons are only resorted to when q
keeper has been seized and is in imi-
nent danger, and hot irons chance to
be near. Sometimes they are used to
seperate two large lions or tigers which
are fighting and cannot be driven apart
in any other way. Long bars OF iron