The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1875-11-26
THE W.CKED FLEA.


How Painstaking italian Has Trained
the Lively Skipper TO Habits OF Industry.
Signsr Bertolotto, a venerable Italian, up
| ward of sixty, in connection with the flea,
has established European reputation.
Yesterday he had his menagerie at 80
Union Square, and invited a select audience
to witness his performance, which is to-day
thrown open to the public. The exhibitor
is genial old man with voice modified by
long Intercourse with his minute friends;
his hand, though large, possesses an ex-
quisite delicacy of touch, and he bends over
and fondles his:siugular pets as though he
feltareal afsetion for them. In 1882 he
began the training of fleas in England, and
amassing a considerable fortune retired
from professional life. Beeently times have
gone haln with him, and gain he summons
The to his rescue. The Professors
sem SE0upe consists or ons eTundred re-
male fieas (male fleas are discarded as ut
terly intractable), which were brought from
Canada, the Professor making the delight
full announcement that fleas are extremely
scarce in the United States. The perform
ance yesterday opened with passage-at-
arms between Don Quixote and oancho
Panza, two blood-thirsty heas, that mount
ed on tiny paper horses attacked each other
with spears. The tiny paper horses being
stationery, no great damage was done to
either of the contestants, but the feas real
ly appeared actuated by deadly hatred, and
whirled the little spears about in furious
manner. Next an illustration of the i'm
mense strength of the creatures was given
in the performance Of an herculean flea,
who, being harnessed to a little gilt chariot,
weighing just 200 times her own weight,
drew the same about the table. AS an
agent of locomotion, however, the flea is
not as much of success as in some other
particulars, for, its legs being centered il
the immediate neighborhood of it's head,
there is an unavoidable slovenly appearance
about the way in which it carries the re-
mainder of its body; and besides, the nat
ural gait of the flea is that of the agile
kangaroo, and it can never be trained to
assume comely trot. However, the little
creature shambled around with the chariot,
and one of it's fellows sat on its box as dig
nified driver as ever cracked whip.
A wild flea was next produced, one that
had never received any educational advan-
tages. Its habit was still that of creature
who lives only to hop and bite, and chain
and ball attached to the hind leg told of it's
unfitness to associate unrestrained with its
civilized brothers. The chain and ball
were of gold, the former being just one
inch in length and containing 400 links.
On the same microscopic plan all the para
phernalia used was constructed, little hats
and coats fitting with remarkable nicely.
Other of these remarkable insects were
made to turn cranks and hoist buckets, but
the chef d'9urre of the entertainment was
some two dozen fieas at ball. At one end
of the ballroom was complete orchestra,
each flea holding its particular ipsrrnment
in reSdineps fe~ tielICe. On the floor
two couples were seen, and on a tiny sofa
another was engaged, at least so said the
Professor, in very desperate Irritation. A
music-box was then set in motion; at the
first sound the little insects began their re-
spectiye vocations, those ON the floor whirl-
ing about in the dance, and those in the Or
chestra working their legs, to which were
attached the instruments, i'll most enthn-
siastic manner.
When the size Of the flea is remembered
the task of handling them at all will be ap-
preciated. Fortunately they are as tough
as porcupines, and can be unceremoniously
picked up with steel pincers without dan
ger of hurting them. The average lifetime
of flea is about eight months, and as four
months are required in subduing their spir-
its and altering their gait from hop to a
trot, it will be seen that the process of
training is an endless one.
OF the one hundred fieas in this collec-
tion about half are performers and have to
be taken from their harness of threads once
day to be fed Their fodder is nothing
less than the blood of the Professor, who
permits the whole flock to browse on his
left arm every morning.