Connecticut western news., 1875-12-24
THE CAGING OF A LEOPARD.

THE CAGING OF A LEOPARD.
 Fielding Possession of the Hold of.a Barge,
 and DefylnE CarbOnlc Acid Gas Rnd Cola Water, but at Length Canght Ssith Msas.
 A foreign vessel arriving in New York brought as part of it's freight live leopard-a wild beast. @S One morning after her arrival the leopard was trans- ferred to barge and taken to Philadel- phia. The officers of the barge neg Iected to provide either, food or drink for the animal, zand when he reached that port he WAS in fine condition for slowing away ca hearty meal, his last before. =
 Next morning one9of the men enl ployed about the wharf unlocked tho sliding door laading to the..s:. 'tweeP decks" of the barge, opensd 1t and walked in. He was greeted with low growl, land the leopard sprang from the top of 8 pile of bales~of wool giving the man barely time to make his escape. An inyestigationby the captain showed that the timber inwhich the iron bars qf the ieopard's cageahad been set was rot ten, and that tho animal hadEescaped from his pen, and was 1roaming at largo directly under the, shippers cabin.
 The walls that held him wereSmade of inch boards, and with . clear swing for thirty feet jump, he could easily have gona through them. The officers of the line,saw the great danger of the animal B getting loose and making hisGway into the city, and the barge was towed to the middle of the Delaware Tiver.@S1
 Animal trainers mada SseverM sinefe0- tuals eforts to throw a sfasso over the leopard's head. An inhalation of chlo- rofornf was also proposed, but nobody knew how muchto give.2 At hhgth twp m&nfowed out, and hoarding The barge, ofared to enter the leopard's lair and capture him fot 50 each,s The offer was at ohcs accepted, and the sanguine men started for the sliding door. But when they looked through the. bars, and saw the animal twisting hinaelf into Ss and figure Ss, and n6king his chops as j nothing but fatgfull- grown man would satisfy his hunger, they threw up the contract and roWad ashore. They had hardly disappeared befoee two profes- sionaI lion tanners boarded the barge, and said it would be about half an hours work, and easy work, toeapture the hun gry animal-price. $1001 It was soot settled that they should try it, the boats crew being put ander their orders. :!
 Theleopard had taken o stand in the forward part of his den, and, after the barge had been towed,ashore, strong bafriedde of tarpanling, sails, and woo sacks Twas built forward of the mair hatch, and fire engine was taken along side, and a huse was thrown aboard The two tanners took the nozzle, and poiuting it toward theAtwo eyes thar glared in the darkness, gave the ordei for the engine to- let,her go; play ur strohgp By theatime. the pipe wal fairly swelled, two1ion tanners were mak ing rapid transitfor the deck, the leop ard Having spfnng with such forcs against the barricade that it tremble( and almost fell, the animal entirely dis regarding the powerful stream of watel that: played straight inahis face. Al officer from the geological gardens thel appeared, with three Babcock fire ex tingnishers, andS for ,@half an houl "Spotty" was deluged.. with carboni, acidSS gas, but without the slightes
 The president of the geological society suggested that as the leopard had beel withoutfood ore water, O shifting traI should. be Drought from the gardenl baised with raw meat, aud an effort mad, to coax the animal intoiE The cargo he thought, might be unloaded aft whil, the leopard was barricaded forward, anC forward while he was imprisoned aft This was done, and then Che barge wa lowed 10 her old position, Lear the mid dle the river. A wooden trap, abou five feet long by three feet high ant deep, with iron bars at the ends, was SC like an old fashioned figure trap.
 The trap once set the trainers sait that tho only chance was to keep per fectly quiet and let the leopard take hi own time for smelling sout the meat The tug drew aboards her hawser ant steamed ashore, leaving the spotted hun gry animal and eight men alone in th middfesof the Delaware river. Sudden ly slight jar was heard below, ant somebody exclaimed: ssCagedt B
 George the traps Sprung l"
 There was a rush for the door; and after Careful look below, the men sli, down the companion ways, and foun' the leopard safely cagsd in-his ittl houseD The tugtowed the barge ashor again, and the shifting trap was loade, on trnck, andsthe beautiful animal at his dinner in his new home the zoo logical gardens Us