The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-07-20
The Prince or Wales's Wild Beasts.

Hard by the hillsheep, standing con-
tent in cool, green litter, three restless
Ostriches pace the clay floor of their pen,
rearing their curved necks and fiat heads
with the matchlessly beautiful eyes, un.
like those of any other bird, above the
stout wooden barrier, as if, perchance,
there might come TO them the keen scent
of the free desert and the glorious CLINT
of the sun beloved sands. Not the proud
loneliness of the eagles eyes, nor the
fierce, brilliant, golden glow of the great
owls, not the sparkling splendOr of the
hawks full of vigilance and pounce, can
be compared with the lustrous, far-seeing,
soft, deep beauty Of the lid and LASH
shaded eyes of the bird of the waste.
They CLEAN with every turn of the long,
supple neck, their slopiDg, human shape
lends them strange intelligence, and,
SC close to the upright, keen ear, they
suggest that the desert fables are true
that the desert bird sees the winds as
they sweep forth from their cavern, and
hears the muster of the sand-storms,
which warns it TO fly. The resemblance
between the ostrich and the camel is
plainly to be traced in these specimens,
which are young and comparatively bare
of plumage. They rather remind one OF
the little woman who became uncertain
of her own identity, and lett the ques-
ton to be decided by her " little dog at
home lin consequence of having had
pc .ticoats "cut ali round about t"-for
their longish, egg-shaped bodies want the
feather-founce of dlapeiy and the tail
TUT for purposes of decoration. In their
narrow pen, and while they pace its
length restlessly, one sees the powerful
structure of their strong legs, the
knopbly knee-joints, the tough sinews
playing under the scaly skin, with queer,
coralline patcles upon the shin-bone
the huge, padded feet and broad talOns,
and when one of them gives it up, con-
quered by the wooden barriers at either
end, and lies down sullenly, he doubles
up his legs and lays his long neck flat
along the ground, with the alert head
curved upwards at the end of it, exactly
like the camel.
1t is not promenade hour, and the ele-
plants are not on view, but private
peep at these delis tful creatures, under
going Their daily toilet, in a yard at tae
back Ct the new lion house, is worth any
amount of tull.dress parade. There they
are, with handsome natives unhappily in
English Globes, but with SUI ,rb turbans
and gold earrings, in sedulous a attendance
upon them two big, black elephants, not
nearly full grown, out tidy size, for all
that, lying ON their big, black sides,
grunting and wobbling feebly, with all
their feet stuck out in the most helpless
10 foe nd a
lu1icrous resemblance to two very fat
old gentlemen, in very loose trousers
(Which are, nevertheless, strapped tightly
at the fcet) who have tumbled down, and
are vainly striving to get up again. The
attendants kneel "abOut" on them un-
conctr1edly, scrub them with hard
brushes, talk to them amicably during
the process, punch and push tlem, not
unkindly, wash them very thoroughly,
rub up the blue and red paint with which
their ioreheads and ears are adorned, and
finally give each a friendly smack and
bid them get up. With most pathetic
grunting and grumbling, the huge bid
dable beasts obey; then they draw off a
quantity of water, which is running
from spout, with their trunks, and poUr
it into their capacious bodies with a
cultural sat sfactiOn. The pals are put
away, the flags are mOpi ed, the toilet is
completed, and the big beasts stand at
attention in obedience to orders, and
make the privileged visitors slow aud
stately salaam." In the meantime the
baby elephs ITS are shut off in stone
corridor, and they don't like it. This is
dull sort o. tn lg, 6 .er the unile sal
petting and the coming in to dessert
trey have been accustomed to; so they
stamp and trample good deal, and cast
Iuch grass upon their heavy, rendulous
heads, and think it ought always to be
going-Out hours. They ar, very amui
ing little animals, and we are assured
they are not such babies as they look,
for notwithstanding bis tender age,-be
is only eighteen months DID," Roos-
tum can work, pull ropes and chains,
aud push heavy weights and has had to
do H. Loo.