The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1876-03-01
LION TANNING.

man to whom thsre had occurred
the il lea of getting up Liliputian
exhibition of tiger-taming. Ho pro
cured four cats, whose bodies he
painted orange,tawny, with, black
stripes, SO as to be closely initiative
cot the hide Of te1is tig,is, and then
he engaged little boy, who, clad
in tights and spangles, was to epnct
the part of beast tanner, but who,
prior to his appearance in public
was shut up in q cage with the cuts
and instructed to reduce them to
subsection, and to teach them q
variety of tricks by means of rigor-
ous chastisemcnt. If, however, tho
poor little tiger king was provided
with n switch, the four Liliputian
tigers had been endowed by nature
with u due complement of claws ;
and thoy SO worried and tore the
unfortunate lad that, had he not
been able to make his escape from
the cage, fatal results nights have
followed. He ran shrieking into
the street, pursued by his master
but the police interfered, and the
Correctional Tribunal may possibly
have something very serious to say
to the barbarous promoter Of
Liliputian tiger-taming exhibitions.
Scarcely, however, has the echo of
this affair died away ere wo hear of
two very alarming accidents which
have occurred to pair of wild
beast tanners of some notoriety in
France. At Havro the lion king
Bidcl Inns had q sufficiently narrow
escape from horrible death. It
was this performers custom to go
into the cage of his wild beasts bear
ing with him sheep which,
through the awe inspired by his
presence, was kept sufe from me-
lestation on the part Of the fero-
cinus inmates of the den. On u
recent occasion he entered the
lions cage and placed the sheep on
the back Of the lioness-a feat
which he had often before accom-
plished with perfect safety. No
sooner, however, had he done this
than huge lion sprang upon the
unfortunate sheep, burying his
teeth in it's body. There was
general commotion and panic
among the crowded audience, but
tho undamtcd Bidel stepped for
ward, and with heavy bludgeo2
dealt Leo such Il tremendous blow
over tho jaws that the beast, utter
ing a yell Of pain, was completely
cowed, abandoned his bleeding
victim, and crouchcd humbly at the
feet of his master. The sight and
smell Of the blood Of the sheep were
however, too much for wild bcust
nature to bear. The other dcnizens
of the cage began to howl in an
ominous manncl> and with singular
unanimity of teeth and claws they
attacked Monsieur Bidcl, even as
Mr.. William Nyc went at the
Heathcn Chinoc. The beust tanner
not whit terrified chased the first
lion into another cage, fought his
way back through the remaining
br,ltes, and, rcscuing his wounded
sheep issued from the den.
Yet another accident to n lion.
tanner occurred in Paris on Monday
night. At tho Theatre of the
Folics Bcrgeres one Delmonico has
gained great popularity as II queller
of wild beasts but accidents will
happen in the best rcgulated dens,
and on Monday highly trained
lioncss got ber instructor into IL
corner and severely manglcd ono of
his hands, There WIS tremendous
excitement among tho audience, md
The curtain was let down. A few
moments nfterward the report of q
musket was heard, which, of course,
caused the agitation Of the public
to grow more intense. Tranquility
however, was restored when Del.
monico made his appearance at the
foot lights, apparently none the
worse for his encounter with the
lioncss. Now, it is quito possible
that in the account of both tneso
casualties there may remain some
thing to be read between the lines.
Wild beast tanners must necessarily
be men Of untlinching courage, and Of
mcrring presence Of mind, but they
aro likewise, re- O. rulo, something
else-~they are showmen and the
musket shot may have boon q mere
co'tp tie theatre. In any case + is
that the Paris police
have prohibited any future per
formances on the part of Del
monico; nor is it unlikely thnt
these always dangerous md fire
quontly fatal exhibitions will be
definitely suppressed by the law
throughout tho whole of Franco
1t would be certainly beneficial to
tho interests of civilization and
humanity if similar measures of
repression were adopted in Eng
land. Quite enough is known at
this time of day about tho habits
manncr.,. and characteristics Of tho
king of beasts, From the days of
Aristotle to those of Button, from
tho time of Clvier to that of Prof.
Owen and tho late Mr.. Gordon
Cumming, telts leo has been de-
scribaG. tirured. and criticised from