The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1876-10-12
Showman's Contribution to
Zoology.

"My dear sir" said the press agent,
as We stopped in front of a cage con-
tanning a hyena, "the hyena Is the
meanest and dirticst of beasts, yet he is
a great curiosity. Now, you are not
very well posted in the show business,
and SO I will tell you all you need to
know. This hyena is the fourth n
ever captured, and cost the owner Of
this show $4,000. Twelve men were
slain before the beast was Gagged. 1t is
very hard to keep a hyena alive in this
climate, and we have to feed him on
solid tenderloin and milk!"
As Mr.. Dumont paused for breath, we
took the opportunity to tell him that
there were four hyenas at our own Zoo,
that the keepers up there hadn't very
much trouble in keeping them alive, and
that they oftener got tough flank than
tendcrloin.
For a moment the man of much show
information looked at us in a plying
sort of way, then, with a slight sneer on
his face, remarked "You have been
deceived, sir. There is not an hyena
out at your Zoo. Those animals are
only HyeneseS DomesttcateS, or, in other
words, domcsticated hyenas; they are
a cross between a cayote and a wolf.
People are often imposed upon, but
Wen let that pass. Here in this next
cage is the only rhinoceros ever in cap
tivity. Old John Robinson secured the
hide Of a rhinoceros and had it sewed
on over an ordinary 'muley' cow. The
COW stood it for about two months, and
then died. Then Robinson had the hide
stuffed, and got the credit of having OK
hibited the first rhinoceros in this coun-
try. But, sir, ours is the first live n
ever imported, and it cost US 100000 to
get him."
"What has become of his hornP" in
CURED our young man, as he noticed
that the "first living rhinoceros ever
brought to this country" lacked that
prominent nasal a~ppendage.
snow that horn has a little history
of ITSELF" answered the press agent.
"Tom-that's what we call the beast
lost his horn at Erie, Pa. You see, we
got him in the show at Titusville, and
we had to keep him in a sheet-iron cage
seven inches thick. At times he would
get very bad, and one day he battered
out the end of his den with his horn. 1t
took eighty men to recapture him.
Then we gave him nine buckets of
chloroform, and while he was sleeping
we sawed off his horn. Since then Tom
seems broken-hearted, and is docile as
a lamb"
When the cage containing what our
unsophisticated young man supposed
vas IN ordinary monkey of an unusual
ly large size vas reached, Mr.. Dumont
proceeded to thus enlighten him:
"This mammoth beast, l dare say,
you have no idea of. 1t is the great
gorilla of Africa, the strongest beast in
the world. His strength exceeds tina,
of fourteen men. He is a terribly vicious
brute, and since he has been in our pos.
session has killed nine keepers and an
infant son of the proprietor of thi:
show. This gorilla is supposed to bt
about eighty-seven years of age, and We
have owned him for nineteen years u
selves. He cost us originally S35, 1905 81
but the expenses of keeping him thu
past nineteen years will swell tina
amount greatly. The proprietor of thi
show wouldn't take $4,000, 900 for hin
to-day. "-Cincinnati Post.