Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1877-07-12
All About Lion Tanning.


cences of encounters with the beasts on
his face, neck, back, breast and limbs
lives at 545 Hudson street New York
He is barely thirty three years OF age. is
of fair complexion, has brown hair and
mustache, and is of robust build. His
eye is quick and searching; and, without
intending any reflection upon the courage
of the king of the forest, it may truth.
fully be said that Frank p. Lawson is
drawer than a lion. Within the past ten
years, nearly all the showmen and almost
every lion in America have been intro
duced to Lawson. Owing to the fact
that this has been bad season for cir.
cuses and menageries, and more especi'
ally to the fact that at the present day
showmen are not able or willing to pay
lion exhibitors adequate wages, Lawson
was not in a den of lions on the evening
that New York Sun reporter visited
him. He gave the reporter some in.
teresting Information in regard to his
dangerous calling.
Lawson first made the acquaintance OF
the lion by scraping the dens. This was
when he was travelling with james Nix
on's Niblo's Garden circus. Later, while
employed in Adam Forepaugh's menag.
erie, Col. Hall the tanner, was injured, and
Lawson took his place. The show was in
Philadelphia at the time. Hall had been
in den with two lions and two tigers,
and therehad been terrible fight among
the animals, in the course of which Hall
had been bitten ON the shoulder. 1t was
the first time that performing lions and
tigers had been put together in any Amer
lean menagerie. Lawson had been In the
dens before, but when he undertook to
run this quartet, he was almost disheart-
ened. For nearly three weeks he fought
them daily, and was scratched and torn
until he scarcely recognized himself in
the lSok ing glass. At last he succeeded
in training them to do various
tricks, but he never trusted them. Fore
paugh became dissatisfied with the almost
constant quarreling of the beasts, and
they were finally put in separate dens
Col. Hall never recovered from his
wounds.
Lawson remained four years with Fore
paugh as the superintendent of the ZOO
logical department of the show. In the
winters he was employed in "breaking,
or training, the animals. Four lions OF
lionesses constitute den. "If they were
young lions," continued Lawson, II used
to 90 into the den every morning with q
broom and sweep the floor. Then the
youngsters crouched in corner, and
brushed them with the broom. This they
did not like at first, but they gradually
became used to seeing me, and skipped
around me like kittens. l taught them
their places in the dens so that there
might be no misunderstanding between
US. Each had his own place, but one OF
them was boss over the others. This one
became my special pet and assistant
Sometimes, however, he rebelled against
my authority, but I always brought him
to TERMS If he or others became war
like, clipped the claws of their fore
paws to the quick, and this took the fight
out of them at once. To tim the claws
was no easy job. / was compelled to
catch the fore-legs in slip-noose and
throw the animal down; then, while he
was held down by the men outside the
cell, did the clipping. never clipped
a lion u second. time. 1t makes them
timid, and destroys their lion nature.
"Col. Thomas Davis was cut almost to
death in a den in French's circus in
Chicago, and was called in to break the
animals. l found it necessary to cut the
claws If the lion is six or seven years ole
and has never been handled, he must bt
chummed with tame lion, the pet of the
den. Then there is sure to be an awful
fight They will claw and bite eacf
other for two weeks or more. If the PEI
is the victor, that settles it. I can easily
master the vanquished one. But, if thu
pet is defeated then the conqueror mus
be dragged down and burned on thu
paws with hot irons. The lions roars a
such times can be heard three blocks off
1 stand in the den with loaded rawhidt
and pound him on the forehead and OF
the nose. It wouldn't do for me to hi
him on the side or back. have four as
sistants in attendance outside the deI
with iron bars to protect me, but do al
the talking-in fact, yell at the top o
my voice. constantly repeat the same
words which | am to use IN exhibiting
the lion. Anybody can beat lion wheI
he is tied down; the dangerous thing i
to enter the den and beat him when h,
is not tied. On such occasions I bea
the animal fast and swift on the forehead
and nose with loaded whip. Lion
have stood before me like statues while
pound them thus. I, of course, keep III
a furious yelling. But there is danger 0
OVERRIDING it, and then your risk is great
"Much has been said about transfxin,
or terrifying lion by looking into hi
eyes. l know all about that. Catch hi
eye and fix yours upon him, his eyeball
slowly begin to expand and he become
blind. Then he will turn his head s.
that he may recover his vision. Loo
out for yourself at such time. Whel
he faces around again be ready to strike
A person outside the den may stare int
the animals eyes as long as he chooses
but an experienced lion will quickly turl
away when the keeper in the den al
tempts the use of his eyes. l never ha'
the slightest fear when / entered de
and in that lies my success. When wa
cut here pointing to long mark jus
over his nose) the blood filed nay eye
and blinded me, but kept on yellin
and using my whip, and that saved mt
IF had showed sign of weakness,
might have been torn to pieces-probabl
would have been.
"Last year, on Decoration day, while
was with Howe s. Cushing's circus,
went with den of lions in the proces
sion in New York. Old Parker, the fl
nous animal who died in Central Par
some time ago, and who left record {
four men killed, was in the den. Their
was a great crowd in the street, and 9
we we're turning the corner of Sixteent
street and Fourth avenue, some boys stil