The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1877-02-15
A BABY ELEPHANT.

HALF AN HOUR WITH A LION TAMER
The Philadelphia Times of the 9Th inst.
contains the following Forepaugh, the
menagerle man, winters his animals in u
big barn on the township line, by the side
OF street for which could learn and can
suggest no name but mud alley. Here he
keeps all the wild beasts that excite the
countrymen to wide e-mouthcd wonder in
the summer months. He has elephants
and camels, tiger, leopards, bears, monkeys,
lions and all the rest of those four footed
villains that challenge the admiration of
Young America He has elephants that
are more than hundred years old, bears
that sit on their hind legs, tiger that
stands on his head and winks, and lions
that would eat a man without waiting to
say grace. He has sea lion that eats a
peck of fish and then swms around his
tank looking for more hyena that gnaws
his way out of everything that he can be
put IN and has to be chained a white
wooled scoundrel, whose name [ have for
gotten, who will look lovingly at you and
lick your hand and suddenly run his bic
horn out Of the cage and try to unlasten
your ribs cageful Of commonplace birds
that, being Of no account whatever, make
more noise than all the others put together;
beautiful zebra that will bite your fingers
if he gets a chance, and, falling in that, will
bite the iron bars of his cage a drove of
canals standing behind the elephants, that
look like their maids-in waiting; and Ca
great curiosity) one of those foolish fellows
who 20 into the lions cage and perform
with them.
LION TAMER.
This man performed with the animals
this afternoon. He whipped the lions with
a horsewhip, pounded them with poles and
punched them with iron rods He called
them hard names and snecred at them, and
got them terribly excited They plunged
about the cage and over each others backs,
till the box shook and rocked and the bars
trembled. As soon as | had plan for
rapid retreat mapped out began to inquire
about the mans history, with a view to
writing little obituary for him but
singularly enough he succeeded in dodgiDg
the lions and escaped without Il scratch.
You sit on circus seat (may be you do
and see this man 90 into the lions cage.
He is dressed in spangles, and gilt, and
silk he bows, and kisses his hand, and
opers the door the big lions look fright
ened he goes in displays every muscle !;
every posture is heroic he flourishes his
rod, and the lions crouch back in terror.
What brave man What hero But
come out here and sec him in his shirt
sleeves. The lions are sitting quiet in their
cage savage enough, no doubt, but look
ing very demure and very wise: The tanner
faces the handsomest Of them and gives
him a wicked cut across the face with his
whip; then he hits another and another
(there are four in the cage) till he gets
them all wild, taking care to keep out Of
reach. There's nothing courageous about
this.
A TRADE SECRET.
But about going into the cage. When
he goes in for exhibition he carries an iron
bar. This iron bar he has previously
heated as nearly red hot as he dares, with
out its heat showing to the audience. The
lions are afraid of it. 1t is not bravery,
but legerdemain that carries him safely
through the lions cage. This is one of the
secrets of the trade, and [ tell it to you in
confidence. IF you have any ambition to
try it, take cage with two lions, heat the
iron very, very hot, brace up your nerves,
put on your sternest look-then 90 home.
From the sublime to the ridiculous.
Exit the lion tanner enter the baby ele-
phant. Last Wednesday night the stable
boy Chow they do hustle these poor fellows
around y gave the elephants their hay.
There were five Of them-fve as contented
and happy elephants as ever killed keeper.
In the dead watches Of the night, when all
nature was hushed ~and the sea-lion made
unconscious ripplcs IN his crystal tank, and
Germantown lay bathed in moonbeans and
yellow mud, change came DER the spirit
of the elephantine dream The biggest ele-
plant of them all, an old girl with big ears
and a long trunk, tossed restlessl y in her
sleep. She turned, coughcd, she awoke.
She rubbed her eyes with the end Of her
trunk, awoke her sleeping sister. She
whispered something in her ear.
''No !" said the sister.
''Fact, said the old girl.
"Why, how-who-well, never p
The child was born
THE BABY.
A jolly, frisky, romping, bright-eyed,
gray-backed little elephant, no bigger than
dog, with wagging tail velvety trunk,
two big ears and four of the incest little
elephant paws in the world
| had little talk with the baby, for
she can talk as well as anybody not with
her mouth exactly, but in other ways just
as plain. When L went up to her she
greeted me with:
''Good afternoon.
She said this by lifting her little trunk
and taking hold of my hand as gently as
could be. Then she asked:
"Have you anything IN your pocket to
eat p af q
This by sticking the end of her trunk in
NV two ovprcoat nocket and finding notl-