St. Landry democrat., 1878-02-02
TANNING THE TIGER.
Wild Beast Training as 9 Regular
Business '-Ets Principles and
Hts FDraefice.

WIG Beast AFaRNAEHS AS AsSs Uhhf
Business Ills Principles and
Its Practice.
He did not look bit like hero. He
was a short, rather thin, rather pale,
sad eyed, midde-aged man, with light
hair and rather reddish mustache, and
he walked toward the cage of wild
animals, containing four full-grown tt
gresses (near which the writer was
standing), with the subdued, spiritless
and mechanical air Of an attendant to
whom full-grown tigress was an every
day spectacle. He approached slowly,
stopped to pass under the bars which di-
vide the cage of tigers from the mass of
humanity, and then quietly commenced
to clean the cage containing the huge
beasts, disturbing occasionally, as he
did so with his broom, the occupants,
who, however, seemed to pay as little at
tention to him as he paid apparently to
them, although they could have "claw-
ed'' him at any moment. Thinking him
to be an ordinary attache of the circus,
the writer said to the man, halfjestingly:
You seem to know the beasts pretty
well; but DO you think you know them
we'll enough to thrust your band inside
the cage, as you do your broom ?''
"Well, I should hope did," replied
the man quietly, "seeing as will have
to trust my whole body inside the cage
in a few minutes.
The writer looked at the sad-eyed
man in wonder for minute, then "the
situation" broke upon him. This meek
little man, whom he had been taking for
subaltern, was the king himself, the
tiger.tamer, the man whose regular busi-
ness it was to 60 twice day into cage
holding four full llgrown tigresses, any
one of which four could kill and eat him
at any moment. The meek little fellow
was indeed a specialist-a specialist
whose line was truly peculiar, and,
therefore, truly interesting. No man
in a million can enter tigers den, as
regular thing, and come out of it again.
The particular tiger. tanner who gave
this particular information was named
Alfred STILL and was born in London of
German parentage. He dritted, when s.
boy, into situation with man who
bought and sold wild animals. and then,
joining travelling circus, wandered in
attendance on pair of lions. The num-
Der of lions was then increased to seven,
and with these kings of the desert Mr..
Still became thoroughly familiar from
the outside of the cages.
The first time he entered the den to
make them perform was, of course, a
memorable epoch of his life. "I expect
ed to be torn OR cut by the beasts" said
Mr.. Still, alluding to his portion of this
experience, "and was very nervous. /
expected to come out Of the cage bleed
ing if not dying, and I made up my
mind that if anything happened to me
this first time it should be my last time
I would never repeat the attempt. BIT
my employers said that if I got in any
trouble with the lions they would see me
through my hospital expenses and would
continue my wages. So although /
shook all over inside, | looked as bold as
lion, and went in the cage before the
crowd just as if I had been used to it.
The lions behaved frst-rate. I made my
performance pretty short, was congratu-
lated by my employers, and have never
been afraid of a beast since.
You must have known some famous
lion-kings and tiger-tamers in your time"
remarked the writer.
ooh, yes" said Mr.. Still, 81 have met
Tom Batty, Lucas, Crockett and John
Cooper. / worked for while under
Tom Batty. He was good man in his
way-didn't know what fear was, but
somehow he had no luck with his lions;
they were all the time fighting with
him. Why, his body was all one mass of
bites and scratches. He always came
out of his tussels first best, though. He
made lion know that he was boss.
Jack Cooper was great lion-tamer, too,
but cool and quiet. He travelled in
France with Myers circus. He was Bit
ten very bad once, and was in the hos
pital Tor months. Crockett was a Lon.
dor faverite in his day, and then there
was Miss Dare who went into lions
den. Dare was not her real name, but
she deserved it for she was daring, too
daring, for once she forgot to watch her
lions, and was nearly torn to pieces in
consequence. AS for poor Lucas he WAS
killed by his lions at last-torn into bits
right in. the cage. He was performing
his animals, and lost his temper with
them, a thing no man should ever do
with wild beast, and whipped them too
much. They turned on him suddenly,
and then there was an end to Lucas, just
as there is an end to most of us fellows
some day or other, for one-half at least of
the men VINO make wild beasts perform