The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-04-18
TRAINING SAVAGE BEASTS.
Methods Of n Tutor whose Pupils Desire "a
Devour Him.

"When you want to train lions, or
tigers, or leopards, or hyenas, the pre-
paratory steps in all cases are the same.
You first get them used to you from the
outside of the cage, feeding and water
ing them, 'peaking to them and some
times touching them through the bars
when they are in such positions that
they cannot readily get hold of you.
Then you go into the cage to sweep it
out. Keep your broom going-never
let them get near enough to you to smell
OF you, or they will snatch You the in
stant after-and make them pass YOU.
driving them about with whip. When
you have them thoroughly familiarized
with your presence you may begin their
education. Some trainers in old times
used to clip their claws and put muzzles
on them, but I never did, and never
considered it any use, except, perhaps,
in the case of leopard that you are
training to Jump on your back. Wheth-
er you clip their claws or not, a tiger or
lion, especially the lion, has force
enough in his arm to mash a man down
almost as you would fly. And it isn't
right, for the animal needs his claws.
They are his forks to hold his meat with
when he eats. As for the muzzle, LIE
knows whether he has it on or not, lust
as well as you do, and the memory of it
has no influence on him whenitis not on.
You can't teach wild beasts any great
variety OF tricks. You make them rear
up in the corners Of the cage, jump over
your whip, through hoop or balloon,
or over you, or each other, and you sit
down on them, and that about exhausts
their capabilities for learning. To make
them jump you hold a stick and drive
them over it with your whip, holding it
low at first and gradually raising it. If
you want them to go through hoop,
hold it with a gate set in under it SO
they can't go beneath, and whip them
through. If you want an animal to rear
up, 1t may be necessary to have rope
or chain dropped through the roof of
the cage and either swing about its neck
or fastened to a collar, and when you
whip it and order it to stand up, have a
couple of men above to haul up and
make it stand ON its hind legs. After q
few times the rope will not be necessary.
See my splendid tigresses, how they
stand up. They were trained that way.
You must always make them do the same
thing in the same place-that is, in the
same corner or in the center of the cage.
Ii you want to sit on lion or tiger, get
the animal trained to remain quiet in
one place while you stroke it gently, at
first with the whip, next with your hand.
and finally you can press on it, and at
last sit down on its launches, but never
cease to keep a sharp lookout upon it
for the slightest sign of treachery. The
old Van Amburgh feat of man putting
his head in lions mouth is safest done
with very docile old lion, we'll fed and
toothless as possible, but it may be done
with some risk, of course-to young
er brute if he is very good natured, and
you work up to it by gradual familiar
ltles about his head, opening his mouth,
and so on. With tiger the best plan
is to-let it alone. When you feed them
scraps of meat while you are in the cage,
never take in much, and of that YOU
have, see that it is free from bones and
cut in such small chunks that one of
them may be swallowed at a single
schloop. Toss it to them. Don't hold
it in your hand, or they'll take hand and
all, without noticing the difference, per-
haps. Firing guns and pistols always
excites them, but I can't say that I
think it frightens them at all after they
have found out once that it does not
hurt them. You must watch them all
the time. Never trust them for an in
stant. If you study them as you should
and know your business properly, you
will understand their every look and
motion, every curl of the lip, switch of
the tail, tremor of the muscles, and
culver of the cruel claws. All those
things are the animals language, and if
1t is strange to you so much the worse
tor you. For instance, you may whip o
lion for five minutes when he is sulking
IN corner without any danger, and
then suddenly you see the look warming
you that one blow more will bring him
on you with the force of thunderbolt
and the mad fury of demon. No, it is
not threatening look at you, and it
isn't emphasized with any growl. He
Just sits up and seems to gaze off into
the distance, with far-away, dreamy
look in his eyes. Strike him then and
you will have to battle for your life in q
second after. Affect to disregard him
and turn your whip to another beast,
and In a few moments his fear of you
may return to him, and his desperate
courage will have gone. But you must
be able to see when that time comes
again. A lion is a bad animal to have
any misunderstanding with.
"There is no truth in those stories
that sometimes get about of animal
tanners wearing shirts of mail and thick
clothing. Cooper used to wear sole
leather leggings, but I never thought
they were any good. So far as safety is
concerned, I'd just as ieve go naked
among the animals if they had once got
used to seeing me outside that way. But
whatever else you do or don't wear,
never go among them without something
In your hand to strike them. After they
are once trained stick, or even straw,
will do, until they find out that it doesn't
hurt them. When that time comes
hough-especially if you are among
tlgers-look out. Remember always
the law of love is unknown to them, and
nothing can be relied upon except ter
ror. The more cruel you are when
cruelty is needed, and with Judgment, of
course, the longer you will probably
live among them. There are some crazy
beasts that you can never tame. We
have hon of that sort here. No kind
ness can reach him; no force short of
death could subdue him. We call him
crazy, but he is just devilish, and that
he always will be. He lives for nothing
but the hope of killing somebody or
something. Once in Augusta, Ga, he
got out, bounded over into pen twelve
feet high where yak was confined, and