The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-11-19
TANNING LIONS.

A Talk with the Man in the Cago-How
| Masteryis Obtained over tho Monarch
of the Field-A Very Easy Business
Experiences and Thrilling Stories-
The Vaccinations OF It.
"Tie little man standing over ther'
by the cage of monkeys is the lion
tanner" said Mr.. Barnum to represen
tative of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat
An introduction was arranged, and DR.
Charles White, the man who had coaxet
the Nubian monarch to become as {
kitten, said he would be at leisure a:
soon as he had fixed up dose for s
man who had a chill under the hyent
cage. Almost 1.-the in build, he is fivt
teet eight inches out of his boots, anc
pulls down the scales at 1870. He i!
modest to degree that is captivating
l,ecause modest men do take. de i:
reticent, or was at the start, in meas
ure that was exasperating, tor when 6
man is expected to talk and won't, Of
hesitates, he is of all creation the mos1
"The world is mistaken about this
thing of tanning lions," lie said, as lie
looked around at baldheaded monkey
that had reached out for his sparsely.
covered head.
doesn't he require the will power
and the peculiar grit of the gods ol
which the juvenile learnedp" was asked,
81 don't know anything about it" he
answered, quietly. you have got to
take the same common sense rule about
the government and control of a lion
that is used among men; only, l must
say. had rather attempt to tame cage
of lions and tigers and leoparGs than
some men l have seen."
It was suggested that he must have
some rudimentary idea about the busi-
ness.
"No. 1 never thought anything about
that" he replied. "You see started
out in ls46 with old Van Amburgh. !
was the man who took care of the har-
ness, and that brought me around the
cages a good deal. After o while I got
so that I could take q Ion by the paw.
It seemed to come naturally. l never
tried to do anything to make o lion
afraid of me. / never thought OF such
a thing. never felt afraid of lion,
and somehow or other I don't think a
lion ought to be afraid of me. We kind
o. took to each other" he finished with
n pleasant smile. He was asked when
and where he first entered cage.
II commenced going into the cages
when we were on the road, in ls48.
Not in public, but around before and
after the performances. The first cage
I ever entered was one that contained
two African lions; they were young,
but had been partially trained by an
other. They knew me, of course, but
they never made any demonstrations"
"Where was your first public exhibi-
tion?"
"In 1854, with Barnum."
"Was there anything of note connect
ed with that event?"
"No, only I created a sensation by
taking bucket of blood in the cage,
which an old lion licked up and then
laid down."
In reply to a question relative to
something thrilling in his career, he
said:
Il was with Thayer & Noyes in
Rochester on July 4, 1857. We gave
three exhibitions on that day.. had a
cage of what are known as the man
eaters. They are of all the lion tribe
the most dangerous. You know lion
hunters sometimes build fires about
their hammocks or places where they
sleep. to keep lions away from themp''
YES" was said eagerly, so as to en-
courage MIR. White. =.
"Well, man. eating lion isn't afraid
of fire. He would just as Soon W:.lk
over it and carry man away as a dead
head would come into this show"
"I went into the cage at night and I
had always noticed that one in the cage
was nervous in his temperament, for
lions are like human beings in That re-
spect. The least unusual thing would
attract him. l had stopped to let him
lump over my back, and in his jump a
portion of his body was erased by q
whip I held. He sprang back, knocked
me down, and seized the skirt of my
dress; he had me under his forepaws,
and I was powerless. Charley Noyes
happened near, and he seized an iron
bar and struck the animal over the head.
1t caused him to release me, and then !
piled the whip to him till he crouched at
my feet" .,o.o,
"Why, of course l was bleeding. He
had torn my shoulder and crippled my
right arm so that have never been able
to get it above my head since; but I
knew I must subdue him, and l did; it
was six weeks before I appeared in a
cage again"
The bald-headed monkey had made
another attack on the lion-tamer, and
he turned around to the root of the OAR
winian theory and said, You'll not get
any supper if you don't quit that. The
monkey without hair seemed to under
stand.
II spent three weeks in the Sisters
hospital here in St. Louis" said the
doctor, in a very quiet way.
"When was thatp"
"In 1870. / was with Robbins,
Strong & Henderson. We had been
showing in some Missouri towns, when
an African lion attacked me. / wasn't
seriously hurt, but there was something
about that affair of which have to tel!
you. had pet lieness III cage, and
she was beauty. I never loved an an.
imal as I did her. Ihad raised her by
hand, and my own boy used to play
with her rs if she had been kitten"
"What did she have to do with it,?
"Well, when the lion attacked me she
sprang upon him. and there was strug,
gle betw cen them until I got on my feet
and curbed the assailants. That pei
never forgot that night, and l had tc
take her out of the cage"
"These animals, then, have attach
ments the same us human"
"Yes, I have found them so. Now
there are two lions and y lioness ove1
there" pointing to cage ofNumidians
Zone of these fellows had strong at
tachment for a lioness. and so had tht
| other at one time. But that one "-point
| ing to the grander looking of the two
"thrashed the, other daily until he gav'
up, apd now the one he thrashed couldn'
be persuaded to put his nose against tn
lioness. And it isthe same with people
They take a fancy to some people, ant
are easily subdued, but I find there il
nothing like Kindness"
"How is it with lioness; is she NOR
easily trained or subdued?"
"A lioness is just like woman. 1
depends altogether on how you take her
or how she takes YOU"
! How Bar.roOm Liquors are Made.
TN, 49,, .>,,,, lo ,ooo do;1v IN Ch actnr