The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-04-16
AN EXCITING CAREER,
History of a Man Who Has Been Engaged
as a Keeper of Wild Animals.
fCincfnnatl C,ommercia11

many Vi the readers OF the Commercial
saw Molly and Pongo. the far.famed CHM
pauzee and orang outang, that were exhib-
tied at the Zoo last summer. OF these not q
few will remember the quiet, dark-compIez-
ioned man who was their keeper, and wore
the uniform cap of the New Yorkaquarium.
Tnis gentleman is now IN the city, after
some months absence, during which time
he has been rather unfortunate in LOSING
both Molly and Pongo.
had an extended conversation with him
to-day, and believing thas his history would
| be OF general interest, / send you a few
scraps OF it:
Richard H. Drisco is native OF the city of
London, being born there in 1s34 His father
was quartermaater ON that one OF her maj
esty's ships which was under the personal
command of Lord Nelson in the battle of
Trafalgar. and which was afterwards chris
tened Trafalgar. 1t was IN this memorable
battle that Mr. Drisco's father was disabled
for life. He came home and died soon after,
and his wife having died before, Richard'
the youngest of the family, was left at IL
years. He was naturally of restless,
| rowing disposition, and, when he was IL,
| struck out for himself and started on
foot for Liverpool. In the earlier rart
of this tramp he fell in with a foriorn
shepherd dog, and it was the affection and
care shown by him to this animal that at
tracted tohim the attention of the naturalist
Cross, who persuaded him to return to Lon
| don as an apprentice to the Royal Geological
garden to learn the business OF keeper He
served out bis apprenticeship of seven years
here, and then went into the employ of
| Charles Jamrach IL Son, who were extensive
importers of wild animals. and with whom
| he was long connected. It was during his
stay in the animal yard of these gentlemen
that he met with his first serious adventure
| with carniverous beast. 1t was female
tiger, and his description of the affair is as
follows:
81 had orders to go to the East India dock
and receive tiger OFF ship, just come IN
| from India and place it in cage mounted
on wheels and bring it to the animal yard.
On the arrival at the yard we found the
cage was very old and rotten. We got the
tiger in oil SAFE however. but in taking the
cage OF the wagon it slipped, broke and let
the tiger loose in the streets of London. /
| stepped to one side and let the beast pass by
me. Then what was my horror to see her
seize small boy in her mouth and carry
| him four blocks along Ratiff highway
Then came the question, ''How are we to
catch her and save the boys life?' At first
| we we're hopeless, but the idea seized me
the only way to do this was to attack and
down her with crowbar. This did. The
boy was got clear from the tiger, and placing
rope on her neck we dragged her home
victorious For this was always known as
Tiger Dick" and my employers gave me q
f10 note.
..After we got her back to the cage that
night heard noise in the yard and won
dered what it was Presently 1 heard the
watchman cry out: The tiger is loose
sgain!' 1t was very dark at the time, and
no lights were handy, and was kind of
afraid to venture out, but went outany-
how. There was the tiger fighting lion
through the bars of his cage. She had torn
him 10 ribbons, and he was bleeding badly.
The head keeper asked: Where is Tiger
Dick? He will get her back. When / got
out and saw the situation ] armed myself
with heavy rawhide whip, and walked to
| the scene of the battle. / stood firm to her
and fought her back to her cage, leaving the
lion to lie there and die. 1t was one of the
| hardest sights I ever witnessed as a combat
| between two animals"
Jamrach & Son afterward sent Mr.. Drisco
to India with numerous European and
| American animals as present to the king Of
Dude. and he received in return Asiatic
wonders He was nearly six years in India,
+ specimens OF animate nature. The adven-
lures he had and observations he made there
are of course very numerous, and would
take long to tell.
: Mr. Drisco came to America the first time
| in 1862, to bring over the elephant Empress.
! Some years later he was employed to obtain
specimens of the orang-outang and chimpan-
zee for the aquarium garden OF New York.
| In order to do this it was necessary for him
to go FIRST to Central Africa, where, after
months of painful. patient endeavor, six
young chimpanzees were captured. Tnen be
Z must go to the island of Borneo to capture
, | an orang This was infinitely more danger.
| GUS and difficult than tie last job, and when
at last one specimen was captured, he con.
| graduated himself on his good luck and
sailed for New York.
Molly Tuck was one of the chimpanzees,
. and Pongo. of course, was the orang that
| bothered the traveller and his Borneo assist
; ants SO to catch him.
When their exhibition closed at Cincin.
natl, Mr.. Drisco, under the employ of the
| aquarium garden, took the animals on q
Western and Southern trip. Dayton. Terre
| Haute, st. Louis, Galveston and San An.
tonia were the chief places visited.
At Dayton Molly Tuck was unfortunate
| enough to get hold Of green apple, which q
: soldier from the Soldiers Home of that city
: gave her. She Immediately put herself on
the outside of it, and was consequently very
soon on the outside OF severe collie, which
4 she died in St Louis, to the great grief Of
q | Mr.. Drisco, who had come to feel as at
t fectionately toward her as q child.
!. At Galveston the orang managed to escape
from his cage one night in the presence oi
Mr.. Drisco and two other gentlemen.
knowing the danger in which they were
placed, there in the presence of the power
{ full and fierce ape, he quietly requested the
: gentlemen to keep very still so as not to
g excite him and then slowly crept. on him
4 from behind. He made an effort to get hold
a of his arms and bring them up behind hi
q back. Had he succeeded in this the animal
. would have been powerless. but ths
!, muscular aud agile fellow was to much
for him and a struggle ensued, in which
Mr.. Drisco was worsted. He got two
bites in the lower part of his right leg
one on his shoulder and had his clothe
literally torn off of him. The WOUND
on his leg laid him up in Galveston
II three months and half, while the oranl
', was taken on his trip. At st. Louis Pong,
!. was taken sick from cold he had caught
q for the want of care of the kind keeper o
! whom be had deprived himself, and he ha,
: to be sent back to New York, where he die'
in five weeks of consumption.