The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-11-04
across the backs of camels. From the
coast they are shipped to hamburg,
wbarn Mr. Cha r1ea Reich q rpceives them

where Mr.. Charles Reiche receives them
and thence they are distributed accord
ing to demand. Elephants are captured
when young, and usually by driving then
into immense traps that converge
rapidly until the beasts are cribbed into
reach of ropes. A fine elephant will
bring from 81 900 to $4,000. Of course
the price of animals varies with the de-
mand. You must geta man that wants 8
beast before you can get any price 1ol
him-then the price depends upon how
much he wants him.
"You see," said Mr.. Reiche, smiling,
lyon wouldn't give $40 for that lion
there (for we had now drifted to Central
Park for your own use, and yet he is
worth 50, 500"
A good companionable tiger can be
bought for 1,200, and nice leopard is
worth about S40O. Monkeys sell in the
bunch by the dozen at about $50 each,
and q rhinoceros brings about So, 900. A
giraffe is very expensive and very deli.
cate, and a zebra, stripedup to the regu-
lation of ninety y-nine and one is worth
about $1,000. GiraHes die of indiges-
tion; the rhinoceros, despite his heavy
orercoat, is q frequent victim of con-
sumption, and the monkey dies of emo
tional languor.
The depot for sea lions is San Fran
cisco, where man named Mullet super
intends. They are taken on. the south
California coast, and bring $500 each.
Polar bears come from The Arctics, and
are worth about $4,000. They are kept
in deep caves that are damp and sunless,
or in dens set in ice and with huge blocks
I. of ice dripping from the top. The point
at which Mr.. Reiche buys them is Ham
burg, very few being taken in our Arc
tics. The snake trade is one of the i'm
portant departments. The headquarters
for snakes is Para, in Central America,
though, of course, the boa comes from
the Nile, and the anaconda from Africa.
There are various depots for rare fish,
andMr. Reichc is an enthusiast on this
subject, being owner of the New York
aquarium. The bright colored fishes
come from the tropical waters, and the
!dull.colored from the Arctic Stations.
The ostrich has less sense than any land
animal, and yet is worth 81 900. They
are caught while, young. Birds come
from ali quarters. The most expensive
is the bird of paradise, which sells for
5000 to $500, according to plumage.
Parrots, paroquets, and monkeys are
brought j n great numbers by sailors who
come in on foreign ships.
The principal shipping points ere al.
exandria, in Egypt, and Ceylon, OF
Southern India. At the first point the
animals from the Nile region and the
heart of Africa are collected; at the lat
ter the tigers aud lions from the jungles
of India. The bed of the Nile is the
best hunting ground, as it has been for
years. Almost every wild beast OF the
tropics may be found there, and in fine
sample. The African elephants are
smallest and most stupid, but otherwise
the beasts from Africa are large and vigo-
rUus.
The amount of business done by Mr..
.Reiche is wonderful. His standing or
der for canaries is 10000 birds week.
They. are imported from Germany and
sent all over the continent. He has an
agentin Savannah, and has sent ship
ments to Atlanta. Frequently he re-
ceiYes $4,000 worth of animals in one
manifest. There is a growing demand
from circuses and menageries and zoolo-
gical gardens all over the country. No
circus now travels without its mena-
gerie, aud not park is compile with
out its geological department.. There is
a large sale for rare birds and antelopes
for private parks and grounds. MIR.
Vanderbilt once gave $500 for a bird of
paradise. A large number of parrots are
sold and trained to talk and sing, good
talker being worth $500 or 5000. The
supply of all birds aud animals must be
kept up by Importation, as few Of them
breed in captivity. Lions and tigers are
about the only animals that breed in
captivity and they bring ragged and
puny cubs that are not salable. The
growing demand, therefore, and the losses
By death must be supplied by fresh cap
lures and inlportations. Consequently,
Mr.. Reiche's hunters are kept busy, and
his ships are always coming in. Fre-
ouently, he receives special order from
some circus or park for certain animal.
The order is at once dispatched through b
various agents until it reaches the hun
tiers, who organize special expedition
and capture it. A pair, of hippopotami
are now being brought over for circus
at q cost of about $780, 900
A large business is done exporting
American animals; this business, as we'll
as the importing, is controlled by Mr..
Reiche. The grizzly bear is the typical
American beast, and is always in demand
for European buyers. The buffalo, the
moose elk, and caribou are the larger
animals exported most heavily, they be-
ing American types. The opossom, the
gray squirrel, the red fox, the hedgehog,
are most popular of the smaller animals,
while the puma is in great demand as q
new type. The mocking bird is great
favorite among birds, and Mr.. Reiche
has mefswho search the Southern forests
for them annually. The red-headed
woodpecker is exported heavily as show
bird, and the robin is esteemed in Eng
lish parks as a quiet but handsome fell
low. There is very large profit on the
exchange. Mr.. Rieche once bought a
pair Of fine cranes in Schoharie, n: Y,
to fill an English order-giving $25 for
them and receiving $500. There is an in
seresting story connected with the famous
London show elephants, showing some of
the points of the animal trade. A Mr..
Kelly, a banker who drifted into the show
business by mortgage on the Van Am
burg menagerie, sent out ship to Ceylen.
He loaded it with number of Yankee
houses, all ready for putting together:
He had the sashes, doors, locks, and
everything complete. Arriving at Cey-
lon, he sold the honses at an enormous
profit, balasted his ship with coffee, and
put thirteen elephants and lot ofanimals
aboard. He made 100000 clear money
by the trip, and had his elephants clear.
Of this heard FIVE were trained for the
London show, and one of them, "Baby,"
is the mother Of the first elephant ever
horn in CAPTIVITY,