River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-05-11
What jefferson Darky Rescued From
the Waters Of the Missis sippi.
New Orleans Times Democrat

Several pieces of the Inflated steamer
Golden City, burned near Memphis
the other day, drifted past here last
| night. A boat, very little scorched by
| the flames, was caught by Mr.. Emile
Schroeder, of Algiers, and small por.
ton of the plot house was found by
some negroes ashore on the levee 81
Greenville.
Bob Williams, colored, who works on
the old Preston place, half mile
above Camp Parapet, Jefferson Parish,
while engaged picking driftwood in
the river, about dusk yesterday even
ing, met with something of an adven-
ture. He was just about to tie rope
to piece of scorched wreckage of a
steamboat that was drifting by in mid
stream, when an animal, which must
have been crouching low on the tim
Der, and completely hidden from view,
sprang into his skiff. Williams, and
his nephew, who accompanied him,
tumbled over each other into the end
of the boat at the appearance of this
strange visitor, which. in the growing
darkness, they perceived to be large
and fierce looking beast. The boat
drifted down stream nearly a mile be-
| fore Williams recovered sufficiently to
advance to the middle of the boat and
secure the oars, which the boy had
dropped in his fright. Finding tie
animal very docile, his courage gradu-
ally returned, and resuming the oars,
he rowed direct for the shore. A
closer inspection by moonlight showed
large animal, nearly twice the size of
Newfoundland dog, of dingy, dirty
color, with its hair much scorched, an
eye lost by some accident, and its flank
bloody from a recent gunshot wound.
1t was docile, apparently frightened
into timidity, and groaned piteously as
it lay at Williams feet.
The skiff reached the levee at the
foot of Monroe street, in Carrolton,
and Williams and the boy disembarked,
followed, to their surprise, by the
wounded beast. 1t was then after s
O'Clock, and the levee was nearly de-
serted. Some negroes, however, living
in the shanties standing just against the
levee, came up, observed Williams
capture and discussed it. AS all of the
Carrollton negroes have been at cir
Gus one time or another, none of them
hesitated to pronounce the beast full
grown lion, notwithstanding the fact
that much of his name had been burn
ed off. At the corner of st. Charles and
Carrollton avenues, near the car station,
the crowd had grown SO large and boist-
erous as to attract the attention of Off
Ger Mean, who came up to see what
| A. Of for
ed Williams with arrest as a disturber
of the peace, and when shown his queer
capture drew his weapon and was about
to shoot it, when Mr.. Branston, well
known gentleman of Henry Clay ave-
nue., stepped forward and offered to
take charge of the brute making him
self responsible for any damage il
might infict, gave Williams SO for his
claim, and marched off with the lion,
which he had secured with rope, fol-
lowed by a mob of men and boys. The
liking of the forest" as docile as lamb,
iimped along dumbly behind his new
master to the Carrollton Hotel, which
had been closed for some weeks. The
keys of the hotel we're obtained. and
the beast placed in dog house in the
garden, secured only by slender rope.
The news had in the meantime
spread over the town, and more than
100 persons begged SO hard for peep
at the brute that Mr.. Branston finally
consented, and the garden was thrown
open to the public. Considerable
trepidation was exhibited at approach
ing him at first, but all were soon won
over by his docility, and several per-
sons summoned up courage enough to
touch the beast, who did not seem in
the least to be disturbed by this.
George Fairchild, one of the visitors,
declared that he knew the lion well,
having travelled over six months with
it in Stoves Philadelphia Circus, just
lost on the Golden City. The lion
known as Nero, was one of the attrac-
tons of that show; ne was only eight
years old, extremely ferocious, and was
reported to have killed keeper, Geo
PICARD, at Beaufort, S. c., last winter
| The animal must have escaped from
his cage in the burning vessel, and
fioated down to this city from the scene
of the catastrophe.
Mr.. Branston kept an open lion show
until 1890 p. m. when the visitors
were dismissed and the lion shut up in
the dog house, negro, well armed
being stationed at the door to prevent
his escape.
The beast will remain in his present
home until the Woman's industrial
Association of Carrollton, to whom Mr.
Branston intends to present him, car
| Sppurp nrOpnr OnqrfprS
"Nero," might be made the begin
ming of geological garden at Carroll
ton, such as Louisville, st. Louis, and
Cincinnati possess. 1t is very doubtful
whether his former owners would have
any claim over beast rescued in this
manner.
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