St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-02-25
ABOUT WILD ANIMALS.

Most Youngsters who pay their way
into circus-tent know at sight every
animal that is likely to be found there,
and, as soon as they have nodded recogg-
milton at him, are sure to ask: 2" What
can he do?s''l #..
For. this reason, almost every danger
GUS creature in the best recent coflec-
tons has been both wild and tame. The
lions, the tigers, the panthers, are as
large and terrible-looking. as ever, and
it would be just as dreadful a thing If
they should get loose among the specta-
tors. 1t is worth while, therefore, to
see them all p'ayfully submissive to a
little man or woman with mere whip
in hand.
A direct consequence of all this is that
the more a wild beast can be taught, the
more he is worth, but there is no telling
how stupid some lions and other savages
are. The very best of them, even after
all kinds of good schooling, retain a
lurking disposition to make a meal of
their Keeper, or of anybody else, it a
good opportunity is given for it. Clam
| inc" is a process which has to be con-
|
a tigers till, and there has beenno change
in his born conviction that all other llv-
ing creatures are game for him.
The best lion and tiger kings of to-
day say that every time they enter cage
containing these fierce creatures they
carry their lives in their hands.
"Gentle?" remarked one of these
venturesome folks the other day.
"Those tigers of mine?-Why, do you
see that whip? | know, as well as [
know anything, that if drop that whip
when I am in that cage they'll be on
me. Their idea of obedience is con-
nected with the whip, first; then with
my voice; then with my face. Severity?
Cruelty? No use at all. I never use
cruelty in training them. Only pa
tience. When l take on new cage of
beasts I work to get them used to me;
feeding them; cleaning the cage; talk
ing to them; all that sort of thing; be-
fore l go in among them. Then [ do
that. It's ticklish piece of business,
going in the first time; and | pick my
chance for it when they're specially
peaceable. [ go right in, just as if it
were matter of course, but | keep my
eyes about me. It's humbug that a
mans eye has any power over wild
beast. Your eyes are to watch their
motions-that all. They'll find out
quickly enough if you're getting care
less. They're sure enough to be
watching you all the time. Are
they intelligent? Well, there's as much
difference among 'em as there is among
men. / can train really intelligent
lion, right from the wild, in about four
weeks, so he will do all that the lion
kings make them do. A lioness always
takes a couple of weeks longer, and SO
. does a leopard or tiger. You can't
get hyena well in hand inside of two
months. They're the meanest OF
brutes. They never understand any
thing but club. The easiest
to train, because they know the most,
are pumas. I can teach puma all it
needs to know in four weeks. Aztec
ton? Teach those fellows to love youP
That's all nonsense. They'll fawn and
fawn on you, and you'll think you We
done it, may be. Then you go into the
cage, if you want to, without your whip,
or when they're in bad temper, and find
out for yourself what they'll do. See
that dent in the side of my head and
those deep scars on my arm! There
are more down here, "-patting his leg
"Got 'em from the best trained lions
you ever saw. It's awful, sometimes
to have one of those fellows kind O
smell of you and yawn and shut his
jaws, say, close to one of your knees
See my wife there? She's the Pan
Their Queen just as I'm a Tiger King,
and that fellow yonder's a Lion King.
Her pets are playing with her now, bu
they've scratched her well, I tell you
There's great odds among them, though
, and that young puma with her head VI
| to be kissed is what you might call gen
{ tie. Only they're all treacherous
Every lion king gets sick of it aftel
; while. ] could name more than {
dozen of the best who have given it vi
right in the prime Of life. Once the,
,.fgye it up, nothing'n tempt ,'em inside
: Of a cage again. You see, every nov
, and then some other tanner gets badl,
clawed and bitten. They've all beer
clawed and bitten more or less them
selves. The strain on a mans nerves
, is pretty sharp-sure death around hin
/ all the while. And the pay isn't any
thing like what it was
It may be true that the strictly pre-