The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-04-27
A LION TAMER'S EXPERIENCE
First Entrance Int a Cage
Breaking in a Three
Year-old.

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"While with Robinson's circus,
said Mr.. Neylan, Il became ac
quinted with Bill Reynolds, the
well-knOwn lion performer, and be
came fast favorite with him. He
was growing old, and was taken i'll
quite frequently, thereby necessi-
tating the withdrawal of that feat
nre of the entertainment. was in
the habit of playing with the lions
outside the cage and one day ]
asked Archie Mccarthy, the boss
canvassman, who had charge of the
cage, if he would let me 90 inside
He laughed at me, and insinuated
that / would back out mighty
quick. ] looked about for cow
hide, and being unable to find one,
substituted a broom handle and
started in. There were two lions and
a tiger-the famous lion Old Prince,
the pet lioness jennie, and a beau
tiful tiger of magnificent proper
tions. Old Prince was stubborn,
bull-headed creature, and meant
mischief every time. was about
sixteen years of age at the time,
and was in good physical condition.
The moment l entered, the animals
regarded me as an intruder, and
Old Prince commenced to assume a
warlike department. belabored
him vigorously with the broom-han
die, maintaining my self possession
and nerve, and ere left the cage
he was humbly submissive, and
with the other animals, wouid
promptly do my bidding. i il.
formed the manager tnat l h.iu
found substitute for R.YRnids, an,
would produce him that night. Tn,
cage was drawn into the ring, ant.
at the appointed time l appeared,
greatly to the surprise and bewii
derment of the manager. As i
started toward toward the cage he
shouted: Come away, you fool,
you'll get eaten up But / went
on with the performance, and the
animals behaved beautifully. AT
another time Robinson had young
lion three years old, of great strength
and ferocious disposition. deter
mined to break him, and selecting
an empty cage with two partitions,
L had it drawn into the woods one
Sunday, and had a terrible encoun-
ter with him for three hours. The
enraged beast refused to obey the
lash, and it became necessary to use
hot irons instead of raw hide. AT
ter he had been subdued 1 petted
him for time and furnished him a
substantial meal, and we parted the
best of friends. All the clothing
wore at the close of the encounter
was a pair of stockings and a wrist
band to my shirt L subsequently
broke another pair for Robinson
and had tough tussel with them,
but nothing in comparison to the
! three year-old.'
Mr.. Neylan was asked if he had
ever found himself in extreme peril.
"Well," replied Mr.. Neylan. Il
was placed in a most uncomfor
table siuation. Jennie, the pet
! lioness, was with young, and one
day L had occasion to enter her
! ca &c to repair it. The sound of the
hammer employed in driving nails
appeared to frie hten her, and sud
denly fastened her teeth in my
calf of my leg, had the presence
of mind to let her alone, although
she was tearing my fresh terribly
and seizing my hammer, l watched
my opportunity, when she had
caught my wrist between her teetn,
and thrusting the hand down her
throat, choked off her hold. Then
she sought to leap upon me, and
stripped me of my clothing, besides
leaving the bloody imprint of her
claws upon my back. The blows of
the hammer did not seem to haYe
any effect, and at an Opportunc
moment one of the keepers, seeing
my predicament, seized an iron bar,
and belabored her vigorously, while
kept accompaniment with my
hammer. We conquered her at last,
and / lett the cage TO dress myself
and my wounds. She never dis
turbed me again, and was always
gentle and tractable, Once previous
to this Jennie knocked me down,
and Old Prince evidently Intended
to make meal Of me, but my good
fortune and courage lid not desert
me. and wniple0-them a..a into
uhjection with NY Gown q
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break lions, SAID SIR. Noy IA,
when they are Cubs of e n. - [ .
months old. NY practice was /"
devote an hour a day tO training
always exercising them on emp
stomachs and feeding them imme
diately afterwards. If the animal
is tractable and submissive, he
should be treated kindly, but if he
is inclined to be stubborn and ugly.
then you must obtain the mastery
by vigorous use of the cowhide.
They are inclined to be treacherous,
even when most frolicsome and
gentle, and it can be shown that
the majority of lion performers who
have been killed have allowed too
much liberty to their pets. The
objective point of the cowhide is
the face and eyes, to blind and con-
fuse them, and they smart and are
forced into retirement by a vigorous
6agellation. IL must not be thought
for an instant that one can look
them steadily in the eye and thus
disarm them. The lion does become
somewhat blinded by steady gaze,
bnt the moment he lowers his head
and gives it an ominous shake,
then lookout for danger, and the
more promptly the lash is applied
the better. The tiger is more
treacherously inclined than the hon,
and more difficulty is experienced
in their training. 1 have trained
Asiatic, African and Mexican lions,
and some OF them have developed
remarkable powers of intelligence
and sagacity."