Nebraska advertiser., 1882-05-18

UEubs Suuhtul1 'edocu W = wv oiN Nh' ~
only the pat watchers observed,
here and there, long distances apart,
small points of gas flames, burning
stead ~ and only giving light enough TO
make the surrounding space seem more
vast and darker just beyond their mar
row circles Of illumination. Those in
the main division Of the Garden seemed
| ike glOw-worms in an enormous vault.
| In the distance a watchman's lantern
lodged, bobbed and glimmcred like a
will o. the wisp. And now a new life
OF activity seemed 10 have entered into
the beasts. In the cages of the feline
beasts greenish, phosphorescent lights
shone in pairs, sometimes fixed steadily
tor minutes together upon the silent,
motionless watchers, again fitting to
| and ro as the ferOcious brutes glided
| nOi-clessly hitler and thither in their
narrow, iron-walled quarters. For some
| time all was silence. Then the distant
Waterman stumbled and awoke a thou
sand echoes In an instant the gleam-
ing eyes in the cages were all in line,
! looking out. and every animal was still.
| Then, as the last faint echoes died away,
byena INDUCED in the diabolical noise
of his kind, which is commonly called a
| laugh and it ended in chorus Of snarl5,
howls, laughs, yelIs scrapings Of claws,
and ratings Of the hycna cage rs its dem
! liens rcyelled in one of the numerous free
| fights by which they vary the mOnotony
! OF existence While this was going on
one OF the lions expressed himself on
| the subject of the disturbance in tones
| like an asthmatic fog horn, and the oc-
cason for public speaking was not let
! pass unimproved by either tigers, Loop
ards, panthers, iaguars or catamOunts.
! The lynXes were quiet, or else they could
| not be heard in the brief tumult. A
tour of inspection near TO the cages of
the herbivorous and gramnivorous ami
mails showed them nearly all standing
up, with looks OF fright, and some of
them trembling. Only the plucky little
axis deer had put itself i'm a posture of
defense, with its head down for a charge,
a. if quite oblivious TO the fact that its
sharp horns have been sawn off to pre-
vent its tanning them through the
wooden wall of the bless-bok's quarters.
The huge rhinoceri, both single and
double horned, and the wart hog lay in
stolid Indifference to all the row. Once
or twice every night, the keepers say,
the animals indulge in such demon
stration as this. but the uproar never
lasts more than few minutes, unless
storm is coming, and then the hyenas
display an activity and tiendish iollity
peculiarly their own that keeps the whole
establishment in tumult all night.
What the monkeys were doing could not
be seen, as it is necessary TO keep their
| cages closed up tightly all the time that
public curiosity does not compel them
| to be open, in order to exclude the cold
| night air As far rs could be Judged
| from listening, mandrils, balloons and
| several varieties of smaller monkeys
/ were sound asleep. The anacondas and
boa constructors were much more lively
than during the day time, disentanglng
themselves from the mass they made
together when sleeping, gliding stealth
| lily about their cage, touching inquir-
/ ingly with their noses the glass walls
| OF their prisOn-house, and festooning
! themselves over the wire screen that
! covers the kerosene oil stove by which
/ their quarters are kept at tropical heat
/ Within great canvas enclosure, the
mother of the baby elephant. having
completely covered her little one with a
huge pile of hay, stood swaying her
trunk over it, and rocking from side to
side, appearing to be doing sort of
pantomime cradle song. Her keeper
says that she only lies down very late at
night, when all strangers are away and
everything is very quiet, and that when
she does so she places herself in such
a position, with her trunk touching the
baby, that its slightest movement will
awaken her instantly Long before day
light she is up again doing her fantastic
dance, but moving rs noiSelessly rs a cat,
watching and waiting for the little one
TO get up.
OF all the herd of elephants, camels,
dromederies, llamas, guanacos, sacred
cattle, ponies, and other beasts occupy
ing the large space under the
seats on the Twenty-sixth street side OF
the building, the most wakcful and
watchful are the first mentioned. 1t is
very seldom that they make any other
noise than long-drawn pufl's, that sound
like stupcndous signs, but never do they
all sleep at one time. From two to a
dozen of them stand, as if on guard
swinging their huge heads from side to
side, toying with wisps of hay which
they gather to toss into the air or occa-
sonally stuff into their mouths, while
the Others sleep BY an apparently
MISUNDERSTOOD arrangement among
them, the guard is relieved from time to
time, slumbererS awaking and standing
up to swing and toss hay in their turn,
while those that have been on their feet
slowly lie down, roll over on their sides,
and drop asleep, When stranger
enters their stable at night the watchers
never for an instant take their ewes of
him while he remains in sight. Two OF
three spotted coach dogs animals for
which elephants seem To have q neculiar