Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1882-05-10
Alton with a Wooden Leg.

"Well, as | was saying, have had
my ups, and I've had my downs. One
of my downs was in front Of the spotted
leopard, and aforo | got up again the
the brute grabbed my ear and bit it
completely of. The scar on my face was
caused by kick from buffalo, and L
lost these three fingers by n bite from q
lion. i was handing the animal bit
OF meat and teazing of it somewhat.
My attention was called off by some
thing, and the lion made jump and
and got the meat and my fingers in his
mouth, and bit three of them clean oil.
Well took that philosophy like, and
didn't get my back up. Strange to say,
l had to cut Off the lions leg few
months after. This is how it happened:
"The lions den was divided from the
tigers by row of bars, and the two
animals would sit opposite and spit at
each other for hours. One day the
lion goes to sleep near the partition,
and in his slumbers he stretches one of
his hind legs thorough the bars into
the tigers den. That tiger gives
spring pounces on the lions limb, and
before we could separate 'em the mon
arch of the forest had his trotter fright
fully mangled and chewed up by his
striped rival The next day that leg
begins to swell and tester, and the boss
he says, i shall lose that lion, it's
limb will mortify, and there goes
$2,000p Says Il Amputate the leg,
Says he Where will yer find the saw
bones as IL do itp' Says L; I'm there;
I'll do it for $780, 'Youpsays, he. Yes
l says, me, but give us the $50 bill fust,
He considers awhile and yanks out the
money, and then makes my prepare
tions for the operation. gets lot OF
chloroform in a bottle and engages half
-a-dozen medical students to give me
help. Then | approaches that lion
cautiously and pours the chloroform all
over his head and he falls insensible.
Then we tilted up that lion and bound
him in all sorts of ways with ropes and
chains so that he couldn't move an
and handsaw and sets to work on the
wounded leg, one of the young students
helping me all the WHILE"
"Thank We, sir; don't mind If do;
here's fortune"
"Well, sawed the bone, burnt the
arteries, and bound everything up COM
fortahle-like in less than ten minutes,
and the lion never moved, so strong
was the dose of cloroform. We had
time to rebind him and pour pail
Of ice water over his head before he
made any signs of life, and then he
slowly came to-. He lay on his side for
about two hours, roaring like billy-hoo
with pain, as weak as mouse. How
ever, he stood up OF last on his three
legs and began to sniff all around the
stump of his fourth leg. Then he faces
around and looks me full In the face
seizes hold of the limb had cut oil,
and shows il to him, and lets him smell
it. He locks at me again and winks,
Us much as to say: Il understand it all,
old PAL and darned if l don't believe
he did, for he would crawl to the front
of his den and allow me to wash the
stump of his limb without any signs of
anger. In two months the wound heal
ed, and there was no kind of liberty
/ couldn't take with that lion, used
to put my head in his mouth, lie down
by his side, and have even gone to
sleep with my hand on his back. One
day Noticed how uncomfortable it was
for him when he wanted to sit down, so
l sends for carpenter and has chat
with him. The result of that CONVEX
sation was that q wooden leg was made
for the lion, with n comfortable leather
socket and one day strapped it on.
1t puzzled him good deal at first, but
he did not attempt to gnaw it off, and
in a few days took to it as pleas
antly as though it had grown there.
That wooden leg idea was q big thing
for tho show They used to advertise
The Lion with the Wooden Leg in
letters yard high. However. he only
lived year after the operation, and
when he died left that show. '--Phila-
delphid Press