Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-05-23

" Don't talk So loud, said the watch
man you'll wake the oudad.''
''That what 2"
The oudad. replied the watchman
= that's what they call it he's lovely
bird and has voice like buzz saw.
And when he buZZes, gosh So let him
Sleep and the watchman silently led
the way past the oudad.
Cheese it,r broke out the watch
man again. DO you hear that - An
elephant had evidently kicked his COM
paniOn.
Are the elephants apt to be very
restless at night ~
"Oh, very. And when an elephant
is restless, there's a good deal that S
restless. They sleep on one side till
that's tired and then they flop over
on the other That was Hop we just
heard"
What's this 2" asked the reporter,
pointing to something in the path.
THAT, :" replied the watchman, fol-
lowing up the obstacle with his lantern,
seem to be part of a camel. But
where's the rest of him? Oh, here it
is. They stretch out well, don't they =?
Those are magnificent humpS-made
expressly for this circus, too. They are
harmless.
"What, the humps -
"NO. the camels. And they make no
noise at night unless they find shingle
nails in their food. Then they COM
plain
Don't get too near the business end
of that thing said the watclman, lift
ing up his lantern So that II WAS even
darker than before, That is mule.
Never interfere with a mules plans,
and in approaching him always allow
for a contraction and subsequent eX-
panSion of the muscles. Next to the
mule are the zebra-striped ponies. We
never venture To use soap ON those
stripes. Here are some very rare things,
and they are as queer rs they are rare.
They never make the slightest noise
either when pleased or when frightened.
They are the giriifS. No one ever heard
Il giraffe murmur. Observe the length
of their neck. What a winter resort
for diphtheria You can get something
/ OF an idea of their length of neck 10y
Picturing in your minds eye four yards
of sore throat and the amount of vine
gar and salt required for one gargle.
The giraffe is indeed difficult thing to
keep; he dies So easily and almost with
| ont prOVOcatiOn.
This animal here" continued the
watchman, still walking by the stalled
lanimalS 3" is not as You might have
supposed, Harlem goat. No; this is
the sacred bull. 1t is said he was taken
from the Pope"
"Is he very sacred - asked the incre-
dulous reporter,
Yes; he's extremely sacred He
gets more sacred every day. The
amount of reverence he inspires in
his keepers is only equaled by that of
the mule. -
Having reached the end Of the stalled
animals the watchman announced, by
twist of his lantern, that he was about
to come upon the ferOciOuS wild beasts
in cages. He then put out the lantern,
and he and the reporter sat down on
the railing that protects the Gagged ami
mails from the spectators. II was lit
tie early for the usual midnight roar of
the animals, but not half 50 early as
the visitors had thought, for soon there
came from the cage back of them a
noise that startled both of them out of
a weeks growth. 1t was the greeting
Of an African lion.
1t only required the roar of one lion
with good lungs to start the whole me-
nagerle. That beautiful bird called the
emu was the first to reply to the lion 5
call The reply was nothing more than
a mild form of SneeZe, but it went a
great way. And in less time than il
takes to record il the congregation of
animals that were endowed with any
sort of an apparatus for making rack
ct had tuned their pipes and were blow
ing and believing to see which could
make the most noise. 1t was a lively
place To be in without any light. But
that did not seem to make any differ
ence TO the animals. The babOcn bark
ed and the rhinoceros grunted. And
the louder they barked and grunted the
louder the lions and tigers rOaTed. Then
the elephants joined ia the general dis
order, and when they united in the
chorus there was no peace for the wick
ed. One elephant IS usually considered
sufficient to supply one family with ali
the noise it wants; but when twenty
elephants lift up their voices in one
sympathetic lamentatiOn, nothing but
the deepest coal mine could ever furnish
safe harbor or Il sure retreat. Add to
this the hair-splitting noises Of the
cOckatOOs and the macaws, the MOURN
| ful lowing of the NUbian rhinOcerOs
and the unparalleled snOre Of the hip
ipop0tamuS, and the effect is appalling.
The watchman looked ut the reporter
and the reporter eyed the watchman.
Neither could speak. And it would
not have made any difference if they
had spoken. They might have rOared
until they were black in the face and
still not have been heard. Each grasp
eel the others hand and bolted for the
entrance with Is much haste as though
pursued by the whole menageue.