The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-06-30
Mi9night in a Menarerie.

| man, YOU III Ndht lHc Ouuau'
"The what?n said the reporter,
"The oudad,n replied the Waterman
that's what they call 1t; he's Lowell
bird and has voice like buzz saw. e.
And when he buzzes, gosh, So let hir
Sleep" and the Waterman silently LEI
the way past the oudad,
Cheese it," broke ont the watchma
again. "Do YOU hear thatph An Gle
plant had evidently kicked his com
panion.
care the elephants apt to be yer,
restless at nightP'
"Oh, very. And when an elephan
is restless, there's a good deal that
restless. They sleep on one side til
that's tired and then they flop over Oh
the other. That was flop over we jus
heard"
whats this?" asked the reporter
pointing to something in the path.
That" replied the Waterman, fol
lowing up the obstacle with his lantern
'seems to be part of camel. Blu
where's the rest of him? Oh, here it is
They stretch out well, don't they
Those are magnificent humps-madt
expressly for the circus, too. They arr
harmless. "
"What, the humps?"
mo, the camels And they make
no noise ut night unless they find shin.
gle nails in their food. Then they COM
plain"
"Don't get too near the business end
of that thing" said the Waterman, lift
ing up his lantern so that it was even
darker than before, "that is n mule. -
Never interfere with a mules plans and
in approaching him always allow for a
contraction and subsequent expansion 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 as they are rare. They never
make the slightest noise either when
pleased or when frightened. They are
the giratlcs. No one ever heard Cir
afle murmur. Observe the length of their
neck. What winter resort for diph-
iberia! You can get something of an
dea of their length of neck by p:cturing
IN your minds eye four yards of sore
throat and the amount of vinegar and
salt required for one gargle. The g-
'atle is indeed a difficult thing to keep;
he dies so easily and almost without
This animal here" continued the
Waterman, still walking by the stalled
sis not, as YOU might have sup
,osed, Harlem goat. No; this is the
acred bull. 1t is said he was taken
rom the Pope"
as he very sacred?" asked the in
reduious reporter.
Eyes; he's extremely sacred. He
cts more sacred every day. The
mount of reverence he inspires in his
eepers is only equaled by that of the
lule."
Having reached the end of the stalled
nimals the watchmen announced, by
visit OF his lantern, that he was about
, come upon the ferocious wild beasts
| cages. He then put out the lantern,
nd he and the reporter sat down on the
liling that protects the Gagged animals
ON the spectators. twas little early |
n the usual midnight roar of the ami
lals, but not half so early as the visit
rs had thought, for soon there came
ON the cage back of them noise that
tartled both of them out of q weeks
rowth. 1t was the greeting Of an AZ
can lion.
1t only required the roar OF one lion
18th good lungs to start tho whole me-
agerie. That beautiful bird called the
mu was the first to reply to the lions
all. The reply was nothing more than
mild form of sneeZe, but it went n
reat way. And in less time than it
axes to record it the congregation of
nimals that were endowed with any
ort of an apparatus for making u rack
t had tuned their pipes and We're blow 4;
~ and believing to see which could /.
lake the most noise. 1t was lively /.
lace to be in without any light. But
nat did not seem to make any differ
nee to the animals. The baboon bark /
d and the rhinorrros gruntcd. And the .
,udcr they barke'l and grunted the
,udcr the lions and tigers roared. -
hen the elephants Joined in the general I
and when they united in the
horus there was no peace for the wick
Il. One ELEPHANTS usually considered
efficient to supply one family with all ,
10 noise it wants; but when twenty Gle
hants lift up their voices in one sympa-
letic lamcntation, nothing but the deep
st coal mine could ever furnish safe
arbor or ~ sure retreat. Add to this
ne hair-spltting noises of the cockatoos
nd the macaws, the mournful lowing
t the Nubiau rhinoccros and the un-
arallclcd snore of tho hippopotamus,
nd the effect is APPALLING. The watch
ian looked at the reporter and the re-
orter eyed the Waterman. Neither
Guild speak. And it would not have
lade any difference if they had spoken.
hey might have roared until they We're
lack in Il o face and still not have made
heard. Each grasped the
TIERS hand and boted for the entrance
18th as much haste rs though pursued
y the whole menagcric. -Neo York
ribunc.