The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-07-10
EDUCATED ANIMALS.
Anecdotes of and Adventures with
Trained Beasts and Birds.
Their Education and How 1t Is Acquired
A Peculiar School i'm Which the
Rod of Iron IL Ne
cessity.

cessity.
There has always been something pc
culiarly entertaining about trained ant
clever animals; anecdotes of what the,
have done have always been acceptable
and exhibitions of what they can do ar,
never the least interesting portion o
the entertainment of which they may
form a part Impressed with some
such group of ideas reporter sought
out few well-known professional
trainers and succeeded with but slight
effort in leading the conversation into
the reminiscent strain. They had LED
strange, adventurous lives, these show.
men, and could but one 1.-THE of their
experiences be given they would fur.
nish material for half dozen news
paper articles of ordinary length. Fol
the purposes of the present article,
however, only such results of the con.
versations will be used as refer to the
training of animals and its results. II
was held as matter of first principle
that the only way to tame animals was
first TO make them fear and then to win
their love. Above all was this the case,
the trainer said, with the larger beasts.
and the only way to render elephants,
lions, tigers, ETC., amenable to tuition
was first to "break their heart" |,
was slfnonsense, these trainers said, to
talk about it being better far 10 rule
by love than fear" That might do for
gentle children, but for the monarch OF
the forest the whip or the iron bar, and
plenty of it, was needed. They recalled
Charles Reade's story of the circus
elephant that only one man could
handle. The brute trampled every one
else under foot, but this fellow she
fondled and was as gentle with as a
mother with sick child. The secret
was discovered by man who lay in the
straw of the elephants stable. The Sc
.cret lay in a pitchfork. Every time the
loved and fondled attendant came near
her he would jab the sharp tines into
her side. After a final goodnight
thrust the keeper lay down in the
straw, while the elephant by turns
touched her bloody TANKS with her
trunk and softly felt that her master
was safe.
From this Introductory expression of
opinion as to how elephants should be
treated, the talk naturally drifted to
what the beasts could do when they had
been trained. 1t is easy enough TO
teach elephants to walk up a plank,
especially if they are from India, where
many of them are half-domesticated
and accustomed to all sorts of service.
1t is a much more difficult matter, how
ever, to teach the elephant to stand on
his hind legs, and to get him to do SO
at all surcingle is strapped around his
forequarters, a derrick is rugged, and
trumpeting like Gideon's army the
bulky beast is hoisted into the air until
he rests only on his hind legs. 1t takes
many strappings up before the elephant
can be induced to stand up under the
use of the goad, and then many more
before he will do so at command. From
standing on his hind legs is but step
to standing on his fore legs; then comes
tub work and pyramids, and although
the animal always acts as though he
could not understand why he should be
called upon to render himself rid;cu-
lous. he never forgets what he has once
learned. The tricks here enumerated
are all that the Indian elephant is gen.
orally taught The cunning and cruel
African elephant, he of the huge flap
ping ears, is never meddled with ex-
sept to teach him to take part in the
grand entree," or to walk in the street
parade. Sometimes, however. the more
docile animal from Hindostau man
ages to acquire clumsy waltz. to ring
bells or play an organ with his trunk,
while three years ago an elephant was
introduced that walked the tight rope,
carrying a pole-small pin his trunk.
which proves that Flewv-Flewy was not
so very much out of the way when he
sang:
De 'lephan walk de rope
The two largest and cleverest elephants
shat ever Wis ted this country were Al
oert and Victoria They were brought
to the United States by Jared Quick
and by him were sold for S22. 500.
While in California Victoria was in
fured by the ferry-boat while swimming
the Stanislaus and died soon after at
lone Valley, where she was buried with
ful circus honors. Albert was taken to
Me lico. While the circus was showing
al the capital military emeute arose,
and the circus people, in endeavoring
TO get away from the trouble, drove the
immense beast so fast that he dropped
dead.
Intelligent as elephants are supposed
TO be and are. they are by no means as
good subjects for tuition as dogs, while
of all dogs the short-tailed French
poodle, white or black, is the most
easily trained. Despite his undigniied
the poodle is a very serious
dog, and what he does he does with a
gravity that shows him to be fully alive
to .he importance of his contribution