Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-31
BIDEL, THE LION KING.
A HALF HOURS CHAT WITH A
FRENCH LION tanner.

SuOVmAu NJ HIS HeB1OeHCo wear shse'
Talk About Tamers-An Aneedote Con-
| corning Van Amburch's Eye.
Bidel is stout, thick set man, with a dark
eye, jet black hair, and a powerful, sturdy
| frame. In the autumn Of last year he was
mangled by Sultan. He has now fairly re-
covered from the shock his nerves sustained
on that occasion, but still retains lively
sense of the danger to which he was exposed;
so much So in fact, that he has given up eli
| idea of again entering Sultan's cage, or, In
| deed, that of any other of the wild beasts
which go to make up his really fine collection
Of animals.
Il was born at Rouen in $780," said the
| tanner, @and am consequently A years OF age.
My mother kept srroliing menagerie, and
we Travelled for many years over France and
Italy, after which we came up to Paris
began the training of animals IN my youth,
and entered lions cage for the first time
when mere STRIPPING. So you see was
born and bred to the business, and have had
opportunities from infancy to study the
habits and tempers of ali sorts OF wild beasts,
q thing seldom afforded to most Of those who
follow my profession"
"How long does it take befove man and
beast are fit to appear in public!'
1T depends great deal upon the man and
| in a measure on the animal he has to work
| with. Now, there is Aexiano, my pupil, who
has thoroughly daunted that almost irreclaim-
ably fierce lion, Sultan, by whom l was
| nearly torn to pieces last fall. From the first
hour he entered the cage ne got complete con-
troll over the brute, and accomplished in a
few days what might have required as many
months in another. He is one Of the most
logged, unfinching tanners l have ever met,
| all Drawn and sinew, and as stout hearted as
an elephant. He was born at Orleans, and is
by seven years or SO my junior"
""ould you, if occasion required, enter a
cage Of strange lions and perform with thems"
Certainly; have done so on more than
one occasion"
"Have you ever felt nervous~
@Why, yes, more especially on account of
the fleas"
But you must have experienced some APP
prehension, surely, when you were mauled by
Sultan:7
"Had given way to the slightest touch of
fear on that occasion should not be here to
talk the matter over with you. When man
begins to feel qualmish il is high time he
/ s1Guiu give up hon tanning.
Were you present when Lucas was killed."
"No l was not in Paris at the time. That
was under the empire. The accident occurred
at the old Hippodrome, when it stood near
the Triumphal Arch and before it was burned
down. Lucas, although a Spaniard, was
! somewhat Of a tippler. He had the rashness
to enter the lions cage when excited by drink,
and was torn to pieces by an animal with
which he was performing A lad of Il ven
! tured into the Enclosure and brought out bis
| mangled remains. He was decorated by the
emperor, but went out of his mind coon after
ward from the mental strain Of the moment"
"Do most tanners of wild beasts die q violent
death?"
mo It is usually the result of imprudence.
A smart trainer never gives chance away.
He may, of course, get scratched or bitten,
! but he is rarely eaten"
"Have you known besides yourself any re-
nowned trainers who have made a fortune
ard retired from the businesss"
why, yes, scores. There is Van Am
burgh, and Charles, commonly reported as
victim OF his art, who died peacefully of con-
sumption in his bed; and Henri Martin, who
had won renown long before the French his
| torian Of that name had penned a line, and of
| whom all modern masters in the art of tam
| ing wild beasts speak with respect and ven
Grafton, quietly departed this life few years
ago at tie advanced age of 80, in his little
house at Overchie, village near Rotterdam,
where he had lived in retirement for forty
years. among bis collections Of butterflies and
his books on botany"
"Then you think the death Of this man at
Bourges was brought about by carelessnessl
Did you know him!'
ayes; his name was Agop Shaninion. He
was of Turkish extraction, about 40 years of
age and belonged to Redenbach's menagerie
He was also the husband of Nouma Hawa II,
female lion tanner, who has since gone oGt
of her mind, and is now in lunatic asylum.
Lagardere, the animal which killed Agop, is
as gentle as spaniel. On a sign from the
finger, Lagardere would lie down as if dead,
and suffer himself to be dragged about the
floor of his cage by the tail. He could be
mounted like horse or sat upon like sofa.
No more docile wild beast could well be found
anywhere. Agop knew this and was reck-
less. He was putting the animal through its
lessons in careless manner; the lion stretched
itself on its side. the trainer sat down as usual
on its ribs, when the beast turned up its head,
crunched the unfortunate tanners backbone
with his jaws. After that Lagardere rose,
threw the body back over bis name and
proudly walked the cage with the dead mans
neck still firmly held by his fangs. A boy,
who happened to be inside the booth at the
time, raised an alarm and rushed to
the rescue with a prong. The neighbors
came in and the lion was finally forced into
! <!1a Sc
was got out 1t is clear to my mind that
Agop either sat down too heavily or too sud-
denly on the beasts side, and with his back
turned toward the animal. careful trainer.
however tame the hon may be, should never
altogether lose sight OF bis charge
Let me conclude this letter by repeating an
anecdote told me by Delnonico, the negro
lion tanner several years ago. had asked
| Delmouico:
What influence has the human eye on wild
| beasts9'
well, :" he replied, II should say about the
same influence the eye Of one man has on an
other A story is told of Van Amburgh, the
great hon tanner, now dead. On one occa-
sion, while in barroom, he was asked how
he got his wonderful power over animals.
He said: 1t is by my showing them that I'm
| not the least afraid Of them, and by keeping
my eye steadily on theirs. III give you ea
example of the power OF my eyes
Pointing to a loutish fellow VINO was sit
ting opposite, Van Amburgh said:
"sYou see that fellow! Hes regular
clown III make him come scroas the room
to ME, and won't say word to him
Sitting down he fixed his keen, steady eye
on the man Presently the fellow straight
ened himself gradually. got N, and came
across to Van Amburgh When he got close