Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-12-20
ION rAmER.s YARNS.
n. selsed Tiger by the Skin Of IT.
Rack and Carried II On.

q
Rack and Carried II on.
The imagination of eveL a Barnun
must pale before the collection OF mar
yelous tales of circus adventure con
tanned in a book recently Issued in
France by the famous lion tanner
Bidel, which purports to be a memoir
of his life. and the accuracy OF which
is vouched for, by the way. by excel
lent authority. This is his account Of
the feat which first won him distinc
ton, the occasion being the escape Of
Atlier, a young tiger noted for his fe'
rocity:
Through a half-open window some
one said to me, almost in whisper.
for fear the tiger should hear him
..There he is" The brave fellows
finger pointed to blacksmith shop,
the door wide open and the interior,
thanks to the binding light of day,
seeming to be gulf of darkness.
rushed at it. Just at first l could see
nothing. Every thing was darkness.
This did not go on for more than ten
seconds. got used to the darkness,
and l discovered the fugitive crouched
in a corner, ready to leap upon me,
with foaming throat and flaming eyes.
One second more and he would have
sprung. annihilated and torn me tC
pieces. l took the initiative and il
was that made the spring. What
howlings, what fury and what foam
ing! This hand-to-hand struggle in
semi-darkness, I breathless and he
furious, did not last long. Otherwise
I should have been lost With both
my hands. which are strong and large,
/ seized him by the skin of his back; ]
lifted him over my back. and under
this enormous weight, without STUN
bling, without faltering. l walked with
a firm and even step to the menagerie.
You may imagine that 1 was congrat-
ulated.
Lions were more to M. Bidel's taste,
and the yarns he spins of his expert
ences with them are startling. For in
stance, once four lions In a cage had
seized man passing. and. being I'M
able to pull him through the bars of
the cage whole, were biting him into
pieces and getting him inside in that
way. M. Bidel. with no weapon but
his fists. sprang into the cage and beat
the lions until they let go their prey.
after having got the mans right arm
and samples of other portions of his
body inside the bars. The man recov-
cred and is still living. Another time
NJ. Bidel, seeing evidences of bad tenn
per on the part of Sultan. a black
named African lion in the prime of
life, entered the cage for the purpose
of correcting any possible hayward
tendencies on the part of the beast.
He was suffering from acute rheuma-
tism in his left leg, and, at the critical
moment fell, and was bounced upon by
the lion. There was cry of horror
from those about, and NJ. Bidel was
the only man who made no sound. Il
felt the need of being calm" he naively
remarks; 1.-The least mistake and all
was over" So, instead of making a
fuss and crying out, he seized the lion
by its throat and twisted the skin with
all his might The lions attack was
checked. and the next instant assist
ants with red-hot bars drove off the
beast. NJ Bidel sprang to his feet,
crushed upon the rebel and drove him
into his retreat"
Another lion story, less sensational,
but with the same delicate flavor of
-eracity that makes NJ. Bidels
hemoirs so delightful, is Of a lion and
ioness who had for many years dwelt
together in one cage, and whose ''mu-
tual endearments were incessant,
demOnstrative and touching A
bachelor lion came to live next to
them. and one day, the door between
the two cages being left open, the lion
ess slipped through to visit the bach
elor. 1.-The betrayed husband was be-
side himself with passion; there was
anguish and hatred in his face, and it
was plain his heart was broken. :"
When the lioness was driven back to
her own cage she was instantly killed