The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-05-23
TRICK ANIMALS.
Some Funny Things at Barnum's.


(Allan Forman in uarper's Young People,
There is hardly boy or girl who is
not interested in training pets to do
tricks. Whether it is only to teach old
Tray to Jump over stick, or little Jlp
to stand up on his hind-legs and beg for
a bit of meat, or the more ambitious
efforts with the pony, the intent is the
So ne towad the education of our dumb
companions and toward making them
more ompanionlonable.
Not the least interesting features OF
Barnum's Circus this season are the ex-
hibitions of trained animals, and the
troup of four performing seals have quite
sstaken the town." as the saying is. A
seal is naturally very Intelligent crea-
ture; from the shape of the head you will
notice that the forehead is higher, there
is more room for brain, and that its head
more nearly approaches IN shape that OF
the human head than that of any other
animal, except, perhaps, the monkey.
The eyes are singularly mild and expires.
sive, and the animals are docile and
afectionate in disposition. The four
specimens which are with Mr.. Barnum
| this year are dog-faced seals from the
North Sea, and are the propety OF MIR.
Herman Casa, the trainer. They are
very fond of him, and after they once
begin to learn, they exhibit truely
human love of applause, and desire to
! perfect themselves in their tricks. Their
| owner has taught them to make a noise
which is not unlike singing, and they
will frequently rehearse their choruses
when they are alone in their cages,
keeping time with each other just as they
do before an audience. 1t takes about
six months to train seals beiare they can
appear in public, but after they once get
an idea of what is wanted of them, they
are very quick to learn.
Mr.. Casa has taught Bob, the Oldest
of the quartette, the bad habit of smoking
pipe, and he really seems to like it,
while Toby is more 'dudish in his tastes,
and prefers cigarettes. Baby, who is only
two years old, has developed talent for
music, and strums quite respectable
accompaniment upon a guitar, while
Lady turns hand organ. They 60
through q drill, play on drnm, cymbals,
and tambourine, ringa bell, and shoot
gun and revolver at the word Of COM
mand. The strangely human expression
of their eyes, and their evident delight
in the applause of the audience, add
greatly to the charm of the performance.
They have become so civilized that the
only remaining traces of their wild nature
are shown when they receive their dinner
of raw fish. Then they growl at each
other and tear their food in most
impolite fashion.
But the seals are only one of the many
attractions at the great circus. When l
went around among the animals with the
Superintendent of the menagerie short
time ago, baby camel had just come to
town, the second born in the show this
season. It was queer long-legged crea-
ture, and looked for all the world like
caricature of its grotesque mother, which
was wonderfully proud and tender with
the youngster, and evidently regarded
| it as one of the most beautiful and pre-
cious of living creatures. While she
was gratiied with Mr.. Conkling's notice
of her offspring, she evidently had her
doubts about me, and more than half
suspected that I had some evil designs
against her long-necked weak-kneed
baby, which with the confidence of
youth tried to chew the buttons Oft my
overcoat.
| Though the present Superintendent
has only been with the Barnum show for
one season, he is on the best OF terms
with all the animals, and shakes hands
with the big lion, and scratches the
tigers neck with familiarity which is
quite awe-inspiring. To be successful
as an animal trainer a man must be
patient, firm, e7en-temperd, and abso-
| lutely devoid of fear. He must win the
confidence and the respect as well as the
affection of the animals in his charge.
He must be always on the alert, for with
many of the larger and more savage
animals single moment of carelessness
may cost the trainer his life.
Mr.. Wotson, with his troupe of trained
dogs, has no such fear: his jolly pets go
through their acts for the fun of the
thing. They Jump hurdles, run races,
and dance, and while they are sitting on
their stools impatiently waiting their
turn to perform, they keep time to the
music Of the band with their tails, while
one excitable, halfbreed Eskimo terrier,
whose specially is the turning of back
somersaults, jumps down from his perch
at intervals, and relieves his feelings by
few somersaults on his own account.
When bis turn comes on the programme
he can hardly wait his masters signal,
but turns over and over around the Cir
cular stage until he looks like an anima-
ted ball OF gray hair. He is one of those
actors who like to give the whole show
themselves, and evidently feels vory un-
happy when he is not occupying the
whole attention of the audience.
A pig is not very pretty animal, nor
is it generally regarded as very intel
igent; yet Robin Raffn mas managed to
teach his trio of porchine pupils to go
through number of very amusing trick.
They run steeple-chases, with monkeys
on their backs for jockeys, and the old
black Spanish pig, dressed as nurse,
wheels the little white pig, arraying In
baby-clothes, around the big ring in
perambulator. The pigs are stupid,
obstinate brutes though, and lack the
vivacity of rhe seals and dogs.
But here comes with his keeper most
remarkable bird. It is a gigantic duck,
and as it waddles into the ring quacking,
wiggling its stump of tail, and flap
pirg its wings, all its actions are so duck
Ike that one can hardly believe that It Is
not genuine. Presently it goes out, and