Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-08-01
TRAINING ANIMALS.
FACTS PICKED UP AMONG VET
ERAN TRAINERS.
Cruelty Usual Means of Tuition
How Elephants Are Taught to
Stand on Their Heads.
"Grop1d arms"

"Grop1d arms"
The -nwieldy brute glanced furtively
at his keeper out of the corners of his
wicked little eyes, and moved sullzily
toward the further end of his cage.
Keeper William Snyder, OF the Central
Park managerie, was explaining to the
reporter how elephants are trained, and
was illustrating his lecture with the
three animals under his charge.
''Ground arms, Tip" Snyder leaped
over the rail and slid between the bars
of the cage, and stood beside the ele,
plant, pick in hand.
''Tipl" The animal felt the sharp
steel prod his slide and gave a shrill
scream of terror.
"Ground arms |" Slowly and awk-
wardly the great brule bent his legs and
sank down on his foreknees.
''Over I" A lurch, such as sinking
ship gives, followed this command, and
Tip rolled over on his side, apparently
dead.
"Get up, nowl" With almost incred-
ible rapidity Tip pulled himself together
and assumed his normal posture.
elephants are the hardest animals
in the world to train" said the keeper
after his lecture was ended. at takes
three years to teach one all of the circus
tricks, but the time is not thrown
away. A green elephant is worth 81, 900
while one that has acquired the ring
accomplishments often brings $40, 900.
How do we go about it2 It's just like a
course in school. There are the rud
iments, the classics, and the finishing
touches. The course of training is
seldom varied. To begin with, an ele-
plant is taught to lie down at the com
mand ground arms. This isn't an
easy job. We first shackle his fore feet
together, then his hind feet. Then to
the forward shackle we hitch trained
elephant, and another to the hind
shackle. Both elephants are started in
opposite directions, and the pupils legs
are pulled apart, throwing him down.
This is repeated possibly fifty times in
a day, until he Will do the trick without
the use of force.
"Next comes the salute, when he
throws up his trunk and snorts; the roll
call, when he leaves his fellows and
takes his place in the other end Of the
ring as his name is called, and the
various maneuvres of the grand march.
These are easily taught. All that is
needed is patient trainer and an assis-
tant, aided by two sharp-pointed steel
picks. The real difficulty comes when
you begin with the tub and barrel tricks.
To make an elephant stand on his hind
legs or on his head, or with his fore feet
ON another elephants back, and to teach
him to stand on a barrel and roll it, re-
quires months of hard work. Mechan
ical appliances are needed to teach
these tricks. You must have block and
tackle suspended from stout beam in
the ceiling. Then the feet of the pupil
must be shackled as in the first trick.
To make him stand on his head hoist
his hind feet into the air. Reverse this
to make him stand on his hind feet.
With this block and tackle all Of these
tricks can be taught varying the process
TO suit the case. This work is not only
hard, but dangerous. An elephant
keeper or trainer takes his life IN his
hands every time he is in reach of q
trunk or tusk. No one can tell when an
elephant will strike at him. AT certain
seasons Of the year the male elephants
are almost ummanageable, and the train
ing schools stand mighty good chance
of being turned into hospital at any
minute"
"The easiest animal to train" said
DR.. Conklin, superintendent of the men
agerie. sis the seal. Seals are very
docile and intelligent. In training them
little force or cruelty is needed. Kind
ness is the best plan. After doing each
trick they get little morsel OF fish, and
they are sometimes petted in addition.
1t takes about three months to make q
young seal an expert performer in the
circus tank. The secret in training
most animals is constant association
with them. Take lions, tigers, panthers,
leopards, and other members of the cat
tribe. The only way they can be tanned
sufficiently to allow their trainers to go
into their cages is by his associating
with them and feeding them daily for
weeks and months. When they know
him well enough to let him pat them
and caress them through the cage bars,
he makes his FIRST attempt inside. He
carries whip in his hand, and speaks
to them continually, He has taken the
Drecaut1On 10 uANe TWO htbcuuauOS
s-ound with sharp pointed iron prongs
outside the cage, in case his pupils
should prove bloodthirsty. Generally
the trainer is not hurt. In three months,
as rule, these cat animals can be tanned
to that extent, but years of work could
not make them do any tricks. They will
be submissive to man, but they will not
work for him, as the bear and elephant
do.
Speaking of bears" continued the
Doctor, "they are hard to train, and
their tuition is and must be excessively
cruel. The Italians are the most expert
bear trainers in the world, and they
finish their term Of school in an incred-
iblv short time. Often a month, and
sometimes two weeks, will make wild
and ferocious bear as tame and harmless
as performing pig. First the Italian
pierces the bears nose with stout iron
ring, and while the wound is still fresh
he drags poor bruin around his pen,
pulling and beating him until the brute
screams in agony. That generally con-