Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-22
A LION ON HORSEBACK.
Description of the Performance of tn
Young g Prince Leo"

Description OF the performance OF tnS
Young s. Prince Leo"
Speaking of one of the sensations of the
holidays, the ffteen-months-old horseback
lion, the Pail Mall Gazette SAYS / was in
troduced to him at a rehearsal which took
place in the arena of the Opera House
yesterday afternoon. 1t was his debut in
the English sawdust, and he thoroughly
enjoyed himself. Do not, tender reader,
imagine that Prince Leo Is let loose in the
ring. No. He is young and playful now,
but some day he might take it into his
handsome head to make leap into the
stalls and make off with a plump morsel
which was never intended for butchers
meat before measures could be taken to
stop him. A circular cage is run up in
the ring with a coroneted top piece, which
is let down from the upper regions as lid.
A pretty little white horse with a lovely
white tail, with pad on his back and an
arrangement of armor on his name, is trot-
ting round the ring.
All is ready, and gang of men wheel
up a gorgeous den TO the door of the cage.
Out bounds the lovely young lion, SPLEEN
did young beast in admirable condition,
roaring and gnashing his teeth, rolling his
eyes and whirling his tail around. l take
it that these signs denoted his pleasure at
greeting his old friend, the white horse
with flowing tail Before the lion had
got well out he was followed by a splendid
Russian boar-hound, which lives with him
in perfect amity. The trainer is Ger
man, short, well-built little man, with a
pair Of fine mustachois. He is armed with
whip only, and Immediately orders the
lion to take his place on a wooden pedes-
tai about five feet high, which he does
with pleasurable placidity. Then the
performance begins. After showing his
obedience to his master with Just a snarl
and growl or two to mark time, he is or
dered to leap from his pedestal on to the
horses back, a feat which he aeccomplishes
with ease and grace. The horse then can
tiers around the ring, the dog following,
and the trainer in the center with his eye
always on the lion. The horse is a small
one, not much bigger than pony, in fact,
and it is quite wonderful how easy ne
takes to his rider, who scales sixteen stone.
A platform is then fixed up high enough
for the horse to pass under. Prince
Leo mounts and jumps from the horses
back onto the platform. 1t is very COM
ical TO see the Prince crouching on the
platform with his head bent down to watch
the approach of the horse. He repeated
this fea. several times without a hitch
and with grace which made the perform
ance not only wonderful but pleasant to
watch. Virtue is rewarded with lump
of meat. Next comes race. The horse,
the dog and the lion tear around the ring,
taking a hurdle on the way with great
pleasure, though Prince opened his mighty
Jaws and roared in tones which made me
glad of the iron barrier. For the last act
the lion jumped onto the platform and
fired pistol. A lump of meat dangled
from string attached to the trigger, and
that was how it was done. The lion, by
the way, comes from Hamburg, and is the
property of Hakenbach, the famous ami
NAL dealer.