The morning call., 1890-06-16
8 EMPEROR'S" DEATH.
A Strange Execution at the st.
LOnis 900" Recently.
The Grand Old Lion Was Too Feeble to Live,
SO His Keepers Were kerciful and Used
Chlorcfoim His Consort Furious.

emperor" is dead, and the hundreds OF
thousands Of people who have admired his
tawny majesty at the Geological Garden for
nearly fourteen years will miss the noble
beast, says the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
On Sunday afternoon he was painlessly
executed by Superintendent Bellaire and
Keeper Crowley in the interest of simple
humanity. Chloroform was used in the
act and in less than five minutes the grand
old brute had passed over to the celestial
forest.
emperor" was close on to 30 years of
age, and of late months has been quite
feeble. He was partially paralyzed as to
his hind limbs, and a month ago, in the
language of his keeper, went ''clean off Of
his feed"
Superintendent Bellaire, 10th to lose the
old fellow, who in his feeble old age was as
grand and awe-inspiring as ever. made
every effort to nurse the royal invalid back
into health. For two weeks he has fed him
on warm bullock's blood only, but on Sat-
urday it became apparent that even kings
must die. lie merely tasted the blood, and
then lay down with his tongue lolling out
The royal consOrt, Empress, had, since
solicitude. She would be near him for
hours, purring gently if a lioness may be
said to purr, and then she would get up and
pace the confines of the cell restleSsly as II
in mental worry, returning TO her post by
her liege and renewing her affectionate at
tentions.
On Sunday morning it was agreed that
it would be cruelty TO let the Emperor lin
ger longer. A suggestion to shoot him was
at once rejected. IL is not an easy matter to
lin trrk.t hill lt.
might have been put into the tawny old
carcass and death not occur for
a week. In the morning the En-
press was separated from her
consort for the first time in ten
years. She bitterly resented the act. and it
was with difficulty that she was driven TO
another cage. Then she showed her anger
by roaring loud and long, anu threw herself
necessarily against the bars of her prison
house. The sliding door separating the
winter from the summer cage was elevated
and the Emperor driven into the latter for
his last view of the sunshine in which he
was deported for thirteen months. A man
was at the Zoo the other day who knew the
Emperor for fifteen years before lie passed
into The hands of the Fair Association.
THE CIILoRoFoRM BAG.
Captain Belaire had made all his prepa-
TatlOns, and had intrusted Keeper Crowley
us to his duty. Mr.. Joseph L. Mullery,
Acting Secretary of the Fair Association,
was on hand to act as timekceper and u
half dozen ladies and gentlemen, casual
visitors to the garden, witnessed the royal
removal.
Five pounds of chloroform had been se-
cured for the purpose. A sack about IS
inches i'll length and perhaps II inches In
circumference had been made, and this was
filled with lint. From telegraph wire a sort
of muZzle had been made, into which the
lint bag was placed. A handle three feet
attached the muZZle.
Emperor was lying near the outer
bars, with his head between his massive
paws. He looked old and gray and feeble,
and his beard was as white As snow, but he
was majestic in all his feebleness, and the
little group OF spectators viewed with
mixed admiration and alarm the intrepid
keeper as he entered the cage. There
seemed to be in the massive paws all of the
old-sime force. and even an old and dying
lion does not seem TO be safe creature to
meet alone.
As Crowley entered the cage the En-
press, shut out from view OF the scene,
seemed by instinct to divine that something
unusual was to happen. She roared III her
anger, and the flashing of her tail and the
conclusion as she threw herself against
the bars could be heard plainly on the
outside Of the carniyora house. The old
lion answered her call in deep tones that
were but "reminiscences of his old-time
roar. The tigers, le0pardS and hyenas
Caught Tile VI tuS ulbultuL anu
| showed great sullenness as they bounded
from side to sid g Of their cages and growled
and h0wed hideously and constantly. The
elephant Duchess added her trumpetlDg to
the din.
THE ANEsTHETIC APPLIED.
Quietly Crowley approached from behind
and deity put the muzZle and bag over the
royal nose. One pound and a half Of the
cbloroform had been poured in on the lint.
The action aroused the old fellow, who had,
after removing his mate, seemed TO drop
| into a dOze. With his massive old paws he
| tried to knock tile muZze away. 1t had
been fairly placed over his upper jaw and
| nOstTiS.
And at the instant Mullery, who stood
outside with the watch in his hand, said,
fourteen minutes to g." Crowley held
| the deadly anesthetic in its strange recep-
tace over Emperors nose for minute and
half, being assisted by the old fellow in
| voluntarily closing his lower jaw over 1t.
At the minute and half, by blow OF one
of his paws. he knocked the continuance
off Of his muzzle. Crowley pushed It
up. and walking to the bars with 1t
handed it 10 Captain Bellaire. who meas
| used out three fOurths of q pound
more Of the chl0r0form. Crowley then re-
placed the affair over Emperor's nose. He
struggled no longer. He rather seemed to
| like it. His eyes closed and his grizzled old
features relapsed At ISL the mighty frame
| shook with the first of series of spasm0dic
| commissions. These followed in rapid sue
cessi0n, but grew feebler with each one.
| At 2;5S just twelve minutes after the opera
| ton OF execution commenced, a final Shiver
| passed over the monstrous frame. and old
| Emperor rolled over on his side. He was
| dead.
EMPERoRs" HISTORY.
| An examination of his teeth, after death.
showed his great age. His teeth are nearly
three inches long, and are deeply "cupped,"
as the veterinarian would say. Captain
Bellaire and Mr. Crowley agreed that he
must have been all Of so years old. The
| Fair Association has but an imperfect his
tory of the dead lion. They only knew that
away back in the days of Van Amburgh's
show Emperor was considered the nOblcst
specimen of the king of beasts on
exhibition, and was valued at $4,000.
He was born in captivity. The
majesty OF his appearance precluded
any such idea, but he had found his way to
| England from Calcutta when 6 or years Of
age. He was purchased by the Fair Asso-
citation upon the opening Of the Geological
| Garden in 1876, and was always much adj
| mired. The noble carcass was yesterday
| skinned, and will be stuffed and mounted
| by Nj. j. Steinberg, and find resting place
in tho Fair Grounds Museum.
| The Empress" was given the liberty of
the summer cage for few hours yesterday
afternoon, but she seemed lost without her
| mate, refused her food and gave vent at in
tervals to long, wailing cries.
The Boy singer.
Editor Morning Call: Win you kindly
| allow me to correct a false impression