Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-23
A CURIOUS MEDLEY
OF Interesting Short Sketches Picked UI
Here and There - Animals in Hol
Weather-A Deaf Mans Door Bell
Rashful Bob Burdette.

| OF Interesting Short Sketches Picked Up
Here and There - Animals in Hot
weather-A Deaf Mans Door Bell
Bashful Bob Burdette.
While the citizens of New York were all
suffering from the recent hot wave it was
interesting to observe its effect on the diff
ferent animals in and about the Central
Park Menagerie, says the Sun.
The heat affects many of them just about
as it does US. For instance, yesterday the
noness as we'll as the leopards and jaguars
looked at their keeper each with an eye half
opened as he came around with their food,
but they positively refused to eat.
The big Bengal tiger, out of sheer force of
habit and love of gore, jumped and roared,
as he smelled the fumes that arose from the
20 pounds of meat that fall to his share every
day; but after he had pounced upon it with
claws and teeth, discovered to his disgust
that he wasn't hungry, after ALL and simply
licked the blood, just like an overindulged
youngster would leave the pudding and eat
the sauce.
The hyenas are the best all round eaters in
the menagerie. No rise or fall of the mer-
curry interferes with their livers and they
gobble dewn their meat, bone and all, with
out even leaving vestige behind.
All the carnivorouS animals seem much
quicker tempered and easier irritated in
these hot DAYS than usual, so much so that
male and female have to be separated during
mealtime to prevent their tearing each other
to pieces.
Among the happy families in the park is
that of the hippopotamuses. The same can
vas that was put over their big outdoor
dwelling to protect little Fatima from the
cold blasts when she left the mammal house
now serves to keep off the sun. Miss Fatima,
for she is now months old, is American and
used to American ways. She makes no pre-
tense of ever having swum up the Nile, or
down it for that matter, and her little steam
ing face yesterday showed no desire to ever
do So
In this Fatima differs from her proud old
father, Caliph. who has probably swum both
up and down the Nile, as well as feasted on
the tender herbs that grow way down on the
very bottom.
The last few days have been but one long
stretch of uninterrupted bliss for him. AS
he foated around his tank yesterday his
keeper would throw cabbages, loaves of
bread and bits of other delicacies into the
mouth cheerfully opened to receive them,
and the twinkle of delight that shone out of
that he was having q better time than he
ever dared to dream of
The big American bisons, shining in their
new light coats, showed their good horse
sense by retiring into their sheds away from
the gaze of the sun and visitors.
The elephants are no enemies of hot
weather, but all concluded unanimously yes
terday that the line should be drawn some
where.
Poor Tip, the ever chained up and fretful
one, seemed sad at heart and tired of life.
Without interrupting his perpetual back
ward and forward swaying. he would grab a
trunkful of freshly cut grass and toss it over
his big back; he would then stick his trunk
down his throat and pull it out full of water,
which he would blow out in spray all over
himself.
There have been four little fallow deer
born in the park in the last few days.
ara
of the big trees out in the deer park.
Probably the most interesting sight to be
seen in the park now is the feeding of the
sealions, which takes place at 2:30 every
afternoon. There are about 25 of them there
at present. They are fed on small fish.
Their wild efforts to see who can get the
most fish, and the way they send the water
splashing up in foam are very exciting. |
They will, however, only be here for few |
days longer, as they are to be sent to
Europe.