Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-17
MASTERS OF LIONS.
Men Who Make a Business of Tanning
the Forest King.
THE DARING OF DARLIN
Tragic Ending of Many Lives-what win Re
the Fate of the Parisian-Lions Not Noble,
but CowardIy, Sinking and Treacherous-
Experience of Hunters
Written for The Evening Star.


last week, calls to mind many interesting stories
of the brave men and women who practice this
peculiar profession. Nothing. it is said, Is GER
tain except death and taxes, but past expe-
riences show that the person who attempts 10
train wild beasts is pretty certain to meet with
some serious mishap from them sooner or later.
The usual hon-taming exhibition consists In
the trainer entering the cage where the ami
mails are and placing his back against one side OF
it, Never for an instant does he allow one OF
the beasts TO get back of him, but, keeping his
eye upon them, quickly and peremptorily he
orders them about and makes them do their
tricks. He does not stay among them
long, and when he leaves the cage he
backs up to the door and jumps out quick
as a fash. Usually as he shuts the
door some one of the animals makes a
dart at HIM The whole thing is a wonderful
demonstration of desperate cOuras and 1t fire.
quently ends in tragedy. Among the con-
fessiOns of the lion kings there Is none sadder
than the assertion Of very distinguished one
that he never entered the cage without hrst
having deadened his sensiDlftles to fear by
liberal use of strong drink.
IL Is doubtful if the modern world has ever
seen SO extraordinary an exhibition as Monsieur
Darhngs. His lions are really, to all appear
ance, tanned. He walks among them as though
bloodhound that follows him seems TO be as
proud of his masters pets as he is himself. The
five fine lions do the bidding of their master as
though they were weI-trained horses. HIS
back is turned toward them constantly. He
seems TO have no fear nor do they manifest any
refractoriness. Ordinary lion tanners wrestle
with the wild beasts for few moments and then
leave them. but these lions are not wild One
thing. however. must be remarked-the hons
are not full grown, a fact that Is manifested by
the shortness of their names When they are
older it is probable that they will develop a
greater degree of ferocity.
ALL CATS ARE EDWARDS.
Grimalkin reposing in a fluffy ball upon the
library rug. basking in the freight. soft gen.
tie and pleasant to stroke, is merely little
lion. or more correctly. the king of beasts is
nothing but big eat. Pussy. the Wild cat. the
panther the leopard. the jaguar. the tiger, the
hOn-therc YOU have the whole line. They are
all fierce. they all selfish. they never like
human beings. and at heart they are all arrant
towards The proud distinction of being the
home of the hardest fighter of all OF them be-
longs to America
In the early days of the republic it used to
be figure of speech for expressing great phys
zeal powers to say of man that he could
whip his weight in wild cats But there are,
nevertheless. few men who could whip a single
wild cat for this animal. which is no larger
than a bull terrier, is terror when 1t is put In
a position where IL must defend itself. Here Is
a story that is vouched for:
I'm the early settlement of Kentucky a
schOolmaster sitting alone in his log cabin
when he surprised TO see large lwildl cat
enter his premises. Ignorant of the prOwess of
the animal he shut the door and commenced
the attack The battle was long and bloody.
the man being nearly torn into shreds. and
when discovered in the morning he was found
with his hands upon the cats throat his knees
upon its launches; the animal was dead and
stiffened by cold. The victor. in his ter
seribed the ivelong night. his muscles para
lived. his nerves shattered: and never.
through a long life. did he entirely recover
from the terrible encounter"
The leopard. on the other hand, is not SO bad.
and the famous Sal. owned by an Englishman
in India and subsequently presented by him to
the Duchess of York. used to perform hun
dred tricks and was apparently affectionate and
playful. The two chief characteristics of this
tame leopard that have come down TO US are
his fondness for lavender water and the pleas
ure he used to take in looking out of the win
dow at the people in the streets. Whether or
not in his heart he wished to devour them no
body knows. for he died before his fierceness
had ever demonstrated itself He appeared
more like dog than a cat.
NOT so NOBLE As PAINTED.
Returning to lions We find great difference
OF opinion in regard to their nobility of nature
The nursery books tell of their magnanimity
in a wild state. but travellers who have hunted
them DO not report favorubly Of them. As they
are seen in eaptivity-and most people have no
splendid looking fellows, but those
who have seen them wild say that
only when he is at bay does a
lion look majestic He carries his head low
down toward the ground ordinarily and his
movements are stealthy and his actions are
mean The great African explorer. Living
stone. had sovereign contempt for lions and
pronounced them neither ferocious nor cour-
ageous and thought their roar no better than
the shrek of an ostrich. but in this latter
assertion he Is entirely alone, as all hon hun
tiers are united in pronouncing the lions
the most ave-inspiring sound
on earth Notwithstanding Livingstone's slur
upon their feroclty and courage II Is probable
that peaceable peOple-like DIR. johnson and
PinnOeks bears-would not like to meet with
one during an evening stroll. In captivity
they ferOcious and treacherous and are
pretty certain to turn upon their trainer when
al opportunity offers.
A few years ago there was a noted lion king
in 81. Petersburg whose wife always assisted in
his exhibitions, going into the cage with him
and performing the familiar feat of putting
her head in a lions mouth. This man was al
American and his fame in Russia was great
He has been lost sight of recently. but the last
heard of him that his wife. losing her sell
control for an instant and showing mOmcntary
terror, had been killed by one of the lions
Horrible as IL may be il is. nevertheless, a fac
that this the second wife that the lion kins
had lost in this way. Perhaps he has already
shared their fate.
WOMEN AS LION TAMERs.
II Is not unusual to find women as lion tanners
and. indeed. they have even mastered the roya
Bengal tiger, which is unquestionably NOR,
ferocious brute than the lion. There ar,
probably readers Of The STAR who recall how
In the year 1852 the lion queen at Wombwellt
menagerie in England, while exhibitin.
before several hundreds of people tn,
tricks Of a large tiger, struck the ANNA
with her whip because of its refractoriness
whereupon it sprang upon her and seized he,
by the throat. When assistance came anC
she was taken from the cage she was ston,
dead although there were no marks of LAGER
alton upon her person. As between the two a
hon is a safer animal to train than u tiger and
there is even a story about Van Amberg, .
famous lion king Of former times. who being sc,
upon by a tiger a hon came to his rescue and
actually threw the tiger down and held him
until the man had chance to escape. The
story does not sound like truth.
The lion is not altogether such bad fellow
For one thing he is homogeneous and content.
himself with one wife at a time and he helps e
take care of his cubs. The wife is however
not TO be relied upon In fact she is an arrant
flrt and when two rivals fight about her. a,
they often do, she sometimes skips with a
third lion IL is said. too that she encourage.
and often precipitates these fights. lust a.
in old times some ladies' were fond
of causing duels among their admirers The
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