The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-08-13
Duroff, the Animal Trainer.

4
bareback riders and circus people gen.
orally, has written curious lot Of remi-
niscences Of the Russian Durof, the most
famous trainer of trick animals in the
present generation.
Durof was originally an instructor in
Latin and modern languages in Russian
high school. He practiced then his pow.
ers over domestic animals-frst of all
his dogs-and decided that the docility
of dogs, cats and geese was far greater
than the docility of school children.
he has never altered his judgment in
this respect. He quit teaching boys,
therefore, and Joined an itinerant circus,
to the scandalizing of bis former COL
leagues.
Domino met him one morning in the
empty ring of the Circus Schumann.
After talking few minutes, Duroff said !:
"And now you must excuse me for an
hour, as have class to instruct at this
time"
'But surely you haVn't gone back to
teaching ?" exclaimed Domino.
"No, no; you don't understand. I
have just begun teaching, in fact. The
recitation in question is by rats and
MICE"
Domino got permission to listen to the
recitation. Dufof fetched load chest
and set it down in this middle of the
ring, lifted the cover little, and then
began chirping, trilling, and whistling on
a little lead flute. A mouse stuck its
head through the crack under the cover,
tumbled out and trotted gayly over to
Duroff's feet. Another mouse followed,
and then big rat plunged out into the
ring. It marched gravely up to Duroff
and scrambled around the bottom of his
trousers. More rats and mice followed,
till some thirty were scratching and
squealing at Durof's feet.
The clown stepped a few yards back
ward and his little flock followed. he
fed them cake and retreated again.
They followed and he rewarded them as
before. Thus he led them around the
ring several times. When three or four
of them fell behind the procession to
play or fight he attracted their attention
by tossing sand at them. Finally he
invited them to come up, and in an in
stant-they were on his shoulders, in his
coat pockets, and racing up and down the
back of his head. He caught three rats
by the tail, swung them around and then
let them shoot off into space. The instant
they struck they were up again. They
ran back to Duroff, climbed to his shoul-
ders and got the same treatment again.
After an hour of this the flute was laid
aside and the rats and mice were packed
away for the day.
Durof was the first man to train pig
to grunt accompaniments to songs, dance
around ring and jump and waltz to or
ders. He had then also taught a rooster
to crow at command and had instructed
successfully goose in the buiness of
fetching and carrying. Domino, after
discussing these triumphs of training,
asked Durof whether or not he ever
tired of his new occupation and wished
to return to iustructing boys, as he had
once done in the Russian high school.
Durof did not catch Domino's exact
words and answered:
"Instruct children? ? Instruct animals
These are two processes which can hard
ly be compared. The difficulties vary
so-there is no comparison"
"You misunderstood me-" explained
Domino. ''I acknowledge that your
work now is much more difficult"
"More diffcult?" shouted Durof.
"You must be crazy. Why, it is easier,
indescribably easier. I would rather
teach ten pigs than single child. I
would rather teach FIVE geese than boy.
A pig or a goose never forgets, is never
impudent, is never noisy. But child
With it you never know where or how to
begin, and when you stop-bumps l-all
forgotten .n-New York Sun.