Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1893-09-08
TRAPPING A LIVE TIGER.
HOW JUNO, THE LARGEST ONE IN
THIS COUNTRY. WAS CAUGHT.
The Man-Eating Brute was Induced
to Jump Into a Big Pit-Secured
After a Hard Fight.

The Man-Eating Brute was Induced
to Jump Into a Big Pit-Secured
After Hard Fight.
ANY men have been around
Nj the world four or five times,
" | but man who has made
the circle twenty-one times
is an exception. This record breaking
globe-trotter, says the New York
World, is Mr.. j. b. Gaylord, of Inde-
pendence, Iowa, Mr.. Gaylord is known
to all the circus people of this coun-
try as having owned shows of his own
years ago, and having been foreign
agent for p. T. Barnum for number
of years. He has amasseda q fortune in
bringing wild animals from their
native jungles to the United States
He has captured and handled more
tigers, lions and elephants than any
other man alive in this country.
A year or so ago he severed his con-
nection with the Barnum show, and is
now about to make another animal
collecting tour of the world for new
geological garden about to be opened
in Western city.
Mr.. Gaylord looks upon the captur-
ing of tigers and lions as matter of
ordinary interest. He says the work
of trapping wild animals is done SO
systematically now that there is no
more danger attending it than catch
ing tame pet. This is how he de-
scribed'the way the largest tiger ever
brought to this country, Juno, now
being trained at the Barnum head
quarters in Bridgeport, was captured:
''First we located her drinking
place. Then we set force of $50
natives to digging hole sixteen feet
square at the top, twenty feet deep
and twenty-five feet square at the
bottom, and carried the fresh earth
quarter of mile off in the baskets.
This was necessary, for if we had left
any fresh soil about the beast would
scent it and change her course in going
to drink. Long before nightfall our
trap was ready for the tiger. The
surface Of the ditch was covered over
with light bamboos very carefully.
Then dead leaves and foliage were
SDItdt uDOub uublI tuCIt WIS uO sigh
that there was an excavation anywhere
in sight. This last work was done
with extraordinary precaution, for if
we had left any trace of our prepara-
tions our work would all have gone
for naught. Now, in all this work
there was absolutely no excitement or
thrilling escapes in heating off other
animals. Weknew we were laying
tsup for the lur5esO man-eater ever
seen on the Malay peninsula, but what
of it?"
''Well, after we had covered the
hole carefully, We took out our young
lamb and placed him i'll specially
prepared jacket of straps and hung
him in gypsy-kettle fashion directly
over the centre of the big hole that
had sloping sides.
'Now, 1 suppose you think the tiger
Just walks into that hole. Not at all.
He is attracted by the lambs bleating,
and prepares for his meal. He reaches
the trap, but instead of walking right
up and putting up his paw to seize the
lamb, he circles round and round at a
distance. He is wary. But the de-
sire for meal gets the best of him,
and he makes leap for the lamb. He
has gagged the distance so well he
lands right over the center of the pit.
Down he goes with roar-a roar of
rage and fear, for he has found him
self in bad hole at last
Juno made a great fight. 1t was
more than four hours before she was
exhausted, as all we had to do was to
wait until she had completely tired
herself out by attempting to leap out
of the pit. Then we brought up the
tiger cage, ten-foot square bamboo
affair, with one side open. The bars
of bamboo were a few inches apart,
and about four inches thick. These
bars were securely fastened by smaller
bamboo and ropes of wiry grass. Our
flock of natives grasped the cage on
all sides and let it down quickly on the
exhausted beast below. AS the cage
was let down over the tiger score of
the natives quickly slid down on top
of it. Juno was too exhausted to make
another struggle, and she lay quietly
in the cage.
I'VE took number of prepared
bamboo poles about an inch thick and
pointed at one end. They bend but
do not break, and are very strong,
The men on top of the cage in the til
ger pit poked these pieces of bamboo
under cage and tiger-an easy matter,
as the soil was very soft. They fast
ened them lengthwise and crosswise
great many times until the tiger was
in cage so strong that if she had the
strength of dozen animals she could
not get out.
"Ropes of bamboo were put down
and cage and tiger were lifted to the
surface and placed on litter of poles.
A score of natives picked mp cage and
tiger and trotted off to the seaport
town.
''There are men who make splen-
did living out of trapping tigers and
lions The king of them all is a man
who lives at Padang, one of the Malay
Island towns. For three generations
the relatives of this man, who is
known as Simeon, have been tiger and
lion killers. They have killed and
captured more lions and tigers than
any other known family, and Simeon
has broken the record, too. He is al
most an object of worship at Padang.
He has been in the business all his life