Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-05-22
THE ANIMALS OF CIRCUSES.
a FAMOUS SNOWMAN TELLS SOME
MENAG ERIE SECRETS
The Elephants, Lions and the Cat
Species Arc the Best Stock to
Handle-Monkeys Are Delicate.

r AMES A. BAILEY, the foremost
Snowman of this country aud the
principal owner of the Barnum &
Bailey Circus, gave the following
interes ting facts in regard to his menag-
erie, to New York Tribune reporter,
the oil er day:
1.-The lions and the animals of the cat
species, such as tigers, leopards an pan.
theirs, are the best stock to handle. Con-
sidering that most of them come from
the tropics, they stand the ianges of
our climate remarkably well. As rule
they will live dozen years in captivity,
and often muc logger. have knowa
of lions to live in the cages for twenty
five or thirty years. Tigers, leoparis and
panthers are not far behind the lions,
either. Well-grown lions aud tigers in
a sound condition are worth from $500
to $1,000 each. If you can buy lions or
tigers in pairs they ara good invest
ment, as they reproduce so frequently.
A good tigress will produce two litters
of four in year, and generally one.halt
of them can be successfully raise1 aud
sold at good prices. Leoparis and pan
thers are given to eating their young, or
at least to killing them.
"You have to be mighty c,reful with
your lions, tigers, panthers and leopards,
though, for while they are hardy, disease
makes short work with them if 1t once
gets hold of them. Pneumonia Is their
greatest enemy. Colds, developing into
lung troubles, kill by far the most OF
them. During our London engagement
we lost tye leopards ir three weeks.
Post-mortem examinations showed that
they all died OF cold which had settled
on the lungs.
''1t is necessary to keep close watch
on the appetites of these animals, too,
for if they get off on their feed you are
likely to lose them. Zoos generally feed
their animals on horse meat, but both at
the winter quarters and on the road we
give them good beef. 1t pays to do it.
If they begin to show distaste for their
food we give them little hot, fresh
blood to drink. If that does not stimu.
late them we drop few live chickens,
turkeys or rabbits into their cages and
let them slaughter them. That gener-
ally brings them around oil right.
$50 far as hardness and longevity go,
elephants are even better stock than the
lions and cat animals. They are not
much good as an investment, though,
for they seldom reproduce in captivity.
SO far as positively know, the one that
was born with our show several years
ago, aud is in our herd yet, though it is
not now much of baby in size, is the
only one born and successfully raised in
captivity.
"They are an exceedingly useful AMI
NAL and are not much trouble. They
will stand almost anything aud seldom
| get sick. Up in our winter quarters and
on the road they are very useful for US in
pushing cars arouad and hauling heavy
loads. 1t was not many years ago when
the elephant was considered the chief
attraction of the show, and the worth OF
show was reckone1 by the number OF
eler rhants it had in its herd. Nov they
are drug on the market. have lent
them to ZOOS aud have been glad to get
rid of them. sold ten and sent them
to Europe a few years ago.
"A good elephant here is worth from
$500 to $4,000, according to his age,
size, temper and intelligence. In Europe
prices run little higher at present. A
finely trained elephant will bring much
higher price, but those who own such
generally do not want to part with
them. There is no telling how long an
elephant will live as circus attraction.
l never knew one to die a natural death.
If they do not get killed in an accident
or in a fire they eventually become saw
age aud dangerous and have to be killed.
"Monkeys are mighty poor stock to
handle, but they are SO cheap that we
hardly keep any account of them. A
dozen Of them are liable to drop over
from pneumonia any day il drauglt
happens to blow through their cage.
They do we'll enough in winter quarters,
where the temperature is even, but we
seldom bring back half as many as we
start out ON the road with. Tney are
subject 20 all sorts of digestive dis
orders, too, and people feed them with
all sorts of stuff calculated to produce
these disorders, in spite of the vigilance
| of keepers.
soften we have to replenish our stock
of monkeys in the middle of season.
There arc plenty of dealers in New York
from whom we can get them. They buy
them of sailors generally. AS for chin.
panzees, would not have one in the
menagerie, for, although they are great
attractions, they are far too delicate to
make it profitable to invest in them. No,
monkeys are SO hard to keep alive that
the wise Snowman contents himself with
letting rare species alone.
Gan animal the people like to see and
that is good stock for the Snowman, is the
kangaroo. They are cheap. In Aus
tralia there are still huge droves of them,
and the natives capture them very easily.
with dogs trained to seize them by their
long tails. The kangaroo's tail, you
know, is his rudder and balancing pole.
Without 1T his huge hind legs are likely
to carry him anywhere except where he
wants to go. So when half-aoz.a of
these Australian dogs get hold of the
| kauraroo's biz. Il 1t tail he is conn,etalv