Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-08-21
CAPTURING WILD ANIMALS.
MEN WHO MAKE THIS A REGULAR
BUSINESS.
Obtaining Young Lions and Tigers
Simple Methods of Catching Wild
Elephants, Sea Lions and Snakes.

aiohuiop ACulihB
them and disposing of them to
whoever will buy. These men send
out special messengers to the hunting
grounds in Africa and elsewhere. They
take with them lot of small coin to
distribute among the natives. In Nubia
/ very little money will go long way.
On the arrival of the messenger the
Kauri negroes form themselves into
companies, go out to the neighboring
deserts and there disperse in search of
ihe young lions. In order to find the
len in which they are succored and
,ourished the Kauri aim is to find the
poor or trail of the mother lioness.
Is she goes in and out of her lair she
gradually makes beaten track which
L is not difficult to detect. It is not
,ften that more than one hunter hap
pens upon the same spoor, however, as
hey are comparatively few and far be-
| ween.
Having made his discovery, the hun
er creeps slowly and cautiously along
| The bushes. He carries a bundle of
,ssegais or javelins under his arm. At
asst he reaches the neighborhood of
he lair. The ioness scents his ap-
,roach and starts up with an awful
| yrowl. But she is too late. Before she
The can spring, even before she has
taught full sight of the intruder, the
,ssegais, whirled with unerring aim,
have penetrated her body. She falls
10 the ground, gasping, dead. The lit
lie lion whelps are too weak and small
20 offer any defense; the cruel-looking
angs, the terrible claws are only just
beginning to bud. They are gathered
Up by the hunter, who takes them back
10 his zereba. There they are brought
Up on the milk of goats. The little
,nes grow very fond of their foster
mothers, and jump and play around
them quite as if it were family party.
Young tigers are obtained in the
same way as lions. But leopards and
1yenss are frequently caught full grown.
They endure captivity great deal
better than other members of the cat
'amily and, being less heavy and pow
,rful, are more readily managed even
n their most ferocious moods. In or
Ter to catch them huge traps are set
sometimes these traps are made out of
wood, sometimes they are cut out of
,he solid rock. They act much on the
principle of the common mouse trap
that is, they have hanging door in
'front.' of the entrance which is raised
~ lever held down by baited hook.
The bait consists of meat. The ami
nal comes in and seizes the bait, the
ever flies up, the door shuts down
1pon him and he is held fast. Once
trapped, the hunters, after q fierce,
struggle, tie his legs together, muzzle
aim and bear him off in triumph to the
sereba.
Sometimes q great hunt is got up
md then everything which comes in
;he way of the Kauri negroes is fair
game for slaughter, while all the lairs
that are discovered, whatever the
parent animal may be, are relieved of
their young, and the young become
tho property of the European messen-
ger who gets up the hunt.
A great party of negroes, armed
with assegais and long hunting swords,
Or sometimes even with guns, collect
together. Men mounted on fast
horses go ahead to find the game.
When they have come across any ;e
animal, such as q rhinoceros, an eie-
phant or giraffe, they give signal.
The hunters gradually close around the
animal in circle and assail him on all
,ides with assegais or gun shots. But
the game does not die without strug-
gle. Elephants especially are often
very dangeroes and turning upon their
hunters with wild rage may kill or
wound several of them if they do not
turn and run.
Wild elephants are often captured
in large quantities by very simple
method, especially by the natives of
Burmah and Ceylon. First an inclo-
sure called keddah, or corral, is
formed by fencing in large space of
ground with the trunks and branches
Of trees. On one side only is there an
opening. 1t is the aim of the hunters
to drive the wild elephants through
this opening into the inclosure. But
this can be done only by the aid of
thousands of beaters, who make an ex
tensive circuit around the haunps of
the elephant. Gradually but surely
they narrow the circle, driving the
animals before them, until compare
lively small area is completely sur
rounded by the beaters with the
hunted animals in the midst. At last,
the beaters with general rush, scream
ing at the top of their voices and
orandishing lighted torches in their
hands, close in upon the elephants.
The affrighted creatures, seeing no
way clear except in the direction of
the corral, make for it with all speed
md enter the opening. Once they are
inside the entrance is barricaded. The
sntrapped animals rush wildly about
In the vain hope of finding means of
.scape At last, completely exhausted,
hey huddle together in the centre of
:he corral, and there await motionless
;he progress of events. A number of
lame elephants, each mounted by a
Keeper with another man following on
loot, are then ridden into the inclo-