The Portland daily press., 1893-07-15
SHE FOUGHT WITH A TIGER
Visitors at a Worlds Fair Show Find
1t Too Exciting.
A HALF TRAINED ANIMAL FLIES
AT A WOMAN.

She Has No Weapon Save a whip which
She Uses Vigorously While the Tigers
Teeth Are Buried in Her FIesh-Keep-
| ers Rush to the Rescue and Beat the
Tiger Off-Then the Woman Goes to
| the Hospital and the Show Goes On.
| New YORK, July l4.-A Chicago de-
spatch to the Sun, says:
! Miss Marcella Berg, the woman trainer
at Hagenbach's circus in Midway Plais-
ance, was fiercely attacked by a half
wild tiger tonight
The audience, which numbered several
hundred, were punched mainly in that
part of the hall nearest the entrance.
The stage manager stepped forward and
announced that change in the pro-
gramme would be made, and Miss Berg
would exhibit some animals which had
never been shown to the public before.
They have been in training for months,
but this was to be their first appearance
before an audience. Then Miss Berg
tripped through the opened door lead
| ing from the cages in the rear to the
barred arena.
She made graceful little courtesy
and then turned, whip in hand, to watch
the animals file into the arena behind
her. On each side of the doorway were
| five small square platforms.
They were fixed to the bars which
walled in the arena and about a yard
apart. On them the animals sit when
| not performing feats themselves and
watch the antics of the others. FIRST to
| enter the cage came tiger. The beast
was a medium sized animal, with dark
stripes Of a rich glossy fur. No sooner
had the tiger got fairly inside the cage
then he stopped short. There he lay, at
the very entrance to the Gagged arena,
crouching and lashing his tail with vigor
from side to side. Miss Berg stepped up
to him and struck him two or three sharp
blows with her rawhide across the face
| and neck
The beast obeyed the whip, though
with evident reluctance. He crawled
into the cage with his white belly close
| to the floor until he reached his plat
form. Then, instead of jumping upon
the platform and holding out his neck to
4
the big cat crouched underneath.
For the second time the woman train
er walked over to the beast and gave him
a couple of smart cuts across the head.
The tiger only snarled and showed a row
of white shining teeth. A third blow
aroused his wild nature, which does not
seem to have been more than half train
ed. He crouched lower still and, gath
ering himself together, with a sudden
bound sprang forward. Straight at the
defenceless woman he flew.
Miss Berg half turned to flee, and the
beast landed upon her side. He made
fierce snap at her right arm, which was
nearest his mouth, but with the unnat-
fral strength born of the excitement and
terror of the moment, the half-frenzied
woman pushed him off. Crouching low
| again, the tiger sprang upon his victim.
This time the beasts hold was too firm
to be shaken off. One strong fore paw
dug it's claws deep in the gay yellow
dress Of the performer, while the other
| caught her leg. The tiger buried his
teeth deep in her thigh.
l. The woman uttered one low shrek and
then made no sound. She did not faint,
but silently and pluckifY fought to, ma ke
the beast loosen his hold. Her only
| weapon was thick rawhide whin about
ILL GO lCCtlOnSs aC Ii&GI uOL SS6ul
to mind the blows which the little woman
| rained fast and f1rieusly upon him any
more than he would the tickling of a
| straw.
Three men were in the arena by this
time. One was Trainer j. FL. Mehrman
and the other two were his assistants.
All three sprang to the assistance of Miss
Berg as soon as they saw the tiger attack
her. Careless of themselves, these men
bravely seized the tiger and began to pull
him off the bleeding woman. Twice, by
main strength, they succeeded in tearing
him away. Each time the tiger, madden
ed by the taste of human blood, dashed
the men away and leaped upon the
woman. The third time the three men
dragged him away. and one of the assist
ants hurried Miss Berg out of the arena,
| while the other two beat the beast into
submission.
The injured woman was Immediately
taken to the hospital. The fight was
over in two minutes, but to the terrified
audience each second seemed an hour.
All the while the struggle was going on
the other nine animals who were to tnke
part in the performance were filing into
the arena. There we're lions, leopards.
hounds, and another tiger. No trouble
with them occurred.
To show that he had completely con-
quered the angry tiger, Trainer Mehr-
mann took Miss Berg's place and at once
went right on with the performance as if
nothing had happened. But few of the
| audience stayed to see the performance
| finished.