The Opelousas courier., 1893-06-17
THE ANIMALS OF C[RCUSES
A FAMOUS SNOWMAN TELLS soMF
MEN AGERIE SECRETS.

II HiopiiaHts, LIONS ana HE Ca
species Are the Best Stock to
Handie-Monkeys Are Delicate.
AMES A. BAILEY, the foremost
Snowman of this country and the
~ principal owner of the Barnum &
Bailey Circus, gave the following
interesting facts in regard to his menag.
erie, to q New York Tribune reporter.
the ott er day:
"The lions aud the animals of the cat
species, such as tigers, leopards and pan.
theirs, are the best stock to handle. Con-
sidering that most Of them come from
the tropics, they stand the changes of
our climate remarkably we'll. AS a rule
they will live a dozen years in captivity,
and often much longer. I have known
of lions to live in the cages for twenty
five or thirty years. Tigers, leopards and
panthers are not far behind the lions,
either. EEell-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 are q good invest
ment, as they reproduce so frequently.
A good tigress will produce two filters
of four in a year, and generally one half
of them can De successfully raised and
sold at good prices. Leopards aud pan.
thefs are given to eating their young, Or
at least to killing them.
"You have to be mighty careful with
your lions, tigers, panthers and leoparls,
though, for while they are hardy, disease
a short work with them if it oace
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 five leopards in three weeks.
Post-mortem examinations showed that
they all died Of cold which had settled
on the lungs.
SIT is necessary to keep a close watch
on the appetites of these animals, too,
for il 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 a distaste for their
food we give them a little hot, fresh
blood to drink. If that does not stimu.
late them we drop a few live chickens,
turkeys or rabbits into their cages and
let them slaughter them. That gener'
ally brings them around all right.
$50 far as hardness and lon 3evity 60,
\ 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 I positively know, the ooe that
was born with our show several years
ago, and is in our herd yet. though it is
not now much of a baby in size, is tht
only one born and successfully raised il
captivity.
"They are an exceedingly useful aut'
NAL and are not much trouble. They
will stand almost anything and seldom
get sick. Up in our winter quarters ano
on the road they are very useful for US ii
pushing cars around and hauling heav..
loads. 1t was not many years ago whel
the elephant was considered the chic
attraction of the show, aud the worth 0
a show was reckone1 by the number o
elephants it had in its herd. Now the.
are a drug on the market. have len
them to ZOOS aud have been glad to- sc
rid of them. I sold ten aud sent then
to Europe a few year1 ago.
"a good elephantLl Acre is worth fron
$500 to $4,000, according to his age
size, temper and intelligence. In Europ;
prices run a little higher at present. 1
finely trained elephant will bring a niue
higher price, but those who own sue
generally do not want to part witt
them. There is no telling how long q
elephant will live as a circus attraction
never knew one to die a natural death
II they do not get killed in an acciden
!, or in a Ere they eventually become saw
; aee and dangerous and have to be killed
"Monkeys are mighty poor STOCK T
handle, but they are so cheap mat "
hardly keep any account of them.
dozen of them are liable to drop Owe
from pneumonia any day if q drauga
happens to blow Through their Gag
: They do we'll enough in winter quarter;
!, where the temperature is even, but "
seldom bring back half as many a. W
start out on the road with. They az
: subject to all sorts of digestive dl
orders, too, and people feed them VIII
all sorts OF stuff calculated to produe
these disorders, in spite of the vigilane
of keepers.
gotten we have to replenish our stot
NJ monkeys in the middle of q seasol
There are plenty of dealers in New 70
from whom.we can get them. They o
n them of sailors generally. AS for Gnu
ipauzees, I would not have one in t
: m~enagerie. for. although they are gre
aIrracCIons. Jney are Iar TOO deHcate
make It profitable to invest in them. N
monkeys are so hard to keep alive tn
y tho wise Snowman contents himself WI
letting rare species alone.
t aAn animal the people like to see a.
9 that is good stock for the Snowman, Is {
kangaroo. They are cheap. In a.
tralia there are still huge droves Of the,
and the natives capture th,sn very easil
with dogs trained to seize them oy the
long tails. The kangaroo's tail, Y
know. is his rudder and balancing po
Without it his huge hindgs)gs are IKE
to carry him anywhere except waere
wants to go. So when a-halt,dozen
these Australian dogs get hold OF q
kapgaroo's big, flat tail he is complete
s. at the mercy OF his captors. They Ii
| many years in captivity aud reproau
LA -a hava tn sell off [