The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-03-26
A WRESTLING LION.
Rather . Dangerous Sport, but II Plesases
tho Crowd.

Reused TO emulation by the instanta-
neous success of the boxing kangaroo,
London variety managers have been
hustling to unearth rival athletic nov
city, The oxford Theatre of Varieties
believes it has at length filed the bill,
and now expends its display type on a
wrestling lion.
The Sporting Life desribes the first
appearance of the leonine star as fol-
lows
When the curtain was drawn up the
lion was discovered in a huge cage, max
ing the usual parade from end 10 end Of
his prison house peculiar to his species
In a brief speech Mr.. G. r. Brighten,
the courteous manager, stated that the
lion was bred in the forest, and was
brought to England four years ago. He
has been two years under the care or
Amousa, who is a West Indian and
black as ebony. with cleaning eyes and
teeth as white as the driven snow.
Standing 5 feet 10 IL inches, and weigh
ing close on Is stone, he looks the per-
sonification of strength and courage.
Quietly he entered the lions cage, and,
at a sign from Alex, the brute reared
himself up and the pair took hold In
the Cumberland fashion, only neither
could clasp hands around the body The
first fall was given in favor Of his
majesty tHc HOH ANhpSV heAih't ~ sHN
way, is Prince, who simply. by eupe-
rior weight in the upper part of his
body, bored his opponent down fiat on
his back. Again the couple got into
grips, the lion apparently very unwil-
lingly this time. After little ma
noeuvring Alex attempted TO twist the
king of beasts on his back, but failed
lamentably. both falling side by side.
Consequently a dog fair was recorded
ln tod M q
launches until in a catch-hold bout Alex
threw him very cleverly by a singu-
Iarly well-executed twist. The fourth
and last fall went TO the sable cham
pion, who very adroitly back-hurled the
leonine hero of the wrestling arena, and
fell plump on him. At the close of the
wrestling Alex opened the Jaws Of the
lion, and, while holding them apart.
placed his head in the animals mouth
and took a survey of the contents Of
his stomach. After that Prince fired
pistol which was suspended from the
roof Of the cage, and then Alex and the
lion lay down on the floor together and
positively cuddled each other. Talk of
the lion lying down with the lamb. that
performance, IL it ever comes off, hasn't
a look in with what took place at the
oxford yesterday afternoon. Before be-
ing supplied with his customary after
noon luncheon, his majesty eats a couple
of snacks of beef from Alexis mouth,
and seems TO enjoy the toothsome
m Jrsc,s. BY no means the least inter-
esting Of the twain is Alex Amousa, who
has been lion hunter and lion trainer
and tanner from his youth. He Is very
attractive conversationalist. and speaks
modestly of himself. stating that he
knew little OF the art of wrestlig. and
was not particularly conversant with
such chips as the back-heel. the cross
bullock the inside click, or the flying
mare, but with a merry twinkle in his
intelligent eye, he signifed that he could
take his own part. Alex is not certain
as to how many pounds avoirdupois
Prince weighs at the present moment,
but he states the lion is above. the or
binary size and weight, and is a little
over six years old. and the most tracta-
bic species he has met with.-New York
SIM