The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-26
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SUBDUlNG WILD bEASTS.
The Special Dangers of tho Tanners Of LIONS
and Tigers.


and Tigers
NOW and then, for no reason that any
ono can find, lion or tiger that has
been doing his duty regularly and we'll
grows suddenly robellious He will no
longer balance OH the big ball, no lon
ger stand unprotestingly on the soesaw
board, no longer ride tho horse or Jump
tho hurdles He comes out instead with
plain, pointed, leoninc mo" for the
whole programme and proceeds to get
square with the game by tearing the
life out of some trainer or groom Ap-
parently his pride and hate aud revenge
are all stirred up together against all
surrounding conditions, and the people
to whom he has been most obedient are
the very ones he now desires most to
kill When tanners meet violent death,
it Is often under one of these unforeseen
and incXplicablo outbursts Of madness
But there Is another and perhaps
subtler source of danger to tanners.
Everything goes we'll for two or three
years, and the tanner, proud of his suo-
cess and swelling bank account becomes
ovcrconfidcnt One day he gets a nip
from beast or a Scratch from n tigers
claw. This will happen inevitably, un.
less the greatest watchfulness is en-.
ploycd, and without any vicious inten-
ton on tho part of tho wild beast. But
the wound fingers on hand or arm, for
wounds from wild beasts claws Oh
fangs, however trifling are long in
healing and very painful. The member
swells to double its normal size The
wound tears open again and again, anti
months pass before the man is healed
Tho moral effect of such an experience
IS bad Perhaps another bite OF scratch
Is incurred before the old one is quite
well, and after n number of such mis-
haps tho tanner. though he will not nd
NIT it, perhaps even to himself, is apt
to become afraid of his animals Then
he has recourse to stimulants to ''stcady
his nerves" before going into the ring
But by this treatment his nerves arc not
steadiod; rather they are the more
shaken And the more he drinks the
more unfit he is TO face tho danger and
the hkelicr to take some reckless step
which will result In his serious injury
or death, for 1t is undoubtedly fact
that tanners are not infrcqucntly manned
for life, and even killed Such a case
was that of the tanner Heigenrcich, who
was torn to pieces some years ago while
giving an exhibition in Russia. A large
lion spr;mg upon him and literally tore
his life out before the eyes of the spec
tators. Nothing could be dmo to save
the man. Nothing can ever he done in
such q case.
Perhaps tho best safeguard against
these dreadful accidcnts-a safeguard
better than hot irons or rcvolvcrs-is a
ready line of hose, with strong pressure
of water, which can be turned on at a
moments notice. 1t has been found that
lion struck by powerful stream of
water will drop his bleeding victim
when prodding with iron hooks or SINH
lar measures will only mako him hold OH
the tighter
Thus it is absolutely fatal to the
tanner to fall into any fear. AS soon rs
he gets the idea that he is going to be
killed he had better give up the work
at once, or the chances are that he will
be killed. Moffctt in Mo-
Clure's Magazine