The record-union., 1894-02-24

ter with the meat he would smell 1t and
refuse 1t, or If he took it in his mouth
would not swallow it. The statement is
ridiculous. Ia the first place drugglng
an animal would endanger its life, and
lions are far too valuable nowadays to
run such chances. l would be willing
almost to give anyone OF my animals to
person who could administer drug to
them. So far as my profession is con-
cerned, | would say that love it, that l
would not change it for any other that l
know of, that TO me it has fascination
which no other occupation that l ever
knew held out, and l shall never give it
up.
II have been asked often how it was
that chose this profession, and perhaps
it is odd that l should have done so. for
there was no reason for it, particularly. l
always had a love for animals, and had a
big business of my own outside of them,
when chance threw in my way a few
wild beasts which l purchased, and [ un-
consciously found myself buying and
selling them, until finally / drifted into the
business Of an animal dealer. Subse-
quently l went to Hamburg and saw one
lion and three lionesses to which L took a
fancy, and as they seemed intelligent and
somewhat easy to train, / determined to
see what l could do for them. In the
course of time l got them so that they
could jump barriers, and finally do fair
little act
zone of the big theater directors in
Hamburg saw me one day at rehearsal
and proposed that go to his theater and
give performance. AT first l had no
idea Of it, not caring to go before the pub
lie, but finally was persuaded, and made
my first appearance in public as a lion
tanner at the Concordia in Hamburg. l
had fully determined to play only this
one engagement and then give the matter
up, but before l had finished there came
an offer from Paris, and soon after there
came another from London, and so on
until | found myself so fairly in love
with the profession that l said would
never give 1t up.
a MAN WHO WAS TERRIBLY MUTILATED.'
NOW in regard to the danger element
in reality there is not so much danger
death as there is OF terrible mutilation.
Few people have been killed by lions in
comparison with those who have been
terribly hurt. One little instance would
suffice to show this, and at the same time
to show how much endurance man can
stand while under lions paw. 1t was
in 1888, when was playing in Liverpool,
that man named Siers, Swiss, who at
one time had small menagerie, came TO
our circus for the purpose OF playing an
engagement, as he had met financial re-
verses. He had two lionesses and lion,
and he started at work to train them.
The very first time he put his foot into
the cage the lion came right away for IL
and grabbed it. There were two men,
old circus hands, at that moment on the
outside, and they were appalled, when
they saw Siers in the clutches of the
brute.
1.-THE cage was one which had an extern
sion with slide, and they pulled the eX-
tension in the hope that the lion would
leave him and rush in there. The lion
paid no attention, but held on to his prey.
Then the two hands turned the water
hose on him. This under ordinary cir
cumstances should have driven the lion
OFT, but in this instance he paid no atten-
ton to it. There was little fellow named
Robin, who was nicknamed COckrobin
because of his sprightlinesS, and he sug-
gested opening the door of the cage in the
hope that the lion would get out. This
was done, and the men scampered up into
the gallery, and the lion did come out,
but be brought the man with him in his
teeth. When the men in the gallery saw
this they began throwing planks at the
lion. in the hope Of soaring him off, but
nothing would move him. he lay there
with his teeth in the man, much as cat
holds a mouse before deYouring it.
'In the hurly- burly the man had for
gotten to turn off the water, and as the
place was small the floor soon became
Hooded, and it got into the cage OF by
ena, and as the hyena hates water it be-
gan To cry. Hearing this, the lion for a
moment left his prey and made dash at
the hyena. While he was gone poor Siers
managed to crawl to the wooden cage of
tapir which was near by and got inside.
1t was an open cage. The lion made short
work of the hyena and then started to
look around for his man. He had lost
him and wanted to find him again. FL
nally he went to the tapir cage and tore
away the bars with his claws, while Siers
craWled further back behind the tapir.
While the lion, tapir and man were in
this big cage the men came down from
the gallery and got shifting cage, rather
small affair, made Of iron bars and
mounted on wheels, and backed it up in
front of the tapir' cage.
''Just as they did this the lion, who
could not get at the man, sprang on the
tapir's back and fastened its teeth just
back of its neck. The tapir is a hardy
animal, but Of course does not fight the
lion. The man got some greens and held
them out to the tapir, and although this
monster brute was on his back, it
crawled into the cage carrying the lion
with it, and finally the door was shut
down. The tapir lost its life. Siers did
not. He got we'll and subsequently made
tour of England with big elephant
called Blind Bill. The lion had chewed
him terribly, in fact it completely scalped
him, and he never was quite the same,
but he lived for five or six years after
that.
"This may sound like fairy tale, but
it is not. 1t only shows what terrible
punishment man can take at the hands
Of lion and still survive"
Blockaders and BIockading.