The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-04
LION NtrHRE.
Things Worth Knowing Before Attempt- ing to Train the King of Beasts.
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 LFrom the Pittsburg Dispatohl
 "You have often heard it remarked of
 some person.or other that he could not
 be driven but must be led" said Ed,
 ward Darling, the famous lion tanner,
 the other day. "If you have ever tried
 to accomplish anything with a person
 so disposed you will appreciate that 8
 great amount of discretion and dis
 crimination must be exercised if you
 desire to be successful. Keeping in
 mind the difficulties that present them
 selves in human individual who can
 not be driven, you will at once concede
 that lion tanners task is not an easy one when l tell you that the king of
 beasts can neither be led nor driven. l
 mean this literally If you succeed in
 having lion permit you to lead him
 and tell you that it requires no little
 patience and work to accomplish this apparently simple trick-you can rest
 assured that the balance of his train ing will come easy. A lion has all the
 many cornered obstinacies which are found in the human race all centered
 in his makeup. And to train a lion
 you must break down all of these in-
 born qualities, as well as his strong
 will. To do this there is no greater
 factor than that of good example.
 Many people have wondered during
 the past week why dogs always accom-
 panied lions while performing on the
 stage. l have heard some offer the ex-
 planation that they were there for the
 protection of the tanner, others claimed
 that there was psychological connec-
 ton between the dogs and the lions, by
 which the former had the latter hypno-
 tized so that the least bark or move
 ment from the dog would bring the lion
 to a realization of what he was then to
 do.. While these theories may sound | very we'll, they are all wrong. The l dogs are simply there for example | They are, of course, the most domestic of all animals, and their association
 with the Hons makes the latter take on some of their habits.
 "As evil communications corrupt good manners in the world of men, so it is in the world of animals Associa- | tions have a great deal to do in shaping the character and disposition of beasts From the time lion is first placed in | the trainers hands, which is at about | the age of nine months, young dogs are | placed In it's cage. At first there Is some antagonism shown, but after they | have been together for a while they be- gin to romp and play with each other like kittens Lions are usually trained in pairs-that is, two in one cage. This | is done to make them bolder If they have company they do not have the same fear of the trainer as they would if alone. And it may seem strange to you to know that a trainer dreads fear in lion more than boldness. If, when you enter a cage, a lion sneaks away from you and commences to jump about, striking its head against the bars as if it would dash its brains out, | seeking to escape in every possible way, then look out to protect yourself, for as sure as death that lion, after having exhausted every way he sup posed he would gain his liberty, will turn his attention to you and deal with you in a manner not the most polite. A timid lion is to be dreaded but a bold one you can always tell how to deal with. The only protection the lion amer takes with him when he first en- ters a cage is a board about four feet long This Is to hold up in front of him in case the beast makes a plunge for him. The tanner usually enters the cage as if he had some business there such as sweeping or cleaning, doing his work apparently not paying the slight est attention to the lions He keeps this up for long time, and gradually the lions become accustomed to his presence. Then he offers them food out of his hand, cautiously, for the lion usu- ally makes a grab for his food with his l paw first, and there is danger of hay ing an arm broken off After this is accomplished he begins to stroke the beasts with his stick, which shows | them it is not for beating them, then | with his hand rewarding each advance | with meat.
 After a lion has permitted his train CT to stroke his back without remon- | strance, he is considered to know the | difference between right and wrong, and from that time on is punished for l bad behavior. Before this no punish | ment has been administered, as the | prime object is to first get the conf | dence of the beasts and let them know | what you want them to do. But after | the trainer has petted and rewarded | him for it, should the lion show any de- | sire to go back to his primeval wildness | and make any attempt to claw or bite his master, then the whip is applied, | and not sparingIy either. He is whipped and whipped until his will is broken and he permits a renewal of the familiarity I have seen lions almost | beaten to death before they would give | in but at last they were conquered The trainer has become the master, and, strangely, the punishments inhlct- ed are never remembered against him by the lion. It Is about this time the trainer begins to discover whether all his work has been for naught. All li- ons cannot be trained. They must have suitable dispositions, and this can never be discovered until the beast has gone through a certain amount of training. Some times after months of patient work have been spent the trainer will be forced to give his beasts