The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-11-18
A Drunken Bear.

An lnclQenG not on GLe DlllB Oc-
Cured with the Ringing Brothers
circus short time ago, and what
would have been very fdhhy affair,
had it not been for the imminent dan
ger that attended it, resulted from the
combination of o big brown bear and a
quart of brandy.
During one Of the night runs Of the
show, and while the sixty long cars
required to haul the aggregation were
moving in four sections over the road,
Bismarck, the largest member Of the
shows bear family, was taken vio-
lently sick. When the show arrived
in town and the cages we're taken to
the grounds, the sides of the bear
cage were taken down, and Bismarck
was found rolling at the bottom of his
cage in the greatest agony, moaning
and wailing almost like human be-
ing. The veterinary of the company,
Mr.. Spencer Alexander, was called,
and he said Mr.. Bruin was suffering
from severe attack of collie and pre-
scribed brandy and peppermint in
small doses.
James Rafferty,, who has charge Of
the animals, at once sent out for q
quart of brandy and four ounces Of
peppermint, and in the meantime had
the bear taken out of the cage and
chained to s! stake in the menagerie
tent. where he could be more easily
treated. By mistake the assistant,
who was charged with the task
of administering the medicine to
the bear, understood that all
the medicine was to be given at once,
and, while Mr.. Rafferty, was busy in
another part of the canvas, the four
ounces Of peppermint and the quart Of
brandy were poured down Bismarck's
throat.
The bear Immediately seemed to be
much relieved by this heroic treat
ment, and lay contentedly with his
nose on the ground for few moments.
Then, suddenly, without the sligh
warning, Bismarck let out mighty
growl, leaped from the ground, jumped
forward, his tremendous weight pull
ing up the stake, and went cavorting
against the center pole. Then he
picked himself up and went on wild,
staggering run around the side Of the
tent, knocking against everything in
his way, and all the while setting up
wild hoWls and low growls Of joy.
The noise soon brought every one
into the canvas where Bismarck was
holding his celebration, and Mr.:
Rafferty,, seeing that the capture OF
the bear in his present mood would be
a hopeless and dangerous task and
realizing what would be the result
should the frenzied bear get into the
part of the tent where some Of the
other cages were standing, and free
some of the other beasts by knocking
their cages over, ordered the attend
ants to arm themselves with clubs and
keep the bear near the side wall:
This they succeeded in doing, and
after Bismarck had reeled about for
something like half an hour, he sought
a corner and fell asleep, after which
he was rolled upin tarpaulin and de-
posted in his cage.
During the drunken spree the bear
acted very much like an intoxicated
man. He leered cunningly, even hic-
coughed, and it was only by the dex-
trous use of their clubs that the at
tendants could keep the big brown
topper from hugging them. One OF
Bismarck's circus tricks is to carry
gun while walking on his hind legs,
al and this trick he performed with
pole during the course of his spree.
Mr.. Alexander, who prescribed the
brandy, said it was intended to give
the bear small doses until he had been
relieved, but that a quart OF such
medicine was enough to give any bear
delirium tremens.--Atlanta Constitu-
y,'on