The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1897-07-10
An Animal Keepers Nerve.

"There was man travelling with
us some twenty years ago, an English
man named Wilcox, who came to this
country when quite boy and grew
up a pretty good American. he was
helper around the animals, and
somehow he went to England and got
a Job with the old Wombwell Menag-
erie. long before it was sold to Man.
ders. When the split occurred he
went to the big Bellevue Garden at
Manchester with some of the animals
the proprietors had bought. He soon
rose to be head man over the lions,
tigers, &C., and had house in a
pretty little garden just within the
great wall, near the entrance gates.
Five nights before Christmas the lion.
ess, new purchase recently imported
from Africa, gave birth to litter
of four cubs, and the cage front was
boarded up and every care was taken
of her. Well, Wilcox went on Christ
mas Eve to party with his wife,
leaving his helper to feed the animals
| and close up. Toward midnight he
returned, entered the gardens, and
went to sleep in his house. An hour
later his wife woke him, saying there
was noise outside in the garden, and
he got up and looked out of the win
dow. Right in. front of his house, at
the big gate. was that lioness with
one of her cubs, and she was biting at
the door and scratching for dear life
to get under it, her idea being to get
out in the open. In that open, within
a circuit of five miles, were more than
a million people. Some one must
have fastened her cage door insecurity
or something had gone wrong.
"Wilcox slipped on his trousers and
shoes, and, despite all his wife could
do, he slipped out of the front door
of his cottage, hurried around by the
private hedge, and in the moonlight
went running down through the lines
of forcing houses for plants, keeping
them between him and the gate as
much as possible, and SO vanished
from his wife's sight, in the direction
of the lions house. In a short time
he reappeared right in the'centre ave-
nue. with cub in his arms, and his
wife saw him come boldly right down
the walk until he was within twenty
wards or so of the lioness. Then ne
picked up a stone and threw it at her
as she lay biting at the door. The
brute looked round, saw the man, and
, jumped up with an angry growl.
, The man bit one of the cubs ears and
made it cry out just as the lioness was
about crouching for a spring. AT
that sound she rose, her tail moved
! softly instead of flashing her sides,
and she walked straight to the
! keeper. Wilcox held the cub out t.
E her and said, Hello, Queenie, as ii ii
q was tt most natural meeting in the
| world, and, letting her take the cul
. from his hand, he passed her an!
/ picked up the other one. She dropped
/ the one she held came to take the ont
. he picked up, getting more friendly
: every minute. So, picking up TIT
+ cubs and giving them to her, steppin$
!. backward all the time, he slowly lee
O the brute to her cage, and then mount
). ing the narrow platform, pushed tn
J. iron gate open and threw cub insid
o to the furthest corner. The homes
!. bounded in after it, he threw the othe
q cub.in also, banged the gate.to, sho
the bolts, and fell unconscious iron
h the platform to the ground.
|. "Not seeing him return his VIII
> Sounded the alarm and brought all tn
lie helpers to the cottage, and they eau
% tiously went to look for him, and Their
# they found him with a third Gu
r. curled up by his side. Well, the ma
IS ter was of course kept quiet, the IN
d der keeper was severely scolded fe
is careleesly shooting the bolt past tn
a socket instead of into it, and as fo
1s Wilcox they gave him present
N $500, and his place was solid Il
"a keeps. Tt was piece OF good on
,e fashioned Am erican-raised grit Just I'll
at same.-New York Sun.