The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-03-28
TOLD OF CIRCUS ANIMALS.
NERVE DIsrLAYED BY A KEEPER
WHEY A LIONEss COT LOOSE.
Strategy ~ which the Brute was Lured Back
70 Her Cage-Tho Lamented Jumbo's Love
Tor Chiidren-AHcctisn or an Elephant for n
H1nhout-A struggle with Big Pythonp.

Strategy BY which the Brute was Lurcd Baci
to Her Cage-The Lamented Jumbo's Low
Tor Chiidrsn-Amcction or an Elephant for Q
Nahout-A struEgie with BIG Pythons.
Circus life is not all picnic" said an old
Snowman. "It is better 10 be for a long spell In
q city like New York than to cover the outlying
country towns and cities. Many n lad who runs
after the show and thinks ho 10 lucky to get q
Job finds IL is q rough road TO travel, packing
tents, &C., until l or . A. NJ, then sleeping on
the jolting wagons until the next town Is sighted,
then getting up by 8 o'clock or so, getting the
parade in order and setting up tho tent again,
and following the same programme dry after
day. It's easier than 1t used to be, though, but
We have some odd experiences.
"Thero was q man travelling with us some
twenty years ago, an Englishman named Wilcox,
who came to this country when quite n boy and
grew up a pretty good American. He was a
helper around the animals, and somehow he
went to England and got a Job with the old
Wombwoll Mcnageric, long before 1t was sold TO
Manders. When the split occurred he went to
the big Bellevue Garden at Manchester with
some OF the animals the proprictors had bought.
Ho soon rose to be head man over tho
lions, tigers, &C., and had n house in n
pretty little garden just within tho great
wall, near the entrance gates. Five nights
before Christmas the lioness. a now pur-
chase recently imported from Africa, gave
birth to q litter Of four cubs, and the cage front
was boarded up and every care was taken Of
her. Well, Wilcox went on Christmas Eve 10 a
party with his wife, leaving his helper to feed
tho animals and close up. Toward midnight he re-
turned. entered the gardens, and went to sleep In
his house. An hour later his wife woke him,
Ing there was a noise outside in the garden. and
he got up and looked out of the window. Right
a.. frzUk - hfa h4ron ~ tha ht~ ~afn trau TIM
lioness with ono OF her cubs, and she was biting
at the door and scratching for dear life to get
under 1t, her idea being 10 get out in tho 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 some
thing 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 van
ished from his wifes sight, in the direction OF
tho lions house. In a short time he reappcared
right in the centre avenue with q cub in his
arms. and his wife saw him come boldly right
down the walk until he was within twenty yards
or 80 Of the lioness. Then he picked up a stone
and threw ii, 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 cars and made it cry out
Just as tho lioness was about crouching for
moved softly instead OF lashing her sides, and
ehe walked straight to the keeper, Wilcox held
ip It c was o ne To m 6et natural aaa ssla mee nG1ioii in tSe Worlds a.
and. letting her take the cub from his hand. he
passed her and picked up the other one. She
dropped the one she held and came to take the
one he picked up. getting more friendly every
minute. So, picking up, the cubs and giving
s sRs% 70 led esf' the srate oa to her cage a,s .n and sims thieen enc
mounting the narrow platforms Plat Z pushed the iron
garner ea.e open Sea l t6rew a S S%H lhs5aG IN 10 a the ruF r ! bs
threw the other cub in also. banged the gate to,
shot the bolts. and fell unconscious from the
Not seeing him return his wife sounded the
alarm and brought, all the helpers to the cottage,
there they found him with a third cub curled up
by his side. Well, the matter was of course
S s.a'as quiet fnn . the under sSod Keeper h was ss,. &sevsrIly
gave him a present Of s., 800. and his place was
f ioned '3 %m nsses. "a SsS s 2 R,5is Just 81 th so ssm Sla'fa'h'
Animals are funny things, especially ele;
them. some ns are KIND ali ina their 0 iiv ese ike fHse cd ID
Jumbo was, and some are kind part of the time.
but break put a; last, and some are Just born
save from the train was just a natural-born
comedian, and when he was about four feet
Cain than all the others with their learned
tricks. Poor old Jumbo! how the children did
iGSs hi aSoa apf IL hf be d Ia i |SyeG iot ts Them. There rem is mo-
per one day; | forget If 1t was in Chicago or st.
Louis, the children were riding him, and he was
with the crowd on either side to see him do 1t.
With his load on his back he was coming
ddEaas,ns g. h q so CARGO gou %hepn af q thy Up to tot S y sSo hs
I years; a pretty little girl; wiggled away from
front Of the advancing Jumbo to fT join aSfG little ie
friend opposite. Her foot tripped and down she
went, right under the elephants feet. Well. the
see the child mashed; but quick as a wink that
n fFass r Sla ss tSaf XIII g2fIid9s snd fu b.D tiisdi S% dr p go@d his his
sound, up to the mahout on his head. Say, l can
hear that cheering yet. There Is many an old
Snowman who takes a half day IN New York to
IF the elephant is a good, elephant he gets
established custom, in the old days before these
big companies were formed. that when the ele-
P PsW p Mee s0' W eli m oae dav VEN The w eIep ham TO w his
sold, andahe mahout took him to headquarters
and was told that his services were not wanted,
not want another. He looked stupid for a min.
ute, and then said he guessed he would say good
the elephant and folded one of the beasts ears
round him, and the brute twisted his trunk
away and the new ~ keeper adva n1epi' to e"tt ase
the animal to quarters and began by giving him
a prod with a gan. Just then the old keeper dis.
wagons with glass sides. Some say n whistle
pounded, some say nothing of the kind happened;
but, anyway, that elephant just upset the regu-
lar mahout, and with trunk raised and trum.
petttng In anger, or fear, or sorrow, went crash
Ing through that band stand and the glass-sided
wagon after. the keeper, spreading havoc In his
path: Reaching his old mahout he Just put his
trunk around him and walked back in that
fashion to where he had been left, mild as milk,
after doing about 5000 damage in about twenty
seconds. He was q. trick elephant, and his ma
bout stayed with him at a pretty large salary
for those days. Everybody suspected the Gle
plant had been trained TO that little piece OF
business; and 1t looked like 1t.
THE monkeys, birds, antelopes, and tho
hippos are pretty good to get along with. The
camels are nasty. vicious things. and that Arab
who climbed over the fence In the Central Park
a few weeks back to visit "a camel was
taking great chances. in my opinion, But the
ticklish things are the snakes. You see a snake
has to be kept looking good and feeling good or
y dies, and the plaguey things won't exercise
themselves as a lion or any of the cats will do,
90 they have to be batiied every two or four
weeks. according to the season and the weather.
j remember ono day when ] was "a young man
We had a big case containing eight or ten
pythons, ranging In size up to Is feet long.
II was fitted with a little slide door, and
when we wanted TO wash them we opened this
door, and presently one OF them would pop his
head out, and the boss would grab him around
the neck, pull out about four feet. take another