Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-10
HE CAPTURES SEA LIONS.
Captain MuIlett Says 1t Requires Fiji
teen Men to Take n 1,5OO-POunder.

Captain MuIlett Says 1t Requires Fiji
teen Men to Take n 1,5OO-POunder.
From the Pit.sburg Dispatch.
Captain ]. r. Mulett, the only man in
the world who makes business of captur-
ing sea lions, left Pittsburg last evening
for Philadelphia to join the car load Of
lions which he had sent on east after plac-
ing three of his cargo in the Zoo at High
land Park. Captain Mullett is a small but
rugged-looking man, and has lived a life
Of adventure. When asked what city he
called his home he said:
81 have made the capture of sea lions my
business for almost twenty-five years.
Every SEAL lion, which belongs to
the family of seals that you see in captivi-
ty has been captured by me. Sea lions
and walruses are nothing more than big
seals. All of the sea lions exhibition I
have caught on the coast of California.
They are like the fruit of the golden state
they grow larger on the California coast
than anywhere else in the world.
''1t takes fifteen men to capture a 100
pound sea lion We get between them and
the sea, and when they run for the water
we throw a lasso over them, but as their
necks are larger than their heads, the rope
slips off. We keep on%hrowing and event
ually tire the lion. Then, while all
hold him down with the ropes, another man
places crate over the brute and his cap
ture is effected.
81 have been bitten all along my legs and
thighs, and let me say right here that when
sea lion bites you he takes piece of
flesh out every time. My assistant W. L.
Wemple, who is a veterinary surgeon, has
lost the part of hand, and has been Sc
verely bitten on several occasions The
little, ordinary seal, which is found all over
the world, will not live over a month in
captivity, but the sea lion, like those which
1 have placed in the Highland Park Zoo,
will live for years with careful attention.
while travelling with the sea lions we
keep them alive by spraying them with
water from a tank in the roof of the spe
cal car We feed them on fish Nothing
that lives in the sea drinks water; there
fore, it is not necessary to give them any
drinking water All fishes and seals, and
whales, and everything which lives in the
salt water has its thirst satisfied by abb
sorbing water. Many human beings lose
their lives every year from an ignoTGnce of
this fact.
eff a sailor, when he is shipwrecked and
out of fresh water. would only drop over
the side of the boat or raft on which he
is floating and rest in the water for awhile,
his system would absorb enough water to
satisfy his thirst.
81 was a seafaring man for many years
and the first sea lions I caught were on
the Chincha Islands, off the coast of South
America. saved two of them and the late
P. T. Barnum bought them from me for
the sum of $4,000. This gave me the idea
Of making business of catching them,
and I have been following it up with the
exception of a few years, ever since.
."This last summer the schooner which
l was using was wrecked off the coast of
Oregon. I had fifteen men with me. We
saw a rookery on the rocks along the coast,
and, leaving three men on board to attend
to the schooner, l took the balance and
went ashore to make few captures. While
were on the rocks a storm came up, and
the men on board the boat were unable to
handle her, and she was blown out to sea
There was no settlement within a hun
dred miles of US, and for five weeks we liv-
ed on fish and such raw herbs as we were
able to dig up. 1t was very cold at night,
and we had to sleep out without fire or
blankets, and we suffered terribly. 1 lost
my hearing through exposure, but gradu-
ally regained it. The schooner finally be-
came waterlogged and was floating dere-
lict. She was picked up at last by a gov
eminent tug. Two of the three men who
were on her died as result of the hard
ships which they endured
ut is an old saying that fish is good for
the brain, and I firmly believe. the adage.
Seals and sea lions live on fish entirely
and they can certainly do everything but
talk. They do converse in some manner
among themselves. They are mammals
and possess a great affection for their
young. The sea lion is polygamous, and
the male guards his mates with the great
est care. They are very jealous, and if
one male approaches the resting place of
the females belonging to another it is a
sure sign that there Is going to be bloody
fight They are easily tanned and learn to
know their keepers and appreciate any
other animal taken captive.
Even now these sea lions, which we have
only had Ii our possession a few weeks.