The suburban citizen., 1900-10-27
SHOWMANINTHE WOODS
MEANS OF MAKING GREAT COL.
LEcTloNs OF LIVING ANIMALS.

arise regarding the means by when
the great collection of living animals
Of this country and Europe have been
brought together 1t is obvious the
rife Of civilization of the jayelln OF
savages is not the means by which
their dens have been stocked,and those
labeled cages marking their inmates
as born in the gardens" must al
ways be in a minority. Hence the
question arises, how are these rich
stores of fur and feather obtained? ?
And the answer is, in some very in
genious and little-known ways.
The lion naturally stands at the
head Of the list and a more powerful
and sanguinary beast does not tempt
the cunning trapper.
He is generally captured by means
of what is called the slo-cage, and Of
which the following is Il short descrip-
tlOn;
The frame and bars are Of iron. 1t
is ten feet long, six feet six inches
wide and the same in height Mount
ed on three cast-iron wheels Of small
diameter, ii can be moved even on
difficult ground. The upper part
opens with folding doors, like a ward.
robe, and they close of themselves at
the slightest shock given to springs
of steel. Catches retain the lids as
they fall and imprison the animal as
soon as he touches the bottom Of the
trap.
The plan is to place this trap prop.
erly baited, on the ground frequented
by the wild animals, and then. when
the game is caught, to wheel the ma
chine away to some menagerie pre-
pared for the purpose.
The natives themselves have taken
the lion in pits covered with reeds
since the dawn Of history. Pliny rec
Ords this device Of theirs, though the
Roman naturalists of his time were
rather shaky as to the specific differ
ence between bear and lion,
The cubs found in caverns and caves
after the parents have died under fire
OF village matchlocks find a ready sale
among the coast agents of geological
gardens, and hardly a caravan comes
down from the Abysinian table-lands
or from Fez without a cub or two.
As for the lions of Persia and Syria,
the line of Nimrod and the hunter
kings is over, and it is very doubtful
whether Bedouin OF subjects of the
Shah ever get nearer to the lord Of
beasts than they can possibly help,
In the days when Cheir hearts were
a little stouter, and the country was
one great game preserve, they stocked
their Zoos" by the help Of nets and
beaters
The precise locality Of the lions
dwelling place having been discovered,
circular wall Of nets is arranged
around it. Dogs are then sent into
the thicket, stones thrown, and burn
ing sticks hurled after them; and at
last the lion bolts like n rabbit into
the net, and rolls over in its entan-
clements, n chaos Of dust and hemp
and tawny hide, the thunder of the
frantic brute almost drowned in the
babel of a dozen villages of men and
whole countryside Of dogs yelping
together This was sport which, while
it lasted, contrasted favorably with
grouse-shooting for instance.
But to-day the lion and that other
great cat, the tiger, are rarely netted.
If they do enter into bondage in their
extreme youth, and imbibe nouish-
ment from a lemonade bottle and a
quill, they usually fall victims at Il
more mature age to some sort of box
trap, such as that mentioned previ-
ously, and are almost identical in de-
sign with the humble mouse-trap.
Needless to say, however, the proper
tions are very different
Wandering one day through a trop-
ical jungle, and pressing through the
thickets of great tree ferns and shrub
berries Of cinnamon that fringed the
banks of hill river, l came upon one
of these structures, and had for "A
moment some doubts us to its pur-
pose.
1t was the royal "mouse-uap' Of
native rajah and perhaps Of un-
usually large size. 1t looked some
thing like a Swiss mountain chalet.
Obling in shape, it was constructed
of heavy timbers of squared iron
wood, with their ends dovetailed In
side there were two apartments, di-
vlded by a barrier and doorway
I the inner for the unfortunate bait, Il
goat or young pig, Of which latter
the tiger is intensely fond, and an out
er chamber.
The massive door Of this was held
up by a rope which went over wheel
to the great shed, and when the beast
enters and approaches the victim.
whose lamentations have attracted his
attention, he frees the catch and the
portcullis descends behind, cutting
him off forever from his native hills.
He is as noisy and savage a quarry
when discovered next morning as well
could be, but tames down under star
walton, and turns. in course OF time.
into that comparatively tame animal
which is all the ordinary Americans