The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-06-17
IN THE WINDY CITY zoo.
Habits of It's Dcnixcns Described by
n Keeper.

IN THE WINDY CITY zoo.
Habits of Its Dentxcns Described by
Keeper.
(From the Chicago Chronicle.)
The animal keeper in Lincoln Park hem
med and hawed as he twisted a tcothpick
in his mouth. Then he talked about his
pets.
There is Brutus," he began, as he cross
ed his legs. That lion will not eat meat.
He wants vegetables every hour in the day:
When we give beef shanks to the rest CT
his family Brutus goes to corr er OF MS
cage and sulks until We toss before him a
bushel or so of carrots and potatoes. Then
he is satisfied. l have heard him laugh
when he was done with his meal. Few
persons know when lion is happy. 9th
ers do not know when he laughs. But l
am certain that a lion is halfway human
in his likes and dislikes. l have seen Bru-
tus grin and claw his whiskers when things
were going right with him, and once /
heard him laugh at night. SUPPOSE he was
dreaming, for he was pacing up and down
his cage the WHILE and now and then he
would open his face and chuckle. What he
was laughing about don't know. But he
was laughing all the same.
Nov, take Sarah. the lioness. She is
happy on Fridays only. 1t is then that she
prowls about the open cage of the animal
house and swings her tail against the steel
bars. This is an indication Of the old
woman's happiness. She does not laugh,
however. 1t is her face and tread that tell
me of her comfort and pleasure.
II have a monkey who is crazy after
doughnuts,' continued the animal-keeper.
Monkeys take to that sort Of stuff Ev-
cry warm Sunday family from Sedgwick
Street comes here with the goods. Abe,
the big mandril. will eat doughnuts until
his eyes are red and his stomach bulges
like a good football Then he will fling
himself into corner and sleep until he is
walked up with the iron rod.
THE eagles like meat. One old fellow
with a white head Che has no name) got
a bone in his throat 1t stuck there good
and plenty. and every time he cried the
noise from his beak sounded like the yelp
Of the wind through the trees. The Owls
in the cage could not stand for this. Ono
night about two months ago they fell ufcn
the eagle, which was then half gone srcm
strangulation. and killed him. The bone
in his throat was white and freckled. II
bore an Inscription, but We took little no.
tice of that until few days later, when
we discovered that the bone was the five
spot OF dice. How the eagle got that bone
don't know. Anyhow. he beat the deuce
but killed himself. That, Of course, counts
nothing in the game.
There is something strange about
Hank the big rattlesnake," the astmal-
keeper continued as he twisted the tooth
pick in his mouth. That fellow came
from Montana. near the Lame Deer aSan
cy. He was caught by stage driver aad
taken to Great Falls in a box. He had
twenty-five buttons on his tail. We got
him In that shape. but 1t is the truth that
instead of adding one to his collection OF
rattlere each year. as men will tell you he
should. the worm has let loose one but
ton every twelvemonth. We have had him
three years and his tail now shows him
to be nineteen years old. If he keeps that
gait up he will be an infant ten years
from now. We give him rat or pigeon
every twenty days or SO and this food
seems to stand him in good stead. He Is
the greatest sleeper In the park, rot bar
ring the men who come from town. For
fifteen days Hank never opened an eye
and when he did 1t was only with an ugly
glare of defiance and mischief. We gave
him biscuits until his appetite fell to rats
and pigeons.
But talking about animals: end here
the man of the park became reminiscent
Il want to tell you about Mozart the
brown bear from Arkansas. This fellow
is a man-eater. He was caught by a fell
low of the name of Flanders and shipped
in a crate to the White Chapel Club. The
members of the organization received " ord
that the beast was at the railway station,
but thinking the message all joke, they
held aloof. Then came more pressing
demand from the express company that
the bear be removed at once. II vas said
that the animal was eating everything In
sight, and that unless 1t was removed in
short order the damage would be fastened
upon the club. A committee was sent TO
the station. 1t found the bear. He was a
brown fellow with yellow teeth and a
tongue as red as a firecracker. With ef-
fort and some cost the beast was taken
to the clubhouse in Calhoun Alley. Here
! he chewed up all the sheets Of music on
the piano. That is why he is called No
zart' He is full of music. Why, when
| the boys of the club chained him up to
| q stove and began kicking him with theiI
boots he let loose the melodies your moth
! er knew. And now, at times, he hauls
| himself into the trees and growls and
whines many songs I've heard in days
that are past.
what does the elephant do?" repeated
the animal-keeper. why. she is playing
sc!t. We have dug some holes in her park
/ and given her ball to play with. She
! can fcozle her approach. loft over bunk
! err and make a drive to the fair green.
! think that is what they call that sort Of
monkey work There was rooster in a
red shirt and queer stockings who said he
had seen the girl miss the water hazard
| don't know much about the game. But
| the elephant is out for golf and We will
keep her nose at it until 1t gets strong
again. She has catarrh and needs exercise
i've got but one sick animal In the
Zoo" said the man of the park. land tina,
! is the baboon. man who had eaten @
Russian caviar sandwich stood before the
cage of the boy the other day and breath
ed heartily. The baboon is an onion eater
but he couldn't stand for the stranger. He
| shook his nose, closed his eyes, and said
something that sounded like 'tush.' Their
/ he rolled over in a corner Of his cage ant
has been asleep ever since. He will moi
be comforted, so you can't do anything
for him. He simply was bowled over b,
the man with the breath from the Neva!"
HUNTING FOR BUGS AND WEEDS
Searches In Chicago Parks by Low
crs of Nature.