The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-10-25
SNOWMAN In THE WOODS
NEANS OF MAKING GREAT COL.
LECTlONS OF LIVING ANIMALS.
rhe Lion, the King Of Beasts, That Most
Tempts the Cunning Trnpper-Caught
in Snares which Resemble the Hum
BILE Mouse-Trnp-Tigers In Captivity.

| BILE Mouse-Trnp-Tiger In Captivity.
Some little wonder can hardly fail to
arise regarding the means by which
the great collection of living animals
If this country and Europe have been
| brought together. 1t is obvious the
rife of civilization of the javclin of
savages Is not the means by which
hheir dens have been stockcd,and those
labeled cages marking their inmates
| as born in the gardens" must al
ways be In n 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 lttle-known ways.
The lion naturally stands at the
head of the list, ana Il more powerful
and sanguinary beast does not tempt
the cunning trapper.
lie is generally captured by means
of what is called the silo-cage, and of
which the following is Il short descrp-
| tlon:
The frame and bars are of iron. It
Is ten feet long, six feet six inches
wide, and the same in height. Mount
/ ed on three cast-iron wheels of small
diameter it can be moved even on
difficult ground. The upper part
opens with folding doors, like II 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 frequentcd
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 naturalsts of his time wee
rather shaky as TO the specific diifc"-
ence between bear and lion.
The cubs found in caverns and caves
after the parents have died under fire
| OF village matchlocks find Il ready sale
among the coast agents of geological
gardens, and hardly caravan comes
| down from the Abysinlan table-lands
or from Fez without n 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 or subjects of the
Shah ever get nearer to the lord of
beasts than they can possibly help.
In the days when rheir hearts We're
n 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,
IL circular wall of nets is arranged
around it. Dogs are then sent into
the thlcket, stones thrown, and burn
ing sticks hurled after them; and at
| last the lion bolts like rabbit into
the net, and rolls over in its entan-
clements, II 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
a 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 noursh-
ment from n lemonade bottle and II
quill, they usually fall victims at n
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
| tlons are very different.
Wandering one day through trop-
zeal jungle, and pressing through the
! thickets Of great tree ferns and shrub
| berries of cinnamon that fringed the
banks of Il hill river, came upon one
| of these structures, and had for II
moment some doubts as to its pur-
/ pose.
1t was the royal "mouse-trap' of
a native raiah and perhaps of un-
usually large size. 1t looked some
| thing like Il Swiss mountain chalet.
! Oblng in shape, it was constructed
Of heavy timbers of squared iron
wood, with their ends dovetailed. In
side there were two apartments dl-
vided by a barrier and doorway
the inner for the unfortunate bait, n
goat or Il young pig, of which latter
the tiger Is intensely fond, and an out
er chamber.
| The massive door of this was held
up by II 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 quarry
when discovered next morning as well
| could he, but tames down under star
vatiOn, ana turns, in course of time,
into that comparatively tame animal
which is all the ordinary Americans
know of the royal beast
African tribes occasionally kill II
lion prowling about their encamp-
ments at night by means of n short
but very powerful cross-bow, armed
with "A poisoned arrow and set in the
animals path. A string Is attached
to the trigger, and taken across the
| trail TO "A Dpp where is IL moda fnst