The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-07

and was permitted to take charge of the
two young lions that had never been han
died by any person.
Il can not say truthfully that / was in
the least nervous when l entered the lions
cage for the first time" said Miss Benoit
in relating her experience" 1 had studied
the habits and natures of such animals
and had seen the methods of other train
ers. had theories of my own on the sub
Ject also and l knew that the one thing
necessary was to gain and keep the mas
terry from the start In this 1 found that
my sex aided rather than hindered me.
The ons had never been handled at
all except to the extent necessary in feed
ing, and transporting them, which was, of
co rse, an ad antage. No woman had bsen
near them. When l entered the cage they
ret Gated to the opposite corner and
crouched there in fear and trembling
found that this was due to the rustling Of
my long skirts which seemed TO inspire
in them sort of fascina ted fear. My task
was therefore to reaSsure and not to COW
them. From the first l treated them with
kindness, seldom using force or even the
display of force except to the extent of in
spi ing them wi h a wholesome respect [
have found this plan to succeed admira bly,
and with the right material TO begin with
it is possible 10 train lions to do almost
anything.
Il have noticed that the sight and sound
of my skirts has had the same effect on
other lions that it did in this first pair 1
think that the reason is this, lions that
are captured in a wild state do not see
or come into contact with women until
long alter they have come into CAPTIVITY
Therefore woman is new and unknown
being to them and like all animals they
are timid in the presence of anything that
is unfamiliar. l have never found it ad-
visable to adopt the costume of most pro-
fessional women lion tamers preferring
the ordinary attire and finding that it an
swers even better than the other The
animals always manifest great interest
in my gowns. They like TO sniff about
them and have torn them sometimes in
trying TO inspect them with their claws
But discourage any such familiarity.
Il have never had an accident or an
injury from the lions beyond few
scratches on my arms and legs. inflicted
usually by accident, never anything seri-
Gus. That is because l am always care
full. take my time in teaching my sub
Jects and always know them thoroughly
before | attempt to make them perform
any tricks.
''The best subjects for lion tanner are
those that are captured when thew are
young. Animals that are born in caDtiv-
ity are never satisfactory. AS a rule thew
have been spoiled by petting and have
been handled by too many different per
sons. They are sluggish, unreliable and
deceitful and are Likely TO turn on one at
the most unexpected moment OF course
there are great differences also between
individual animals as between individual
persons. Some are much more intelligent
and much more honest than others The
best lions for training purposes come from
East Africa. They are more intelligent
and can be handled much better than the
Asatic lions.
Il enjoy my work. That is why took
it up To succeed in it requires hard
work and careful study and above all in
finite patience. But in the nature of
things see no reason why a woman who
has strong nerves and is thoroughly self
reliant should not become as successful in
lion training as any man"
The accompanying illustra tions show
better than any description on what ex-
ceedingly friendly terms Miss Benoit and
her tawny pets are At the same time
there is no conflict of authority and a
single sharp word from the little woman
will send any one of the Lions covering
TO the furthest corner of the cage