The Washington times., 1901-12-01

main animal house, are said to be the
finest to be seen in any geological park.
Every one of these dens has been entered
by keeper while the animal has been
at large, with the exception of that of
the male Bengal tiger. This animal, a
wonderful union of activity ana strength,
is extremely ferocious, and has an espe-
cial grudge against mis- keepers, at whom
he has often sprung when they have come
in the vicinity OF his den. The top of this
tigers cage is nine feet above the floor,
and yet the animal, when stretching and
leaning its body against the side exactly
after the manner of a house cat, touches
the upper bars with the tip of its extend
ed forepaws- The keen sight and scent of
the tiger are strikingly illustrated at
present. Work is being conducted in
building a street off the line of the Chevy
Chase cars, and a number of horses are
driven every morning and evening along
the top of the cliff facing the animal
house, and fully a quarter of a mile dis
tant. Though the horses appear to the
human vision as only of the size of small
wooden toys, the tiger devours them with
dilated eyes, while his tail twitches and
vibrates and his whole attitude is that of
a cat watching sparrows on the street.
Lobengula, the large African lion, is a
celebrated character in the history of the
zoo. His name is derived from that of a
Zulu chief who fought against the Brit
ish some years ago in South Africa very
near the territory which is now the
scene Of war between England and the
Transvaal. 10 was captured in the coun-
try of his namesake shortly after the lat
ter's subjugation, and was donated to the
Zoo by his captor, an American gentle
man. He has become quite a domestic
character since his residence here, end
has had a numerous progeny.
An interested visitor to the Zoo, espe-
cially TO the big game" as he doubtless
regards them, is President Roosevelt He
eyes the mountain lion with the air of an
old acquaintance. and the tigers and Afri.
can lions with a wistfulness which seems
to convey desire he has not yet graft
fed. Even the cold of last Thanksgiving
Day could not deter Mr.. Roosevelt from
paying his visit on foot to the animals.
To go from lions and tigers to MONKEYS
is to turn from the tragedians of the
four footed world to its comedians And
yet the monkeys have their tragedies. too.
as was emphasized in the end of the brief
but brilliant career of Pompey, a native
of Brazil, who far outshone all bis con-
freres at the Zoo in suppleness and agil-
ity.
Pompey was found by the keeper one
day breathing his last, beneath the trapeze
upon which he had once dazzled admiring
audiences. A post-mcrtem examination
revealed that his neck had been broken
in fall. probably the result of a mis-
calculation of a hundredth of an Incl, in
his distance; and so Pompey died. like
his illustrious famesake, victim to his
Unsuitable desire for glory. And thus can
even poor monkey furnish a moral for
that vaulting ambition which o'erleaps
itself"
Feeding the snnkeAs
The snakes appear TO exercise a fas-
and the keeper has sometimes created a
sensation by taking the big boa and python
out of their dens, and exhibiting them
as though they were coils of rubber hose.
1t is not by any means an attractive
sight to witness the feeding of the snakes,
as their food is always given them alive.
There is said to be snake In the Phila-
delphia Zoo which has been educated to
eat raw meat. and Yho thriyes upon the
same. Many of the snakes will go all the
winter months withoB. food. The visitor
sometimes has an opportunity of seeing
a snake at its meal In the case of
constructor it is taken cut of the cage
and placed upon the floor II the snake is
one of the smaller variety, mouse or
chipmunk is then given it. The loath-
some reptile closes on its unfortunate
little prey with lightning like rapidity,
and then slowly, very slowly, crushes it
10 death. 1t then leisurely deyours II,
the whole process lasting about fifteen
minutes. The water moccasin feeds on
small FISH, or minnows, which are put in
pan of water. The rapidlty with which
the reptile swallows one after another
Of the quickly moving fish, seeming to
dart in hundred different directions at
once. is a sight indeed
The elephant, Dunk" Is still pursu-
in his monotonous and solitary exis-
tence. He used to be given bath in
the creek in summer time, along with
his companion, "Golddust,' but since the
latter's death he has become unmanage-
able There are plenty of seals and two
tapirs in the park
Altogether there are now between eight
and nine hundred animals in the park.
The Zoo became part of the Smithsonian
Institution in 1890, when Prof. s. p. Lang
ley got an appropriation of S200.0 900 for
the establishment of the park which was
started in humane way. The Smithson-
ian scientists did not wish to kill the
animals which were sent them as specl-
mems, SO they were allowed to accumu-
late on the premises back OF the brown
stone building in the Mall. Then Prof.
Langley evolved the idea of a national
geological park. which would far eclipse
anything Of the kind in the world. And
the professor says he is going, with the
sanction of fate and the help of Congress,
to make it such.