The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-08-08
Costly Wild Beasts.

People sometimes wonder at the m
mense prices put upon wild animals The
forests OF Africa and others parts OF
the world are fun of wild beasts, they
| argue. II is only necessary 20 trap them
and bring them home Why. then. should
a giraffe cost $1,000 and a rhlnoceros a
similar sum2
1t is only a big dealer in wild animals
who can explain why his commodities
are costly. But when he tells OF "A few
OF the risks i'm this most risl,y of all
businesses the only wonder left is, not
that Wild beasts are so dear. but that
they are as cheap as they are,
Carl Hagenbeck IS the biggest wild ami
NAL dealer in the world quite three
quarters of the beasts on exhibition all
the world over have passed through his
hands, His name is known IN African
Jungle villages whore his haisers has
never been heard.
Africa Is Hagenbecks hunting ground,
and his storehouse for Wild animals near
Cape Town covers 30 acres ~ ground. ana
costs 5000 10 e9000 a year for wages and
upkeep. II must be remembered that
nearly all the rare animals of Africa
have now been driven up behind Zambesi.
This means 1000 miles OF toils"me travel
ing for the trapper before start can bc
made
The last Natal hippopo'amus was Killed
about five years ago. I<oodoo, gnu and
hartebeest have long been practically cX-
tinct I'm the colony. and though lions are
still fairly common I'm Rhodesia, the
rarer creatures. like giraffe and rhnoc-
eros and elephant. are constantly retiring
before the -Hhttcman 10 The centre ol the
continent.
The man In charge OF tapping cxpe-
dition must be experienced. resourceful,
must know the country, the languages,
and to be something OF a doctor in the
bargain. lie takes fearful risks, especial
ly from fever. and must be proport.ona,c-
~ paid. Hagenbeck gives his men &12
week and all expenses. The latter are
enormous.
Native carriers must b. hired by the
score. They know their worth and insist
on proportionate pay Eacn carries 60
pounds, and the charge or such load
merely from the East coast up TO the
Great Lakes is two or three shillngs "A
pound. Big amounts OF stores are re-
rcessty. for not only must gurs. ammuni-
tion, traps, timed goods, gr )cerles porta-
BILE boats and medical comforts be taken.
but also large amounts OF cloth. needles
and beads TO pay the natives for fresh
supplies and for information
That terrible insect, the tsetse fly. is
another indirect cause to the African
trapper OF great expense. The creature.
whose bite is fatal to horses. mules and
oxen makes human transp"rt the only
means of getting goods up into the Inte-
rior.
The item of traps in a serious one.
Lions are taken in great net IS feet
square, and trimmed by very powerful
elastic band. Such net costs ESQ to GiO
by the time IL reaches the scene OF ac-
ton. where it covers a pit near a water
hole Portable bamboo cages are also nee
essary in which to transport the savage
captives. Elephants, rhinoceri and hippo
potami are trapped In pits, labor for the
digging OF which Is another item I'm the
hunters bill.
The inexperienced man who caught
rhinoceros in a pit in the middle of At
rica would be equally puzzled as TO how
toz get the creature out or. when out. to
get II down TO the coast. An inclined
plane must be dug for the first. and then
the huge brute, half tanned by hunger
and fright, must be securely shackled
with great chains and ropes, and so led
through tangled forests and stony or
sandy plains for many hundreds Of
miles, all the time at imminent risk OF
his leaders lives. Food and water, too,
are absolutely necessary for such a cap
tive. and II the country IL sterile such
must be carried. IL IL wonderful how
soon even a rhinoceros will give up and
die II not properly fed.
The two most difficult of all known
coast are the giraffe and the zebra. The
latter can only be caught in high aud
barren hills and with the utmost diff
Guilty because OF its shyness; while the
giraffe is rapidly approaching extinction.
The writer was told by gentleman
who had charge on its way home OF
zebra now i'm England. that IL was the
only one that reached the coast out or Ia
caught in Abyssinia. Giraffes, too. have
a heart-breaking habit OF dying suddenly
on the way down country A fine young
specimen, safely shipped couple of
years ago 20 England disappointed its
Keepers at the last minute by breaking
its long neck against a beam.
Even when he has his animals safe az
the port OF shipment. the collectors trou-
bles are far from over. Practically no
tropical beast will stand a sudden change
TO the damp. cold climate OF north Eu-
rope. They must be slowly and gradually
hardened on. Most elaborate apparatus
for this purpose Is used I'm Hagenbecks
great storehouse, near Cape Town. The
temperature i'm the lions cage Is slowly
lowered by means OF ice. Monkeys are ac-
climated i'm similar fashion.
The Indian tapir il. ut present. The most
expensive Of all wild animals: Ei500 is its
price, giraffe now fetching El0O 20
cl2O0. Two-horned rhinoceri cost cN0 10
$1,000 But some animals are practically
priceless. These include the African sor-
lila and the Kadiak bear. The gorilla has
beon caught: many speciments have been.
indeed. brought 20 the west coast. but
this man-like ape Is so habitustod 90
the steamy atmosphere OF It's native for
ests that IL is the rarest thing for one 20
survive the voyage TO Europe.
As for the Kadiak bear. the greatest OF
all the bear tribe. which prowls through
the wooded valleys OF Kadiak Island OF
Alaska. no specimen has yet been caught
alive. Seeing that the creature weighs up
20 a ton and is strong In proportion. II
seems doubtful ~ a full-erovn one ever
will be seen In a menagerie. .-Tit-Bits.