Evening star., 1901-06-01
HANDLING Gagged ANIMALS.
Ine1perience and Carelessness Great
est Factors In Accidents.

Inexperience and Carelessness Great
est Factors In Accidents.
From the Kansas City Star.
Frank c. Bostock. who by virtue Of
| many years Of experience in handling wild
animals of all kinds has come to be sort
Of adviser and coach Of animal trainers,
| says that in a very large percentage of
cases injuries suffered from trained ami
! mails are the fault of the trainer. 'Inex-
| perience and carelessness are the great
factors In accidents of this kind" says Mr..
| Bostock The average young trainer Is
too likely to forget that every one Of the
| big cats has five mouths as one may say:
| one In his head, and four more at the ends
| Of his paws, and each Of those mouths Is
! capable of inflicting terrible injury. How
| ever, We do not place an animal in the list
Of bad animals unless he makes a direct
and full attack. Striking at the trainer
! with the paws amounts to little: 1t may be
| even accidental. 1t Is the spring that
| counts. Every trainer expects to be clawed
| somewhat. 1t may lay him up for a while,
but he doesn't lay it up against the beasts.
| (Mr. Bostock's own arms legs, breast and
back elaborately tattooed with testi-
monials from his feline friends of past
years.) But the beast that springs must
be beaten into submission, the trainer
must escape from the cage soon pos
sible. If the animal really means business,
it is the mans part to get out, for man
can stand against the strength Of lion or
| tiger or the wonderful agility Of leopard.
! The best defense against charging lion or
tiger, If one has only a club, is to strike the
| animal on the nose, hitting up from under;
| but this is by no means an easy thing to
| do. as the creature will dodge and block
with degree Of skill that would do credit
| to a champion Of the ring. Meantime,
| however. the man can have been edging
! into a position favorable to escape. The
| felines jump for the throat and an agile
man II he sees that the animal is going to
| lea n In 1nvy
| that may send his assailant cringtng to the
| other end Of the cage. No man who Is not
| agile has any business with these brutes.
| 1t knocked down. the mans only chance Is
| to struggle to the bars and raise himself:
| for. on his feet. he has a chance Of con-
| trolling the animals: down. he Is complete
| respect for him. The minute his body
touches the floor he ceases to be the mas
| ter.
"A number Of bad accidents that have
| come under my notice have been ascribable
| to drunkenness on the part Of the victims.
A half-drunken fellow goes into the cage
! with desire to show of his mastery over
| the animals, and cursing and swearing at
| them puts them through their PAGES with
out let up. Every animal knows when he
| Is being overworked, and there is nothing
| he resents more bitterly. The animals en-
! dure being put upon for a time; then,
| the first thing the trainer knows, one Of
| them has him pinned. and II he gets out
| alive 1t Is more than he deserves. One
must DSdT constantly III nlHu tno possible
| effect OF his course Of action upon the ami
mails he is handling, and the construction
| which their reasoning, or instinct, or what
! ever you choose to call it, is likely to put
| upon his acts. l had a severe Illustration
| o. that in Kansas City recently. Owing to
| an error on the part Of the workmen,
| Madame Pianska's large cage was mis-
| placed, and I found that her lions would
| have to perform in a smaller one. This
| change of stage setting Is one Of the things
| that performing animals particularly hate
| and she had good deal of trouble.
FINALLY she got them all working In the
! smaller cage except one honess, usually
| good subject, who CHANGED to be sulky that
| day. Coaxing wouldn't move her. SO was
| appealed to and went into the cage. After
some difficulty. I got her majesty to go
! over her jumps all right. and 1 kept her
hustling around the ring pretty lively to
| take some of the temper out Of her In nv
| hand I held riding whip, and, just for a
| flourish tapped it smartly on the ground
| There was no sense in the action, and II
| had thought twice wouldn't have done it,
Twenty feet away from me- near Madame
| Pianka, the IfOness' mate was standing
watching me with dubious eyes. Probably
he thought when tapped the whip on the
ground, that was laying it on the Honess
| Anyway, he covered the twenty feet in one
bound and pinned me through the fleshy
part Of the thigh. Down went. The Hon
Madame Pianka for her approval She had
in her hand the revolver which she uses
in her act. and she fired the blank charge
close to the lions ear; at the same time
catching him around the neck. That was
| one Of the poses In his act. and fortunately
| it caught his mind. and the force Of habit
brought him to instant obedience He re-
laxed his hold. giving me a chance to get
| to my feet, and I ran him around the cage
| three or four time just to show him I was
still master, and then went to bed The
teeth hadn't touched the bone. and I was
up and around in three weeks BY the
way. there il nothing in that theory that
q lions bite IL poisonous. I have been BIT
ten seven times by fetnes. and the wounds
have always healed without any complica-
tions.'
Thousands Of situatious have heen oh-