The National tribune., 1901-08-08
TANNING A LION.
A Task That Calls for Something More Than
Coursge-Tas Trainer Usss a Chair, but
Not to SIT On.

A Task That Calls for Something More Than
Coufsge-Tas Trainer Uses q Chair, but
Not to Sit On.
(St Nicholas)
The wiid-beast tanner as generally pic
tured Is a mysterious person who stalks
about sternly In high boots and possesses
4 remarkabls power of the eye that makes
lions and tigsrs quail at his look and
shrink away. He rules by fear, and the
crack Of his whip 10 supposed to bring
memories Of torturing points and red-hot
irons.
Such 10 the story-book iion-tamsr. and
may as well say at once that outside
of story books he has small existence.
There Is scarcely any truth in this
theory of hate and conquest BY fear.
It Is no more fear that makes a lion walk
on a ball that it is fear that makes q
horse pull a wagon. II Is habit. The
lion is perfectly willing to walk on the
ball, and he has reached that mind, not
by cruel treatment, but by force Of his
trainers patience and kindness and su-
perior intelligence.
OF course, a wild-beast tanner should
have a quick eye and delicate sense Of
hearing, so that he may be warned Of
a sudden spring at him or a rush from
behind; and it is important that he be
a sober man, for alcohol breaks the nerve
or gives a false courage worse than folly;
but the quality on which he must chiefly
rely and which alone can make him a great
tamer-not a second-rate bungler-is a
genuine fondness for his animals. This
does not mean that the animals will
necessarily be fond Of the tanner; some
will be fond of him, some viii be indif-
ferent to him, some will fear and hate
him. Nor will the trainers fondness pro-
tect him from fang and claw. We shall
see that there is danger always, accident
often, but without the fondnsss there
would be greater danger and more fire.
quent accident. A fondness for lions and
tigers gives sympathy for them, sympa-
thy gives understanding of them, and IN
Outstanding gives mastery Of them, or as
much mastery as is possible. What but
this fondness would keep a tanner con-
stantly with his animals, not only in the
public show (the easiest part, but in the
dens, in the treacherous runway, in the
strange night hours, in the early morning
romp, when no one is looking, when there
is no reason for being with them except
the tanners own Joy In it?
| do not propose now to present in de-
tail the methods of tanning wild beasts,
rather what happens after they are
tanned; but | may say that a lion-tamer
always begins by spending weeks or
months in gaining new animals conf
dence.
Day after day he viii stand for long
time outside the cage, merely looking at
the hon, talking to him, impressing upon
the beast general familiarity with his
voice and person. And each time, as he
goes away, he is careful to toss a piece
of meat as pleasant memento of his
visit.
Later he ventures inside the bars, car
rying some simple weapon-a whip, a
rod, perhaps a broom, which is more for
midable than might be supposed, through
the jab of its sharp bristles. One tanner
used common chair with much success
against unbroken lions. If the creature
came at him, there were the four legs
in his face; and soon the chair came to
represent boundless power to that igno-
rant lion. He feared it and hated it, as
was seen on one occasion when the tanner
left it in the cage and the lion promptly
tore it into splinters.
Days may pass before the lion will let
his tanner do more than merely stay inside
the cage at a distance. Very well; the
tanner stays there. He waits hour after
hour; week after week, until time comes
when the lion will let him move nearer
viii permit the touch of his hand, will
come forward for a piece Of meat, and
at last treat him like a friend, so that
finally he may sit there quite at ease, and
even read his newspaper, as one man did.
Lastly begins the practice OF tricks; the
lion must spring to a pedestal and be fed;
he must jump from one pedestal to an
other and be fed, must keep q certain
pose and be fed. A bit of meat is always
the final argument, and the tanner wins
Gf he wins at all, for sometimes he fails)
by patience and kindness.
There is no use getting angry with 4
liOn," said well-snown tanner to me,
land there is no use in carrying a re-
volver. If you shoot lion or injure him
with any weapon. it is your loss, for you
must buy another lion, and the chances
are that he will kill you anyway, if ne
starts to do it. The thing is to keep him
from starting"