The Jennings daily record., 1902-07-03
TRADE IN WILD BEASTS
LARGE DIMENSIONS TO WHICH THE.
INDUSTRY HAS ,cRowt&.ss /

| Handling Exhibits For the MenAgeriGl
and Zoos of the World-A Farm Where
the Animals Are Restored to Health
| After Their Ocean Trip.
| Out of the vast range of human in
dustries it would be difficult to select a
calling which at first sight offers less
in the way of remuhsratiop than that
! of the man with a literal elephant OIL
his hands to dispose of, writes j. p.
Hebard. in the New York Post. There
are SO few people who want an ele-
| phant, in the first place.. that. it. is hard
for one nos versed III the secrets 81 ffd
| business to see how the regular barter
| and sale Of these huge beasts can be q
source of profit. For all this, the fact
| remains that the trade in not only ele-
plants, but ostriches. camels, tigers.
leopards and any other kind Of wild
animal, is better to-day than ever be-
fore, and large fortunes are being made
at it by concerns all over the world.
Not far from Jersey City, on the road
to Newark. there is a cluster Of rough,
unpainted barns, surrounded by a high
board fence, which at first glance bears
close resemblance to the out-houses
frequently seen on old New England
farms. A closer inspection. however,
reveals the fact that one of the build
ings is OF unusual height and built en-
tirely of roughly squared logs, heavily
spiked together. a most unearthly din,
made up of sQueaks, roars, yelps and
bays in every conceivable key, pro
claims still further the unusual charac-
ter of the place.
This group of shanties Off the main
line of travel from the city is Madden's
animal farm. known to every Snowman
and zoologist in this country and Eu
rope Here at different seasons of the
year can be found anything from a
baby elephant fresh from India to a
Manx cat. trained to all the tricks dear
to the heart of the Snowman.
Madden is not himself collector,
and acts really as agent for a large ami
NAL house in Germany. He is sort of
jobber. and stands between the collec
tor and those in search Of Wild beasts.
When a Snowman loses one of the in
mates of his menagerie, or desires to
make an addition to his stock for the
next season. he lets Madden know six
months in advance. ana the animal is
produced. sleek and fat and in prime
condition, to be put upon exhibition.
1t is this matter of condition which |
the transa elton.
Anima1s of all kinds, and particularly |
wild beasts, unaccustomed to the re-
strictions of life in captivity, are very !
poor travellers. Camels and lions in
variably suffer torments from seasick- |
ness, and. in fact. frequently die from
that and fright during an ocean voy- |
age. AS any one who has ever seen
any Of the North German Lloyd ships
discharging their occasional cargoes of
animals at Jersey City can readily be-
lieve. Madden's charges frequently
reach his farm more dead than alive.
His is the task of bringing them back |
to life. training them to docility in con-
finement. and rendering them generally
fit for the show or park as the case
may be.
In addition to his other department
Madden. a year or so ago. started a
training school where animals are not
only cared for and put in good physical
after their arrival in this
country. but are also trained for the
ring. This. is coming to be one of the
most profitable branches of the busi-
ness. In speaking of it the proprietor
said:
when I first opened my present
plant we had three small sheds and a
lean-to. where we kept the cattle and
deer. That was fifteen years ago, and
the demand for animals was so small
that it was all we could do at first to
ake out living. SO many new parks
have been started with geological gar
lens attached. in different cities of the
within the last ten years,
lOwever. that we always now have all
he orders on hand we can attend to.
When a consignment of animals
caches us from the other side he con-
inued. "the first thing we have to see
o is that the animals are able to be
moved from the ship. You think that
$ strange, don't YOU But it's fact.
You have doubtless noticed how diff
ult it is for you to walk when you first
and after Il long sea voyage. Well, l ,
lave seen an elephant that had been
anded too soon after Il stormy trip ,
tagger about the streets for all the
world like a drunken sailor. only on
n alarmingly larger scale. Two days
pent quietly aboard ship in the dock
S usually enough to give them their q
and legs.
THE elephants and camels and other t
attic, as we call them, that can walk t
n their own legs, are taken at night {
rom the ship to the farm. so as to at s
ract just as little attention as possible. 4
ometimes, if the animals are in per- y
nctlv yOOl condition thew aro ro- \