The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-01-05

are unreasonably afraid of fire. They
are not more afraid of fire than of any
other strange thing, and when they
learn how it can hurt-well, even we
will 1nove over the least little bit to
avoid a red-hot poker.
There have been great improve
ments in the art of training wild ami
mails within the last few years. Merely
to go into the cage and hold its occu-
pants at bay for a few minutes while
attendants with sizzling hot bars stood
ready to thrust them in and quell an
outbreak was considered the top-notch
of achievement not so very long ago.
But nowadays they build big cages in
which there is room for lions and
tigers to do all sorts of tricks, even
to riding on horseback, and many feats
are now performed that would have
been secuted as impossible ten years
ago.
II had heard that this was because
so many more wild beasts had been
reared in captivity. They had become
used to the sight of men, and, never
having been out nights, they did not
know what a wild life meant. talked
this over with Mr.. William M. Snyder,
who has charge of the animals in Cen
trail Park, particularly the elephants,
and who has had long and varied ex-
perience in breaking all kinds of crea-
lures for circus performances. lie
laughed the notion to scorn.
1--WE have learned how to breed
these wild animals in captivity he
said. Tt is largely matter OF giving
them the food and the opportunity
they have in their natural state. the
only advantage aside from the added
information about their life history
has been that they come cheaper to
raise than to capture. The aren't a
bit tanner. They aren't so easy to
manage. 1t is the same with them as
il is with us. Familiarity breeds con-
tempt. A lion right out of the jun
gle is scared half to death by every
thing around him here. and can be
cowed into doing what you want cas-
Ter than a cub that has always seen
men and does not know that they can
hurt him. AS far as being gentler is
concerned, savageness is part OF their
nature. 1 have seen lion cubs with
their eyes just opened that would spit
and strike at you as viclously as any
grown-up Jungle beast By the way,
lions open their eyes within three or
four days after birth. Domestic kit
tens don't open theirs short of from
eight to twelve days. That's something
Won won't find in the books. Another
thing. the books say that young non
doesn't begin to grow name until he
is three years old. I have seen the
name start when they were less than a
year old.
''About tigers Cubs 1 do not know
60 much. Some have been born in
cages, but they have not lived to grow
I'D. | don't think there are any leop-
ards born in captivity. l know that
only two badly elephants have peen
born in this country, Columbia, by
Mandarin out of Babe, in 1880, and
Bridgeport, by Chief out OF queen
in 1882 Just to show you how the
narenfs' disposition is transmitted to
the offspring, Mandarin and Babe were
gentle and tractable, and you coulo
teach Columbia to do almost anything
except read. Chief and Queen were the
two meanest elephants that ever ate
hay, and Bridgeport was meaner imam
both Of thin put together. I've seen
him knock people over when he wasn't
any more than so high. he oleo III 1000
of water on the brain.
so you see, that except for lions
there aren't many wild beasts born IN
captivity, and / had as lief undertake
to train a jungle beast as one born
here-a little rather, in fact, because
it would be easier to throw scare into
him"
rous beast that would as soon eat
man as look at him, ii is dangerous
CROUCH to inspire interest. Also, II is
hard to see how to teach 1t TO DO aero
battle tricks. One would almost as soon
try to teach a barn to do skirt dances.
Instructing these bulky pacbyderms is
largely a matter of block and fall You
wish to teach the elephant to stand on
his head. Chains are passed around
his hindouarters and he is hoisted up
into the air often enough for MIN 10
understand what is wanted of him by
the trainer.
'In posing, the animals have to be
lifted into position. For example, one
has to stand with his forefeet on an
others headquarters, while he -four
ishes his trunk aloft In theatrical at
titude. To teach him TO do this you
pass a chain around his throat and an
other around his trunk to lift 1t up to
the salute. The assistants haul away
on the neck chain until the elephant
begins to choke. Naturally, he rises
up on his hind legs to ease his neck
and paws the air for breath. AS soon
as he Is up far enough the elephant on
whose back he is to place his fore
feet Is backed in under them. 1t Is
common thing to see elephants ears
torn into fi'inges and their thick hide
lacerated till the blood comes with the
hook the trainers carry. One of the
sad features of this life is that the
elephant is ungrateful for his educa-
ton and watches every chance to kill
his dear teacher.
"If an elephant is 10 be taught 20
waltz one man gets at the front end
and another at the rear end Of the
beast, and each shoves his end around
All the animal learns that when he
hears the word waltz" II means that
he Is TO whirl. When they walk with
their forefeet on "a rolling tub one man
goes before and another behind the
tub and steady II for the elephant al
with crowbars stuck between the tug
and the ground. In thesee-saW act