Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-05-09
How Wild Beasts Are Shipped to
Market,

York geological garden at the Bronx
a large cargo of strange beasts from
the far East Only very few of
the animals with which he started
on his trip of six weeks did not live
to see the end of the voyage. But
Captain Golding has learned how to
care for his wild animal companions
through experience.
Somebody said that a man has to
destroy a bushel of eyes before he be-
comes a good oculist," said Captain
Golding; that's the way it is in the
animal business. The first time |
carried a cargo lost a lot of them.
It's no wonder; because you can't
imagine a more complete change for
the animals than to take them from
their native wild haunts, where they
have had air and freedom, and then
lock them up in a little cage and
chuck them on shipboard. to be car
ried through changing climates. fed
on different food, and subject to an
entirely different mode of living. 1t
is always a surprise to me that so
many Of them pull through. You've
got to take better care of big thick
hided rhinoceros, for instance, than
you would of little sick child.
"The first time l ever carried a
python on a ship voyage | had a
peculiar experience with him. I'll
tell you that all this talk about the
big snakes being able to fascinate
and control birds, by fixing their eyes
on the little futtering creatures, is
bosh. had always read about it
in my childhood story-books and had
seen pictures of an innocent bird wait
ing for it's doom in the presence of
the glittering, fascinating gaze of a
huge snake. remember that | al
ways felt very sorry for the poor
little bird.
when | started from the Orient
with my cargo of wild animals.
brought along a lot of little Japanese
ROSTERS to feed my python, and to
be cooked for some of my other an
finals. | had supposed that the pyth-
on was a most dangerous snake. I
used to be afraid to go anywhere near
him. But the python isn't poisonous.
He cant hurt you unless he can
get his coils around you. and he can't
do that very we'll in a narrow cage
So | don't mind going in a cage with
one now.
After had been out about a day
| thought my python must be getting
hungry. He lay quietly in his cage
when | threw little Japanese roost-
er in to him. l went awav then. be-
cause | didn't care to see the poor
little chicken fascinated by the deadly
snake and then swallowed whole.
When | returned to the cage, after
about half an hour. what do you sup
pose | saw? The little Japanese
rooster was standing on the pvthon's
head, trying to pick the snakes eyes
out. | got the little rascal out of the
cage as soon as could. | thought
he might kill the big snake.
when saw that the python
couldn't kill a chicken, | tried rab-
bits. put two of them in the
snakes cage. At first the little bun
MES were almost scared to death.
They scurried into one corner of the
cage and huddled there. The python
did not seem to take any interest in
them.
After a while sent my Chinese
sailor, who always looks after my
animals for me. to see whether the
python had made meal. John came
back to me grinning.
Snake no eaty labbit,' he said.
And, sure enough, when | peered
the little rabbits, having a game of
hide-andseek. hopping about all over
the great. greasy coils of the snake.
After that we didn't bother the pyth-
on with offers of food. and | learned
later that frequently pythons go with
out eating for six months. During
all that time they lie sluggish and
inactive.
Of he ~
tain Golding, Il had trouble with my
hairy-eared rhinoceros. who is very
rare specimen; so | was very par
ticular about him. He wouldn't eat.
In his native state he lives on branch
es and leaves and the tender shoots
of trees. The best | could get for
him was Australian hay and sweet
potatoes. Australian hay is simply
oats. straw with the oats left on.
1t is very nourishing. But | think
it must have been too dry for Rhino.
Then | thought of scheme to tempt
his appetite. | had heard that in
the Philippine Islands our American
soldiers had had trouble in getting
their horses to eat this hay, and that
they had sprinkled molasses on it
and found that the horses then took
to it very well. | tried this with
the rhinoceros and he at once relished
the hay. Then, after he had gotten
used to eating it, | stopped sprinkl-
ing it with molasses; he didn't seem
to know the difference. After that
he ate quarter of a bale of hay a
day and fifty pounds of sweet pota-
toes. That with the salt composed
his diet.
Il have tried for many years" said
the captain, Ito get a gibbon through
to America, but | have never been
able to keep one alive until the end
of the voyage. Monkeys are the
most sensitive and delicate of the
wild animals. In the first place, they
become homesick. That takes away
their appetite. Then they are very
susceptible to cold, and the first thing
you know the monkey has pneumonia.
Although monkeys will eat almost
anything, the food which they receive
in captivity often disagrees with them,
and they have dysentery. In fact,
the monkeys seem to have all the af-
| fiictions of human beings. The two
gibbons and an orang-outang with
which | started on my last trip died
after we had been out about three
weeks. The orangs are getting
more valuable all the time. They are
becoming more scarce and the de-
mand is increasing, because new 20
illogical gardens are being opened.
My animals were always fed once
every day, and | always visited them