The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-07-18
Had he not caught the steamer al

Had he not caught the steamer al
Alexandria, the Franco German war
which broke out just after he hat
safely landed, would have ruined
him. AS it was, he disposed of the
whole lot to the Austrian Emperor
to the city of Dresden, to the Berlin
Zoo, the Hamburg Gardens, to the
English Zoo, (Which bought twenty
thousand dollars worth of his
''catch, y and the rest to Antwerp
and Russia.
1t was on this occasion that lion,
which he was bringing from Ham
burg to London, got lose one morn
ing on deck. In terror the sailors
rushed to Hagenbeck, asleep in his
cabin. That good man, who is never
excited, never dismayed, hurried up
and peered cautiously out of the gang
way. The steamer was a very small
one, and the lion was not very far
off.
To this day the scene is photo
graphed on his memory. The toss
ing sea, the mast describing patterns
in a gray sky, a couple of sailors
perched aloft in the swaying yard
arms, shivering with fright, the cap
tain and mate, pale but resolved, on
the bridge, the steersman casting anx-
ious looks behind, and the lion calm
ly surveying the whole scene from
the lonely deck.
Hagenbeck persuaded sailor to
help him move shifting den" into
position, and then, bidding the man
run for his life, he himself advanced
calmly and quietly, as one might who
sought to catch an errant cat, and
cracked his huge whip. The animal
rose strong on his huge launches,
growing the while, and then he took
a quiet run along the deck, Hagen
beck pegging away in the rear. At
last, just when he had begun to weary,
the lion quietly walked into the cage
quick as lightning Hagenbeck let
down the bars, and the animal was
in captivity once again.
On another occasion a crocodile
broke loose on board ship and speedi-
ly cleared the decks. Again Hagen
beck came to the rescue, and without
loss of life or limb the huge creature
was persuaded into its prison again.
In his Nubian and Soudanese ex-
petitions, Hagenbeck employs great
number of the Hamaran Arabs, who
always hunt the giraffe, elephant and
rhinoceros with their celebrated two
edged swords. So powerful are these
terrible weapons that a man can act
ually kill an elephant with two blows
of his sword and so daring are these
men that they will attack lioness,
kill her, carry off the young ones,
and join the rest of the expedition al
most before they have been missed.
For all lions are caught young.
Some of the Zulus and the Basutos
the assegai. They go out practically
naked, knowing the exact spot where
the lions lair is situated. Possibly
the parent animal is Away, in which
case their task is comparatively easy.
Sometimes the lioness is at home.
At once she springs at the daring in
truders but they simply rain asse-
gals, one after the other, upon her,
until she is dead. They then wrap
the young ones in the "fada"-the
cloth in which they sleep-and bring
them unharmed to the leaders of the
expedition.
Snakes, and especially Indian
snakes, are caught, as rule, on cold
nights. The hunters make a large
fire in the jungle and surround the
space with nets, into which the SER
pents, which have slowly and sleepi-
ly dragged themselves to the welcome
blaze, are gradually driven.
In this way pythons especially are
caught in the dreaded sunderbunds.
There is also another method. The
snake hunters set fire to a tract of
jungle, and then await the hasty exit
of the snakes-cobras, pythons, boa
constructors, hamadryads, and other
kinds. 1t is thrilling and terrific
sight. The men are furnished with
huge butterfly nets, and stand, illu-
mined by the fierce confagration,
swooping up the terrified and Kissing
serpents as they appear. The snakes
are then packed in boxes and sent to
Calcutta or Bombay for shipment to
Europe.
The capture of elephants is long
and ticklish job; perhaps its most in
teresting feature is that tame animals
of the same species are especially
trained to assist the human hunters.
In India the highest caste elephants
are employed for this work. They
are fed carefully on grain, and are
trained to be speedy in pursuit.
AS soon as a herd is sighted by the
hunters koonkie, as the trained ele-
phant is termed, is urged into rapid
pursuit by the mahout that rides her
for koonkies are all female ele-
plants. Care is taken 70 select one
animal out of the herd and to direct
all energies upon it. 1t is separated
from its companions and chased as
long as.it will hold out. AS soon as
it comes to halt, the koonkie ranges
up alongside, and the mahout en-
deavors to lasso it.
And then ensues a tug royal be-
tween the trained animal and the cap
tured one. The koonkie plants her
feet as firmly as possible, leaning
away from the captured elephant.
The captive makes dash for free
dom, and frequently drags the koon-
kie with it, but the moose tightens,
and the animal is well-nigh suffoca-
ted; then comes up another koonkie,
a second moose is thrown, and the
captive walks between to where Hag-
enbeck's hunters are anxiously wait
ing its arrival.
Some of his elephants are also cap