The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-04

of the taste of the American public for
amusements has been the increasing in
terest shown in recent years in the ex-
hibitions of trained animals, especially
of animals by nature savage and fero-
cious," observed man who had been
in the show business for many years.
yet, despite the hundreds of exhibit
tons of this sort which have been Civ
en-, there is one point that the sight
seeing public has entirely failed to
comprehend. They think the lions, tig-
ers, bears and other sharp toothed and
long clawed creatures which perform
so many difficult tricks with such ap-
parent willingness, have been tanned.
Not one has, or, in my opinion, ever
will be- They have been trained, an
entirely different proposition. This nat
ural mistake on the part of the specta-
tors is not a matter of much moment.
But If the animal trainer should make
the same mistake his career would be
short.
"a lion or tiger may be taught to do
all sorts Of tricks and apparently to
yield ready obedience to his trainer,
but underneath this superficial train
ing is the real, inherited wild beast ma
ture, which sooner or later is almost
certain to crop out.
Animals, especially the larger and
stronger ones, are not bright. A lion
does not need to trouble himself about
strategy in order to overcome his prey
or to protect himself. His giant mus
cles and wonderful agility settle those
problems for him. For this reason the
animal mind is better developed in
weaker creatures, who cannot trust to
their unaided physical qualifications to
attain their prey or prevent themselves
from being the prey of others.
l.
ITO the lion, tiger or jaguar the
trainer is a mysterious being. He
knows that man is creature of strange
and wonderful powers, and the un-
known inspires a feeling of awe in him,
exactly as it does in savage or half
civilized men. To this unknown power
the lion yields obedience, but almost
always grudging obedience.
Combined with the feeling that man
is q creature Of mysterious powers
goes an ignorance of the animals own
strength. A tiger could crush his train
er's skull with one blow of his paw, but
the tiger does not appreciate this fact.
1t is the lack of appreciation, not any
affection for his trainer, that makes the
beast seem SO apparently tractable and
obedient.
Once let tiger or lion appreciate
that his trainer is helpless against
him, and that animals value as a per-
former is gone forever. He not only
will not go through his accustomed
tricks, but if any effort is made to
force him, he is almost certain to turn
on his trainer. Any man who expects
to make a success of training wild ami
mails must devote his whole time to
studying the peculiarities of his indi-
vidual charges. He thus gradually ac-
quires an insight into their characters
and dispositions which may enable him
to tell the moment when one of them
has suddenly awakened to a realiza-
ton of his own strength.
But animals are cunning, and some
times a trainer does not realize that
this perception of their prowess has
come to them until it is too late. Then
there is another tragedy
Harder to Train IF Born in Captivity
This ignorance of their physical
strength, as compared with that of
man, is one of the reasons why animals
captured in their native WildS are more
likely to make good performers than
those born in captivity. A lion born in
civilization associates with men from
the moment he opens his eyes as a
furry, playful cub. Man is not the
strange, awe-inspiring creature to him
that he is to the lion when caught
half or fully grown. This feeling Of
familiarity tends to make the cage
born animal a bad subject for train
Ing:
There is another and even more i'm
portant reason why animals born IN
captivity are dangerous, pupils. They
are almost certain to realize their own
strength and ability to take care OF
themselves. A cub, for instance, Is
petted until it attains fair size. Then
comes a day When in trying to escape
from some one who is holding it, the
young lion uses his claws. They are
by this time sharp and long enough to-
inflict unpleasant scratches. The cub
finds himself free in an instant. And
In that instant he has learned the first
lesson which tends to make him use
less as a trained animal-that he has
claws and teeth, and that the use of
them will enable him to escape from
disagreeable surroundings. AS he
grows larger and stronger this lesson
is more and more impressed on his
mind. When he has attained his full
strength the only place for him will be
behind the bars of a strong cage. The
instances of cage-born animals of the
cat tribe that have been successfully
trained are few.
Zone of the mistakes of the general
public which does not recognize that
ANIMALS are trained, not tanned, is a
belief that wild beasts in many cases
have an affection for their keepers and
trainers. A lion will often purr and
rub himself against the bars of his
cage at the approach of his trainer.
This is because he has become accus-
toned to associate the trainer with the
good things of life. The trainer feeds
him, he strokes the fur and rubs the
back of the big cat, and does many
other things which the animal likes
Therefore, the animal is glad to see
him.
Mustn't Let His Foot Slip.
"a lion may show the greatest de-
light at the approach of his trainer
and an hour later, if the trainer hap
pens to slip and fall or make some
mistake while going through the per-
Torrance with his animals, that same
lion will be on him in second. This