The Washington times., 1903-08-16
LONG-NECSED GIRhFFfS
ARE DEAR AND SCARCE
They Are the Most Expensive of All
the Wild Animals.

What is the most -aiGable animal
now?" was asked of one of the most
experienced wild animal collectors and
dealers of the United States.
THE giraffe he answered. ut is the
most expensive animal now, not only
because it is rare. but because it is at
the same time one of the most difficult
to catch and to keep after you catch.
and the worst kind of an animal to ship
"a captured giraffe has to be handled
like bric-a-brac. And it is mighty big
piece of bric-a brac. too.
Imagine delieately carved cabinet
twelve feet high. as crazy as a whole
lunatic asylum and as powerful and quick
and dangerous as an automobile. 1t may
be hard to imagine such a thing. but it
isn't any harder than 1t is to handle
fully grown giraffe.
"A wild animal dealer has to take all
the risks. The shows and menageries and
parks that buy from him don't pay for
an animal until 1t is delivered. Conse-
quently the risk is enormous and we
have to charge price that will make up
for the danger of loss.
Now we have just had one experience
that illustrates my point We shipped an
immense lot of exceptionally fine ami
mails in Calcutta-four baby elephants,
five tigers from Bengal, four leopards
and about 200 cranes. some OF which
were so rare that thew had not even
been identified by Indian biologists. We
also had thirty-five serpents. among
them a python twenty feet long.
! well. our animal men who accom-
panied the shipments got them through
all right for thirty-three days, until we
struck the Newfoundland banks, when a
sleet storm hammered the ship. and for
a night she labored through tremendous
icy seas that swept her decks continually
Canvas and straw were piled around
the animals. and everything was done by
cur men that was possible. But when
morning came three elephants. three
tigers. two leopards. almost all the rare
cranes, and every one of the snakes lay
dead and had to be thrown overheard.
This shows why wild animals cost so
much. And there are many other risks.
Last year one of the big American ami
NAL dealers heard from a beast catcher
in Rangoon that he had seven full grown
rhinoceroses in perfect condition
''ie sent a cable message at once ac-
cepting the animals and then hurriedly
had timbers cut and shaped to build the
great pens that are necessary to hold
powerful beasts like these on a steam
ship. The expense of these pens and the
freight charges for shipping them to
America more than half way round the
world made big item in themselves.
Then there were the expenses OF the
dealer and the three assistants he had
to take with him.
after their long voyage to Rangoon
they found a difficult trip into the In
terror before them. They had to drag
the heavy timbers for the pens with
them. knowing from bitter previous ex-
perience that the Oriental animal catch
ers would be provided with nothing ex-
cept bamboo cages-tough and strong
enough so long as they are stationary,
but almost sure to work apart when they
are moved over bad roads.
at last they reached their objective
point and then. after all their work and
expenditure, they found three small
sickly. and poor specimens. Not one OF
them was in condition to be shipped
: even to America. SO here were almost
, four months wasted, many thousands oil
dollars lost. and, worst of all. no rhino-
} ceros. at he very time when e dozer
, menageries were offering big amounts o.
money for specimens
} shipping the beasts is always hart
: lob. Sailors are afraid of wild animals
! and they handle the cargo with such IN
willingness that they often drop Gag
into the hold and kiln or injure TIT
. beast because they are afraid to sc
near enough TO 1t to guide or swing 4
properly.
81 have often put my arm into Gag
and rubbed a tiger merely to show tn
crew of tho ship that they need no
be apprehensive. But they general.
e don't do anything but grin sheepishl.
= and say:
4 "'All right, mister; you're welcom
q to do them kind of foolish things al
[ you please. We'd rather not "-Ney
e York Sun.