Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-06-06
elRAFFEs DEAR AND SCARCE.
They Arc the costIiest Of All the Wild
Animals. /.

What is the most valuable animal
now?" was asked of one Of the most
experienced wild animal collectors and
dealers Of the United States.
1.-THE giraffe" he answered. ut Is
the most expensive animal now, not
only because 1t Is rather rare, but be-
cause it is at the same time one Of the
most difficult to catch and to keep af-
ter you catch 1t, and the worst kind Of
an animal to ship.
"a captured giraffe has to be ham
died like bric-a-brac. And it is a
mighty big piece Of brfc-a-brac, too.
Imagine delicately carved cabinet
twelve feet high, as crazy as whole
lunatic asylum and as powerful and
quick and dangerous as an automobile.
1t may be hard to imagine such thing
but it isn't any harder than It Is to
handle a fully grown giraffe.
"a wild animal dealer has to take
all the risks. The shows and menag-
|eries and parks that buy from him
don't pay for an animal until 1t is de-
livered. Consequently the risk is enor-
nous and we have to charge price
that will make up for the danger Of
loss.
"Now we have just had one expert
ence that illustrates my point. We
shipped an immense lot Of exception
ally fine animals to Calcutta-four
baby elephants, five tigers from Ben
gal, four leopards and about one hum
dred cranes, some Of which were SO
rare that they had not even been iden-
titled by Indian biologists. We also
had thirty-fve serpents, among them
python twenty feet long.
'"WelI, our animal men who accom-
panied the shipment got them through
all right for thirty-three days until we
struck the Newfoundland banks, when
sleet storm hammered the ship, and
for night she labored through trem-
endous icy seas that swept her decks
continually.
Canvass and straw were piled
around the animals and everything
was done by our men that was possi-
Bile. 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 mary other
risks. Last year one Of the big Amer
lean animal dealers heard from beast
catcher in Rangoon that he had seven
fine full-grown rhinoceroses in perfect
condition. SA
He sent cd message at once
accepting the animals and then hur-
riedIy had timbers cut and shaped to
build the great pens that are necessary
Ito hold powerful beasts like these on q
steamship. The expense. Of these pens
land the freight charges for shipping
them from America more than half way
iaround the world made big item in
themselves. Then there were the ex-
ljpenses of the dealer and the three as.
sistants whom he had to take with
him.
after their long voyage to Ran
goon they found difficult trip into the
interior before them. They had to
drag the heavy timbers for the pens
with them, knowing from bitter previ-
Gus experience that the Oriental ami
NAL catchers would be provided with
inothing except bamboo cages-tough
land 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 the coast, not to mention the
long voyage to- America. So here were
almost four months wasted. many
thousands Of dollars lost and worst Of
all, no rhinoceros. at the very time,
when dozen menageries were offering
big amounts of money for specimens.
shipping the beasts is always a
hard Job. Sailors are afraid Of wild
animals and they handle the cargoes
with such unwillingness that they Of
ten drop cage into the hold and kill
or injure the beast, because they are
afraid to get near enough to 1t to guide
or swing 1t properly.
II have often put my arm into
/ cage and rubbed a tiger or lion
merely in order to show the crew Of the
ship that they need not be apprehen-
sive. But they generally don't do any
thing except to grin sheepishly and
say:
"'All right, mister. You're welcome
to do them kind of foolish things all
you please. We'd rather not
1.-THE consequence is that when a
storm comes and the seas sweep the
vessel and tear few cages from their
fastenings, the wild animal men rarely
a rare and valuable beast has been lost
merely because everybody was afraid
Of it.
"The least excitement drives giraffe
so frantic that It leaps with uncon-
trollable fear The greatest danger Sn
shipping one Is that 1t will break its
legs They are so long and thin and
the brute Is so ungainly and awkward
when confined in a small space that
the least trip or stumble will bring it
crashing down and then it is goodbye
giraffe.
"a giraffe catches cold easily, and 1t
Is no fun to dose 1t when 1t has to be
done on rolling, staggering ship.
1.-THE giraffe Is q bad sailor, too, al
though not so hard as camels, which
usually act like spiteful, fretful, vim
dictive children. They get homesick
and moan and complain like selfish
human beings.
1.-The elephant is good old sailor
man. He takes whatever comes along