The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-10
MARKETING WILD ANIMALS

swung round the frantic mother charged down with her huge mouth open, as if bent
 on engulfing the enter canoe and it's con tents-Deidrick Hagenbeck, man of iron
 nerves, stuck the muzzle of his express
 rifle way down the creature's throat and
 pulled the trigger. It gasped and the
 red blood spurted like fountain. But
 what was q bullet from express rifle
 in that mountain of bone and muscle?
 A cannon, perhaps, might have halted it.
 The canoe was smashed an eggshell
 is smashed, and the three men were in
 the water. Hagenbeck was a good swim
 mer and he struck out for the shore bold
 ly but the wounded mother did not turn
 back. Crazed and bloody she f1oundered
 after him-and near the bank he was
 overtaken. The natives told the
 story afterwards with careful attention to
 details. It was not a pleasant one to
 hear.
 The accident was unfortunate. of course,
 but 1t was not unexpected, and the elder
 Hagenbeck, back in Hamburg, when they
 brought the mangled remains of his son
 to him, organized another expedition, with
 larger guns and more men. It went to
 the Ganges too, and fared forth just as
 Diedrick had done. And near the place
 where he lost his life it captured full
 grown hippo" This was the beast that
 served to give the elder Hagenbeck his
 corner. His son had been killed and he
 had spent ten thousand dollars. His re-
 turn was twenty-five thousand dollars
 and fame.
 In 1891, Diedrick's brother Gustav
 Hagenbeck and Herman Boger, famous
 hunter in the family's employ, set out for
 India in search of tigers. It was fam
 inc year, and aside from the natural dangers of their task, they suffered all sorts of hardships and privatons For
 weeks and weeks in the parched, upland jungles, they could get nothing to eat but rice and once at place where the streams were all dry, they marched for three days without water Boger d man , of magnificent physique, weighed one hun dred and twenty pounds when they re- turned to Bremen and was an invalid for two years. But the game was worth its cost.
 Tn the wild country near Madras" says Boger ''the natives told us of a terrify ing man. eating tiger that had been ravag- , ing the villages for miles around. All tigers, given the opportunity and the
 mood, are man-eating, but this one seemed to be a particularly ferocious one. It even ventured into the areas of civil-
 zation. and on two occasions had entered railway stations and attacked the native agents. We organized a big party and sallied forth after the beast and on the second day we found it's tracks. Finally we came face to face with 1t in bit of l open country, and dozen native beaters, on horseback, essayed to surround 1t. l "Crouching like cat with back up
 and whiskers bristled, 1t waited it's chance
 for spring. One of the natives, more venturesome than the rest, boldly charged l 1t. With a sudden, bood-curdlng growl ] it was upon him, and he was brushed
 from his horse like man of straw. And l then, though he was man of fully one 1 hundred and forty-five pounds weight, the
 great best seized him as a cat seizes a
 kitten and started off with him toward , the jungle. It was impossible to shoot for fear of killing the man, and so we had to make the chase one of strategy Fi- nally. near the edge of the undergrowth we cornered the tiger and 1t dropped it's | luckess burden. Then bullet from an
 express rife ended It's days of pilage. It
 had carried the man half mile-and strange to say, he was little njured.' | MT. Boger ordinarily captures tigers, | lions. jaguars and similar animals by means of pitfalls. Great holes arc dug | in paths leading to jungle watering places | and covered with fimsy roofs to thatch and leaves. At the bottom are strong
 nets so arranged that when the hunters prey falls upon them they will entangle | It's legs. great many manage to es- h. snare them, but usually, when the chief
 of the expedition makes his rounds each
 morning, there Is something for his men to. bind and cage and for his employers
 back in Europe or America to sell
 Elephants are captured, ordinarily with the aid of their tame brothers. Huge stockades are erected in the forest, and
 the wild pachyderms are driven into them. Once inside they are browbeaten and bat tered into docilty by trained elephants. They are not hard to train and being
 quick witted, soon learn the customary
 circus tricks. Years ago, every Indian rajah had his herd of elephants. but now the great brutes are growing scarce and
 the Indian government Is taking steps to protect them Healthy adults bring from sl500 to 5000 in the wild animal markets. Those capable of performing unusual | tricks, and those of extraordinary size. are worth a great deal more. African ele- plants are far less tractable, and, in gen | eral, far less valuable for circus zoo pur- poses but they are scarce, and so bring | good prices. The Arab ivory hunters have
 we'll nigh exterminated them in most parts | of the dark continent, but along the upper
 reaches of the Niger and Congo, they are , still found. Healthy specimens bring | from 5000 to $30OO.
 | Carl Hagenbeck, the elder (the father of 1 the present head of the house), became a wild animal dealer by accident. In the 5Vs he was fish monger at Hamburg. | with a good business any many smacks in the North Sea. One day the captain | of a whaler landed polar bear at the l Hamburg dock. It was the first ever seen
 south of the Arctic and naturally 1t be- l came nne-days' wonder in the busy lit- | tie German town When 1t came time l for the whaler to sail back to the frozen north. the captain gave the bear to pn inn I keeper. who soon found it as expensive possession as the traditional white ele- phant. From Carl Hagenbeck he bought l fish for its meals, and soon his fish bill euualled the estimated value of the ami nal.
 l Then Hagenbeck took it in lieu of cash and, being of an enterprising turn, made a cage for it, and charged those who yearned to see it a small admission fec In the spring he loaded the cage upon a