Los Angeles herald., 1905-08-23
EASTLAKE BUCK
HARD FIGHTER.
"HELLBENDER" Is MOVED TO
NEW PEN
Animal Keeper Rice and His Assist
ants Have Lively Tussle With
Beast, Which Charges
Furiousiy at Them

When e. M. Rice, keeper of the East
lake park zoo, essayed to move old
"Iellbender," the magnificent buck
deer of the Virginia family, from the
beasts old quarters to the new deer
park yesterday afternoon he expert
enced one of the hardest half hours Of
his career as an animal keeper.
The deer has a beautiful head Of ant
lers and when let alone looks as meek
as Jersey COW, but he is fighter.
His actions yesterday proved this.
Keeper Rice with three assistants cut
hole in the fence to take him out,
and Immediately .Hellbender started
trouble. He snorted, but did not
squeeze himself into a. corner as might
be expected of a member of timid
animal family, not he.
With rush he charged the men.
They jumped behind the fence and his
antlers met the wire and boards with
a. crash which threw him back. I'm
daunted he charged again, this time
at the crowd which had gathered
around the inclosure, but the fence
held.
Charges Bystanders
Furiously he rushed and vainly en-
deavored to drive his spreading antlers
into some of the bystanders, but the
wire turned him. This did not i'm
prove his temper.
Keeper Rice entered the pen with a
lasso, while an assistant with another
mounted the fence on the opposite side
of the pen. The big buck charged Rice
again and again, but trees were handy
and the keeper evaded his pet in the
manner adopted by bullfghters. Many
futile casts were made with the ropes,
but finally in one of his charges he
got one horn through the moose. He
was caught, but not captured. Then
followed five minutes in which things
happened, and happened fast
For fear of breaking the horn the
rope was cast loose and the buck
charged around the pen, at last en-
tangling himself with the rope around
a tree. Rice seized the free end Of
the rope and attempted to haul He'll
bender up close to the tree. Such
frantic efforts did the buck make to
reach his captor, however, that the
animal was thrown. He was up in
stantly however, but Rice succeeded in
throwing him again with the rope and
sprang upon his head. Three assistants
instantly seized the bucks legs and
body and he was secured, but not by
any means conquered.
Hauled In Vince elbarrow
An attempt was made to lead him
to his new pen, with ropes both on his
neck and feet. but he scattered his cap
tors and had to be thrown again and
"hog tied" and ignominiously dragged
from his corral and loaded upon a
wheelbarrow to be carted the hundred
yards to the new deer park.
Hellbender fought all the way and
nearly succeeded in getting out of the
barrow despite the fact that he was
tied and three men were trying to hold
him.
In the scrimmage his fine horns had
been scratched and bled considerably,
SO when he was laid down in his new
quarters his antlers were rubbed with
liniment.
When at last he was in his new home
how to let him loose was the serious
problem which presented itself. He was
united and a man told off to hold each
leg. as with his sharp hoofs he could
inhict painful wounds. When all was
ready the door of the corral was opened
and at the word the men holding the
buck sprang to their feet and dashed
through the gate.
Hellbender wanted to fight some