The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-29
SHE STOOD THE GATE.

Test of Girls Who Were Tempted by
 the Offer of $1OO Week to Face the
 Lion in His Cage.
 Five young women of terpsichorean aspira tions, applicants for the $100 a week salary ffe.e1 by Manager Church of the Bostock Animal Arena, for a butterfly dancer to perform in a ',cage TUT Of real lions took the first de- gree this morning in the barred arena on the Opera House stage. Their nerve was given a severe test and stood the gaff.
 Of the 20 who applied for the job, about half failed to show up at all When Mathew R. Johnson, one of the managers of the show, appeared at about 10;30 o'clock with a typewritten document to be signed by the applicant there began to be something doing. The girls were called up in turn to sign it in order that they couldn't sue the Bostock Company or Col Felix R.. Wendelschaefer if they lost an arm or two, or leg while they were getting acquainted with the lions.
 DO you see what day of the month 1t is?" volunteered one
 "This is the q, skiddoo day. I guess well get our all right"
 "I've just signed an order for box" /" lapgred blonde in purple coat. It'll be pine for mine."
 "Cut out tho flowers when you lay me away" came from still another.
 And so 1t went.
 It was thought best to try the women with Charley, described by the press agent as usually the most docie ani- nal of tre lot. Charley didn't act the part. He had to be brought back inch by inch to perch on a wooden box and defied all efforts to conciliate him. When he had quieted down a little the girls listened to short speech from one of the attaches of the show. It was like this:
 "Come on, girls, we're all ready for you. That lion in there is the tamest one we've got, and you see how he acts Now is the time to quit, if any of you are going to quit. When you gete into that little cage there it will be too late. Come on, those of you Wro are going in. Personally, you couldn t ge t me in there for $1,O00 minute. Come on."
 That wasn't very reassuring, and two of the girls declined at the last mo- ment to go any further with the affair.
 When Charley caught sight of the girls he stopped in the middle of a growI with his mouth half open, but gazed at them in bewilderment. But he was not allowed much time for re- f1ection. The two trainers got busy with their whips, revolvers and other weapons and Charley was soon raging about the enclosing space, filling the theater with his roanS and snapping his great teeth angrily at the men and the small group of girls who stood as motionless as if they had been carved out of stone, At times the lion ap- preached dangerously near them, but the men drove him off at the psycho- logical moments and kept him circling the cage.
 After few minutes O fthis he was driven back to his pedestal, and the women were led up in front of him, while the trainers reused him into an exhibition of fury by threatening him with their whip butts. The girls didn't seem to mind tris so much as they did the animals actions when he was run ming about. and after a short eXperi- ence with him at close quarters the re- hearsel was called off, and Charley was shooed out of the arena.
 So far the test of bravely has been successful. Left alone on the stage the girls were given a. trial at whip-snap- ping and didn't do as well. Only two got by.
 When it was all over there was a re- sumption if gaiety.
 Say" said Miss Chapman, who had stood in the front row. "There were