New-York tribune., 1906-04-15

7 the sealion OF the deep and his brother IN n,
| arena of the circus
| When I begin TO train a sea lion Il Is ths
| widest sort of creature. Take Jingo the one
| that is forever splashing about in the tank
| there. as example. I caught him a coupls
| Of years ago on the Pacific Coast. not far from
| my headquarters near Monterey. He was so
savage that one time when I was trying to teach
| him the first trick OF alI-that Of climbing I'D
! on a pedestaI-he attacked me and nearly killed
me. He saw that did not have my whip near
and took advantage of my being unarmed
| Swapping his jaws at me like mad dog. hs
rushed me into a corner Of my training room
where. fortunately, there lay il OF wood about
three feet long. snatched this up and dealt him
a blow with it between the eyes which at first
I feared. had killed him. He stretched out fat
and moved not muscle 1t took me some time
| TO nurse him back 10 his old self. and during
all that time he was as gentle as a baby That's
the way all seals are when they're sick
But his savage nature was only Stunned
Last winter lingo turned on my son. who was
exhibiting him In Florida and who only escaped
with his life by smashing him with club in ths
jaw He broke the bone which knitted in such
a way that. YOU may see he shuts his mouth
at angle. See how furioUsly he spasheI
about in that narrow tank. pounding his body
so hard against It's sides that he has covered tt
with sores. And yet at my command he will bal
ance ball his head with all the adroitness
Of a japanese juggIer. He has a lot OF the beast
in him. and Yet withaI especial intelligence"
The captain explained that il was the sea
lions memocy which enabled IL 10 surpass other
animals as a trick performer. 1t remembers
things. he said. better than some human beings.
While he was exhibiting a troup OF sea lions
III
tated band one OF them died suddenly from
pneumonia. The vacancy in the troup had 10 bs
filed. for the one that died had played the COR
net. II would be a queer sort of band withOGt
a soprano.
L went TO the tank in which were kept
couple Of understudies," he continued, and took
out one OF them 10 teach him the horn trick Hs
had done IL two years before, and I thought that
with a week or so of constant training could
get him TO take the part To my aSJOniShment
he pulled the horn out Of my hand and began
70 squaCk il just as skiIfuuy as he ever did
The band played that night without hitch
Some seals learn faster than others. Cap,
there. IS ever eager 70 be taught He VIII even
keep trying 10 do stunt after I see the lesson
has begun 10 tire him. That trick OF balancing
the baton and rolling over which ne does
taught him a part at a time First he tried
posing something with base that almost fitted
his SnOuI, and which only required his keeping
his head up straight. Then narrowed down
the base until II was only point cap can
learn eight difficult tricks in a year. whereas
Pet, that plays the clown. is so slow he can
barely learn one
The memory of the sea lion was also shown
the other day at the circus. when the time
keeper rang the bell 70 close the act a minute
too soon. Cap at the time was half way UP ths
ladder, balancing the baton ON his nose as he
went but AT the sound OF the gong he tossed
the STICK 70 his master and scampered away
with his fellows TO the cart
No initiative OF its own is found in the
lion 1t does nothing out of the ordinary unless
taught. Left to its own volition il simply
u
shows less intelligence than many Wild land
animals. like the beaver, the fox or the rat. u
is caught with comparative ease. a herd OK
them Ike 70 sleep in caves at low tide. so thal
n a net is spread at the mouth OF cave IN
which they are they can be SHARED when tne
high tide drives them OUT. If one escapes. how
ever, the ratded cave is never frequeuted agah
by his fellows The runaway apparently re-
ports what has happened to the rest.
The other members OF the seal family, ths
fur-bearing seal OF the ArctiCs, the common
harbOr seal. and the seal of the trop.c seas have
never been trained with as much success as tnelr
California klnSman- The rclSOQ Is that they
do not stand captivity as Well The sea Ion
however, Is particularly hardy and endures tne
kardships OF circus life almost as well rs tHS
press agents.
Though almost fish in its habits the seal is
as much Ct n mammal as the dog. Indeed ~
its structure and many OF its habits II mUcI
resembles the dog. Its legs, although short anu anu
partly buried in its body. are similar 70 a dogs
legs. Its long hippers are only exaggerated toes pcs
ON them. some inches from the tips, can e.en
be found rudimentary toe nails like those or .
dogs paw With these nails they scratch them
selves in much the fashion as dogs Co
Some kinds OF seals also bark like dogs. -
Not only is the brain of the seal unusuaAy
large for an animal. but IL is capable OF oecoh-
ing more easily COnvOluted than that OF am
other animal The brains OF several sea Hons
which had died after being many wears IN az
service were compared by Captain Winston VIII WIZ
the brains OF some that had been killed VIZ
still Wild. and 1t found that the former
much more reSembled the elabOrately cohVV
luted brain of human being than did the Id1
far In nrff to ftC VVa{ {crhF 10
a sea lion is heavier than that OF dog. IL con
stituteS about a SeVentteth part Ot its WeisI.
whereas in most mammals tt contributes on.
one pound in 1S6 pounds OF the total Man
brain is about one-thirty-sixth the weight %
his body.
In appetite the seal resembles the hog Hioio
than any other land animal. IT, IN captlvlIy !.
can get hold OF all the food II wants IL WIN Co
until IL regurgitates from surfeit. and theh %
greedily begin again.
HER PROPERTY