The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-10-22
THE AWFUL BIC CATS
They Are the Most Dangerous o.
All Wild Animals.
TIGERS MERClLESS DEMONS.
While Easy to Handle and Quick to
Learn, When Aroused They Are
Fien6s Observation-Disclosures, Jssus.s
and lsoparSs Are Treacherous.

Learn, When Aroused They Are
Fiends Observation-Disclosures, Jasusrs
and leopards Are Treacherous.
''Of all wild animals" writes A. W.
Rolher in Appleton's Magazine. ''in-
GLIDING the rhinoceros with his fright
full charge aud his dreadful horn, in
Guiding the rogue elephant with his
unhounded strength. his marvellous
cunning and his villainous trunk, and
including that gray shaggy rogue, the
American grizzly. with his rib crush
ing hug. his pOnderous paw and his
hot reeking NAV. no beast is as dan
gerous 10 man as any one of the big
cats.
For, besides the mouth provided
with teeth that can crunch through the
leg bone of Il man as IL Ii were
pipest TEN, each foot is provided with
five poniarl-like claws. pointed like
needles and from three to four and
half inches long. As the beast>strikes
with these he draws the claws In,
keeping hold of muscles and tendons
and ligaments and tearing them out OF
the flesh until they snap like rubber
bands. so that unless the victim sue
cumbs II will be months and months
and sometimes years and years he
fore he can regain use of an injured
member.
But not only do these talons tear
| viciously Curious TO say. although
| the claws are needle pointed and
the edges are dull as the tip of little
| finger. a cut with one of these hooks
| is like the cut OF a dagger. On one oc-
| casion in Bostock's trained wild anil
| NAL show q Bengal tigress made Il
sweep at n European black bear, cut
| through the six inch thick fur of the
bear and cut three parallel strips two
feet long and six inches deep and
clean as razor slashes to the very
backbone of the beast.
AS a matter of fact, the dexterity
OF one of these big cats claws is as
founding. Here is a curious accident
which happened to Bostock when he
undertook personally TO break in a
rogue tiger that had gone bad Pro-
vided with sole leather guards worn
next the skin and covering the feshy
part of the leg from the groin to the
knee. he entered the arena with the
bad one and was attacked and wound
ed. His trousers were slashed In one
spot just big enough to admit a single
claw. an undergarment showed two
similar and the sole leather guard
three similar cuts, while the flesh was
torn an inch deep in four places three
inches long.
Still another instance showing the
marvellous quickness of claw happened
in the same show when the trainer In
charge of leopard group was saved
in the nick of time from a rogue which
had tried TO pull him down by climb
ing up on him. The arm of this man
showed between wrist and elbow alone
twenty-six wounds varying from q
quarter OF an inch deep and an inch
long to one inch deep and four inches
long
"Of all the big cats, including that
magnificent jungle named monarch OF
might. the lion. and including those
. beautifully spotted orange and black
villains the jaguar and the leopard.
and their cousin, that noiseless, light
ming swift traitor, the panther. train
ers prefer to handle the tiger.
This is contrary to the popular be-
lief which credits the tiger as the most
bloodthirsty of all wild beasts. The
tiger is, however, the quickest to learn
and the easiest to handle. Whereas
2 the tiger always remains a nervous,
high strung brute. after a time a lion
becomes phlegmatic and lazy and re-
quires urging. which is apt to cause
trouble.
Whereas the tiger Is a demon incar-
nate and merciless once aroused, he is
at least an honest fighter that gives
ample warning when about to attack
: and only as a rare exception attacks a
l man from behind, unlike the jaguar.
the leopard and the panther. which are
treacherous and almost invariably at
tack when back is turned.
: again. of all this dangerous family
the nature of the tiger comes nearest
that Of any ordinary house cat, and. al
I ways comparatively. the tiger 1t is that
i Is most appreciative once the master
J has succeeded in esta blishing his truce.
0 Then. like the domestic cat, he likes to
: brush up against the person Of his
: trainer. loves to have his back rubbed
. and groomed and the top OF his head
scratched to soothe the everlasting itch
n between the ears, while he emits purs
Of satisfaction. forgetting that the
, least unforeseen accident may arouse
, | murderous instincts that would In n
twinkling convert the friendly meeting
into a SHAMELESS" III