The Washington herald., 1908-05-17
ANIMAL STARS AND EARNINGS
What Some of the Four-footed
Actor Of ENGLAND Are paid.

What some of the Four-fOOted
Actor of England Are Paid.
Let q man find another boxing kanga-
roo, a little more useful with its paws
than the original. and nc win reap 8
golden harvest, said a trainer of animals
to a representative of Tit-l4ts Every
body remembers the clever exhibitions Of
pugilistic dcxterity Of the original box
ing kangaroo. That animal earned for
his master many thousands Of pounds.
Genuine novelties in the performing ami
nal line are much wanted to-day Twen-
ty-nve guineas a night is said to have
been the salary paid TO a troupe of bow
Wow" acrobats which gave a perform
ance in a Partisan variety hall about
year ago. Musical" dogs are scarce.
but they are not unknown. canine
'prima donna" was paid e12o week to
entertain the audience in a Vienna con-
cert hall some years ago.
Dogs and cats can reason up to a GER
tain point. and soon understand what
their trainer wishes them to do. Doss,
however. are easier TO train than cats.
because they have greater reasoning pow
er. and you can assist their intelligence
easily enough with the lash Of a whip.
Kindness and fattery are the only things
that will make cats perform tricks
think there is good opening for a
troupe of performing cats. II the ami
mails excited more than a languid show
of curiosity they might be rewarded with
i
hall comedian gasp with envy. II is said
that LeOni Clarke. who had q cat that
used to ascend In a balloon and come
down in a parachute, used 20 take some
thing ike ESQ week out of his show.
Three thousand pounds in three years
was the earnings Of a tiger trained By
Herr Lengell This beast of the forest
was MT only an acrobat. but & juggler.
tt could dance, ride a bicycle. drink cham
pagne. and smoke a cigar.
Performing animals who do a turn of
their own are getting rare as time goes
on. Why this is so / cannot explain. 1
do not think the novelty has worn eff.
Most Of the trained animals take part in
theatrical performances. During recent
years ponies have played many parts on
the stages Of the metropolis. and several
have delighted the children who have Wit
messed the annual pantomime at Drury
Lane.
Trained. horses are constantly appear
ing on, the stage They drew Mr Trees
chariot in Mr.. Stephen Phillips drama,
Nero" while dozens OF them have per-
formed at one time on the boards Of the
Hippodrome and Coliseum.
Drury Lane appears To be the home of
the trained horse. Horses appeared in
THE Derby Winner" Cheer, Boys.
Cheer" and The Prodigal Daughter"
The animal that took part in the latter
piece was the famous Voluptuary, which
had been successful at many race meet
iugs before Sir Augustus Harris pur-
chased him for the purpose OF appearing
at DruTy Lane. YoluptuaTy won the
Grand National at Aintree in 1854
In the polo scene in Cheer, Boys,
Cheer" real polo ponies. lent 20 Sir Au-
gustus by devotees OF the sport. ap-
peared, while the horses in the Matabele
scene were genuine military chargers
Horses can be trained Tor the stage in
a very short time If their parts are
merely walking parts. practically the
only thing they have 10 be taught is not
TO take any notice Of the audience. the
bright lights, the music, and the general
noise around them
Real sheep were introduced al the Coli
scum in the spectacle Joseph, no fewer
than sixty-eight OF them appearing on
the stage during the production OF the
piece. The salaries of four-footed actors
of the first-class variety are by no means
low, but they are not so high as they
used to be. A couple Of performing sheep
that created a sensation some twenty
years ago earned G25 night between
them. while Pat. the first performing pig,
was paid G95 a week for its services.
Performing elephants are pretty com
mon. but they are mostly attached te
and draw no salary az all.
George Lockhart's three performing ele-
plants. however, used to earn between
SEQ and $40 a week for their master and
trainer