Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-04-20

in the Baltimore fire, all of Mr.. Bos
tock's performing animals were de-
stroyed He had only three months
in which to get together and train the
greatest animal groups ever assem-
bled BY morning Europe was being
combed with fine comb to furnish
him with new animals. Training went
on day after day, night after night,
until trainers and beasts were almost
dead with fatigue.
Several of the groups exhibited
there were memorable. Twenty leap
ards had been assembled and taught
to walk ropes, shoot guns. jump hur-
dies, ride bicycles, roll barrels and
pose in many positions. Another
group, which consisted of seventeen
animals, included lions, tigers, pumas,
bears, hyenas, boar hounds, wolves
and one panther In addition to the
difficulty of teaching these beasts to
perform there was the task OF train
ing them to forget their natural in
sincts and enter a cage together With
out fighting.
Most remarkable of all these groups
and in fact the most remarkable ami
NAL group ever assembled, was Cap
tain Bonavitas company OF thirty
lions Everyone was a fierce black
named Numidian lion. Yet Captain
Bonavita had complete mastery over
them Probably no greater animal
act will ever be seen than that pre-
sented when Captain Bonavlta walked
into a cage with the thirty lions and
put them through a variety OF exer-
cises that eliminated in the forma-
tion of huge armchair of lions, in
which the trainer sat unconcernedly
and read his newspaper.
Animals so schooled are often
spoken of as tame" Animal train
ers say there is no such thing as a
tame wild animal. Performing ami
mails are trained, not tanned. They
do not reason, but go through their
tricks parrot-like.
Serious indeed may be the outcome
of any innovation made while the
trainer is Gagged with his pupils. On
one occasion an admirer OF Madame
Pianka sent her some red roses just
before performance. She thought
, lessly took them and entered the
cage. A lion sprang forward and
, made a sweep at the roses, feartully
lacerating Madame Piankas arm and
, chest. She threw the roses from hel
> inst i'm time. For other lions leaped
from their pedestals and pounced or
, the roses. They had mistaken then
, for meat. AT another time Mr.. Bos
r took entered q cage to help Madame
. Pianka with a sulky lioness. Ht
j, thoughtlessly struck his whip agains
9 his boot. Instantly the mate OF thu
lioness, thinking no doubt that harm
u was intended sprang upon Mr. Bos
J.. tock and downed him, then picket
o him up in his mouth and carried hin
4 to Madame planka In the latter
r hand was a revolver, used in her act
O She instantly fred two shots, whicl
d was the cue for the next act, and tn
j. lion dropped Mr.. Bostock and fell int
Il his accustomed pose. To this hold @
o habit upon the lion, Mr.. Bostoc
IS owed his life.
It OF the hazards of animal trainin
e it is almost superfluous to speal
h Every animal trainer is at time
it clawed and bitten. He expects to b.
IL 1t is all in the days work.
Animal trainers say that if they e:
c. ercise proper care, they run no grea
al er risk than do miners, locomotive el
a. gineers, iron-workers and other me
lie who follow hazardous callings. Pc
n haps that is true; certainly one ma
Iy is on record who handled anima
In with entire impunity. His name WE
y. Noah and he lived in the ark.