The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-22
ETERNAL VIGILANCE PRICE OF SAFETY IN TRAINING ANIMALS A Carnivora May Be Trained But Never Tanned, Says
 Herr Emil Schweyer TALK
 BY FAMOUS TRAINER Goes Into the Arena Unarmed and Depends on Club to Stop Charge.
 Women Make Poor Trainers.
 Dissipation Is Fatal
lily JACK BETHEA

Birmingham had the opportunity last Friday and Saturday of witnessing the work of an animal trainer of interna- tional repute in the person of Emil Schweyer and his big group of lions who were with the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus. Herr Schweyer is probably the foremost handler of lions in the world today, and has had more success with them than any other than in the arena since the death of Capt. Frank Bostock and the retire. ment of Captain Bonavita.
 Herr Schweyer is a very interesting man. Q very kindly man and a very cour- teous one. Feeling 6 natural curiosity concerning a man who twice daily for his head in the lions mouth, the writer sought him out just before the beginning of the matinee performance Saturday aft ernon and found him quite willing to talk of his work, but very reluctant to go into personal details and doing so only under pressure.
 MT. Schweyer is a big man so perfectly proportioned as to appear of only med ium height. He is of the typical Ger man type with light hair and keen blue eyes that regard one very steadily. He is only 30 years of age and hardly looks that, but for all his youth is one of the most successful of the modern school of animal trainers.
 CARRIES NO REVOLVER
 T never carry a loaded revolver into the arena,'' he said in reply to ques- tions. "Nor are there any men standing around prepared for possible trouble. What would be the use? If a lion were ever to jump me and push home the charge, 20 reyolvers, if I had them, would do me no good because I would not have time to use them. You can't stop lion with revolver, anyway, not enough to save mans life once he is down.
 T depend entirely upon a heavy club which you may have observed I carry in my left hand in the arena. The lions are afraid Of this club. and hooking blow under the jaw will cause one to hesi- tate and send him sinking to his stool. The revolver I carfy Is loaded with blanks, and is used principally for giving the lions cues for their acts. In ref erence to the club. I was in New York when the big lion which rides the horse in the arena charged me. He had been snappsh during the day, and I was watching him and was prepared to meet him, but my foot slipped, and before could recover he was upon me- He bit me three times. his teeth meeting in the left thigh and leaving holes through which you could see. While was lying on the ground I beat the animal off with my club, which I had fortunately retained in my hand.
 '"The men outside the arena are not armed because it would do me no good If they were. Should I pc charged and thrown by lion they could not save me with hot iron, because the cage is too large. Every time they would strike the lion it would attack me, thinking I was the one who had struck him. So de- pend absolutely upon myself. It is all a matter of having them bluffed. When I get new lions, as I am constantly do- ing, I put them in the arena and drive them about for an hour, letting them know beyond all question that I am th. boss. A lion is a very intelligent creature and one hour is usually sufficient
 BEARS MANY SCARS
 
 in the New York hippodrome related above was the closest call that he had ever had. But he had had plenty of minor hurts. He spread his hands be- fore the writer and they were covered with scars. On his left index finger a cut three inches long was healing
 "Oh, that isn't anything" said Mir. Schweyer, when asked about it. One of the lions struck at me about a week ago | nf hfE fsf.. .xx- caught my finger and laid it ol ei. But one must expect that. He Is .a ac y if he gets out as lightly. Look here. And MT. Schweyer opened his shirt and ex- posed his chest. which was criss-crossed by Sears. There Is hardly an inch of his body which does not bear some mark from his animals.
 ''One never can tell" he continued. "I might go on for years and get by ell right. Then again when l go into the arena today one of the animals may spring on me and get me It's all in hav- ing them bluffed."
 MT. Schweyer walked down the line of lion cages and was greeted in various ways. A sleek little lioness less than 2 years old rubbed against the bars and almost purred her greetings. Schweyer caressed her affectionately.
 "One must love animals to be able to handle them successfully" he said. And, above all, one must not fear them. One must not dissipate, for as surely as you do the animals come to know 1t in sorna vr1vatart01S vr1ouuer and 1oco fbofx