The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1916-06-29

| five hycnaS in the cage. but four @
them had gone dead on us. | guess I
| was pneumonia that carried them Of
| The one left was an old he hyena, an,
he could stand any sort OF weather anC
take the bumps Of the country high
ways. However, after his companions
had departed this life we saw a chang,
in him. He didn't fall sick. but he go
lonesome and sulky.
There We're daily complaints that
our hyena was a fraud. and l was
wondering what we could do about II
when the boss came to me one day
and said:
George, that old hyena is making
trouble for us. What's the matter
with him anyhow
81 guess he is tired of being a by.
ena,' i replied.
3" But he can't he anything else, can
heY
Why, we can't make bird OF him,
but maybe l can make some other ami
NAL Of him
Then do 1t, man.
II changed the hyenas food a dozen
times and gave him whisky to lap
instead Of water" said the old show
man, "but 1t didn't improve him eny,
and l set myself to wonder how /
could make him over. The bright idea
came TO me at last, and one Sunday,
when we had lazy day OF It, bought
various paints and brushes. There
was a farmers hired man hanging
around the show. He had deserted the
pillow for the romance OF the circus.
He had offered TO work for IS a week
and his board, but / had no room for
him. When ! got the idea Of making
the hyena over beckoned TO this chap
and said:
Joshaway, will give you IS
week and your board IL you will do
what / want you to do. It concerns
the old hyena in the cage over there.
1 want TO make a guyasticutus Of
him.
"Joshaway promised. and the first
thing 10 do was TO tie the old hyena
up. We got ropes and straps around
his legs and a muzzle over his nose
and then went TO work with the paints.
He didn't give us much trouble: he
was too lonesome and homesick for
that We gave him bright green ears;
we gave him bright red nose and
red eyebrows; we spotted his BODY
here and there with green. red. blue.
yellow and black paints. We put a
dozen rings around his tail, and we
painted his legs one color and his feet
another. Say, boys, when we got
through with that hyena we had to sit
back and roar with laughter.
we had a special cage made for
him and gave it such a position that
only the front with its iron bars could
be seen. Behind It on chair was
joshaway, the young man who was
looking for romance. He did all the
talking, but 1t seemed to come from the
suyasticutus. Joshaway had a voice
Ike the fling Of a saw, and his talk
was great success. The animal I'm
,ront OF him went or with long rig |
narole as to his forest home In Hon |
iuras and what he did there.
The fatal day did not arrive until |
We had shown that guyasticutus for
wo years and half. / renewed the |
'aint on him every other Sunday and
aw to 1t that he had the choicest kind
4 food"
but what about the fatal day 70 was
lueried.
"Oh, yes, about that fatal day." re.
lied the old Snowman. We'll, It came
bout in this way. That young man
oshaway undertook to eat an apple
While he was giving his talk, and the
eed Of the fruit got into his throat
nd stuck there. He had to choke and
ough and sputter, and the fact that
mere was man somewhere hidden be-
Ind the guyasticutus could not be-
oncealed. There were shouts of ex-
itement and derision and calls for an
lVestigatton. Half dozen men Dress
d forward and seized the cage and
ulled 1t of its benches. That same
alf dozen men seized Joshaway by
he neck or somewhere else as he still
hoked and sputtered over the seeds
nd brought him out for the crowd TO
lex on. In just one minute II was
lain that the public had been SWIM
led for years. They had had a guyas-
cutus Instead OF a hyena and had
ouble their moneys worth, but they
,anted their revenge. and they took It
he cage was kicked about until II was
mashed and its occupant was killed.
nd they stepped on Joshaway and
oked and pounded him until he would
ever again feel romantic. and the fight
'read until something like thousand
EN- and women were engaged in It.
Re had to stop the circus performance
I'D pack up and move on, and we had
go for a full hundred miles before
e heard the last Of our scheme 70
lido natural history"