The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1921-09-01
TAKE 'BE RISKS
Trapping of 'Wfd Beasts Most
Dangerous Business.
Those ~a*ho Engage In It LStera%,-
'-Garohie With Death, and Their
rasWard tis .Nmter Sure.

How.sare the wild. animals Sibtafntsd
which make up the smenagerae .uf. a
large circus? NJ business Is cutie IS 70
risky as ethat Of Graphing them
Most'of the wiiEsanirials come fr0n
Africa. E'hese heests must be trappetl
along the Zambes. which means 2.OOJ
miles Of ssoilsoms journey before even
"A startsis made. 7he nuan In Gina rye
or an expedition must ibe experienced
~and resou-ceful; sInastt KNOW the csun-
1ry, the languages ind. dialects, and be
something of phgssiciap as well.
Fearful srisks aNe talsen, especially
with fever Native ,,afsrriers by the
score are employed i;Eaeh porter fs
reqnired ito carry % ,ponds and the
'cnarge merely on such. IA head from the
coast up 'te the great lieLes is from
TWO to three shillir,xs "a pound. Pro
VISIONS IN iAarge quantities must be
carried, also large amount of beads.
cloth and trinkets with which to ca
1oie the natives for fresh supplies and
information.
Lions are taken in a great net, some
10 feet squane and trimmed by a very
powerful rubber elastic hand. 1t is
SET over pit near water hole. and
when caught the lion is transported in
bamboo case.
Ihe tyro who captured ,or trappea
a "ralino" in Il pit in the heart of At
rica would he equally puzzled as 10
how TO get him to the coass. An In
clined plane must be dug and the
creature, half-tamed by fright and
hunger, must .be securely shackled
with chains and ropes and led through
tangled forests and over sands and
stony plains for hundreds of miles at
great risk to the lives of all con-
cerned
The hunted rhinoceros is the very
epitome OF fight and gameness, but af-
ter capture gives us quickly and dies
II not properly cared for and FED. The
two most difficult creatures to trap
and bring TO the coast are the giraffe
and zebra. The latter can only be
caught in high and barren hills and
with the utmost difficulty. Once
caught, the zebra becomes tough
proposition, doing most of his think
ing with his heels.
The giraffe is ultra shy and his
transport after capture a serious mat
ter. DE stands SO high and his legs
are so like pipe stem his safe con-
veyance Is something of a feat This
animal is considerable of a baby as
regards tenderness, and has a heart
breaking way of shufflng off his NOR
tai coil after n circus has made a dar-
ing investment In one or more of
them. The rarity of giraffes In cir
cuses and municipal ZOOS is due not
alone to the original high cost, but
also to the fact that the animal deal
ers abroad will not guarantee safe de-
livery in this country.
The Indian tapir perhaps attracts
but little attention at the circus and
yet is most expensive aniHal. The
GORILLA is practically priceless. There
have been but four ever brought to
this country.
ChimpanZees are relatively plenti-
full at circuses and ZOOS, but they are
prone TO tubercular trouble and are
hard to keep.
Lions for geological purposes cost
from $4OO to $500. Tigers, Jungle
bred, will bring even higher figures.
Elephants, or bulls" as the circus
folk term them, cannot be bought
much under $500 in the rough, and
as they are trained to do stunts"
their value to the owner rapidly in
creases. Their disposition, too, eli
hances their value or otherwise. Ash
attic elephants are more expensive
than the African type, being better
natured and more intelligent, as a
rule. Hyenas are inexpensive. Cam
els Of the Siberian breed cost from
$500 to 5000. The Polar bear is ex-
pensive and hard to keep, as is the
Kadiack bear of Alaska.-Baltimore
American.