Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-10-30
BENGAL TIGER SHOT
DEAD AFTER ATTACK
ON MAN in ARENA

HOUSTON. Oct. ga live white
rat he was carrying in his pocket,
Intending to play prank upon w. y.
"Spake" King of Brownsville, who is
said to have a dread of rodents, was
given as the reason for the attack
made Tuesday by "El Tex" zoo tiger,
upon c. A. wilson, superintendent of
parks at Minot, Y. d.. Wednesday.
Wilson, who is over six feet tall
and weighs more than 200 ponds, at
tributed his narrow escape to his past
experience as wrestler, which en-
abled him to hold off the tiger and
the coolness of Hans Nagel, zoo
keeper in firing the shot which
pierced the tigers heart.
u had a live white rat in my
pocket Tuesday morning. We were
going to scare SNAKE King with it
at the meeting Tuesday afternoon.
They say King is terribly upset
when a rat gets in his vicinity. /
forgot about having the rat in my
pocket when Nagel, M. l.. Erwin of
Tulsa, and / went to inspect the
nest box at the lion house." Wilson
said.
THE three, of us were standing in
the passageway behind the cage.
tNagel opened the door to one of the
cages. AS he did, the tiger sprang
out Of the opening straight at me.
Down the passage TO the little
re ON by the tunnel to the arena we
fought. Nagel ran to. the other end
of the passage for a prodding iron
] shouted to him, Don't use the prod
shoot him!
I'm the meantime, Edwin had en-
tered the tunnel and crawled on his
hands and knees to the arena.
The tiger had his claws in my
left shoulder. l was holding his left
paw-he was chewing my right hand
and my shoulder. Nagel shouted to
turn him around so he could shoot.
The tigers head was TOO close to
me for him to put a bullet through
his brain. In some way / managed
to raise my right hand, giving Nagel
a chance to get in shot to the
animals heart. The pistol snapped.
Nagel drew back, threw another shell
in the chamber and put shot cleanly
through the beasts heart. AS he
fell in a death struggle his claws
lacerated my left leg-where 1 have
six of the 40 stitches they put in
me yesterday.
And the funny part of it," Wilson
continued, was that the rat died dur
ing the excitement. I found him
dead in my pocket"
The park official was high in his
rraise of the cool-headedness of
Nagel.
'T was weakened from loss of
blood and holding that 4O0-pound
frute from me-" he said. II believe
that in a few more seconds he would
have had me-
Joe Bedenk and william Lindsey
Hale, Rice football coaches, were the
only witnesses of the fight besides
the three park officials. The two
coaches were playing golf at the
municipal course when they heard the
commotion. They rushed to the lion
house bat were unable to render as
sistance. Bedenk, who is a forme. |
ell-American football player at Penn !
State, was high in his praise or !
Wilson and Nagel.
81 don't see how Wilson held of |
that tiger as long as he did," the |
coach said, "and Nagel certainly kept |
his head. Both of them were cool as
cucumbers when the thing was over
Wilson explained thar tigers IL
their native haunts feed on smaller
certain species of wild rats
included. When ne entered the cage /
with the rodent in his pocket the
tiger "smelled a. rat and became
enraged with primitive /
desire to pounce upon something that
PROMISED a meal In his unreason- !
ing fury he failed to distinguish be /
tween the man and the animal that |
melted the desire to spring.