Year: 1877

ican rranclscO CnrOnlcle


The triHmphal procession of Mont.
gomery Queens menagerie and circus,
which was the street sensation of the
hour, yesterday, was attended with a
scene of thrilling excitement, quite sur
passing anything depicted in the graphic
bills posted by the illustrous Snowman.
The rear of the column was brought up
by one of the special and most interesting
features of the public display large
cage occupied by an enormous lion, his
female companion, an adult tiger, and
the courageous gentleman who fills the
roll of Daniel, or, otherwise, the indis-
pensable lion trainer" of the menag-
erie. Aside from the naturally antagon-
istic feelings of these leading represen-
tatives of the feline race, a special cause
of discord existed in the illsorted family,
growing out of terrible fight between
the lion and tiger, some days ago, when
they were first confined in the same cage,
preparatory to their summer engagement
for the exhibition of gentle docility and
= the moral power of man over the most
ferocious of the brute creation.


The lion was irate over the result of
that encounter, which was not favorable
to his reputation as monarch of the
jungle, and it was noticed along the route
of the procession that his disposition had
been soured. A passable degree of har-
mony was maintained, however, until
the van had had reached a point on
Montgomery Street opposite the Nevada
Block. The atmosphere of the locality
was doubtless impregnated with some
contentious influence, engendered by
long continued taurine and ursine strife.
The lion raised his voice for war in a
defiant roar, and Immediately pounced
the length of the cage upon the tiger,
which sagacious brute the while had
preserved an attitude of cautious defense.
For few moments the spectacle pre-
sented inside the cage was one of the
most animated imaginable, enlivened by
the roars and howlings of the infuriated
beasts, while the position of the lion
tanner meantime was similar to that of
the luckless person who held lone
pedro and his last chip up.


The excitement of the vast crowd of
spectators on the street was immense,
all expecting to witness the immediate
death of the man by the horrible pro-
cess of rending limb from limb. The
heroic fellow, however, with the GOODNESS
and apparent confidence of one about to
separate pair of combative spaniels,
approached the ferocious brutes, and
commenced whipping them sharply to
interrupt the contest. This interference
shortly diverted the attention of the
lion, which turned upon its keeper and
seized him by the leg. Every behelder
believed then that the fate of the man
was sealed; but, without losing his
self-possession in the least, he commenced
pummeling the savage brute On the head
with an iron bar, until the lion was con
tent to release his hold and stink sullenly
away TO his allotted corner of the den.
The keeper was evidently severely in
jured by the bite received from the lion,
but the circumstance did not affect his
smiling acknowledgements of the loud
cheers which greeted his exhibition OF
rare heroism, and he maintained his
position as monarch of the den, enforc
ing a crouching obedience, until the
procession had completed its round,