Year: 1876

From Paris the other day came a
story, half grOtesque, half revolving, of
a cruelty ingenious Snowman to whom
there had occurred the idea of getting
up a Liliputian exhibition of tiger-ta-
ming. He procured four cats, whose
bodies he painted orange-tawny, with
black stripes SO as to be closely imita-
tive of the hide of feiis tigris, and then
he engaged little boy, who, clad in
tights and spangles, was to enact the
part of a beast tanner. but who, prior to
his appearance in public, was shut up
in a cage with the cats and instructed
to reduce them to subjectiOn and t.
teach them a variety of tricks by means
of rigorous chatisement. If, however,
the poor little tiger king was provided
gers had been endowed by nature with
SO worried and tore the unfortunate
lad that. had he not been able to make
his escape from the cage, fatal results
might have followed. He ran shrieking
into the street, pursued by his master;
but the police interfered, and the Cor
rectiOnal Tribunal may possibly have
something very serious to say to the
barbarOus promoter of Liliputian ti-
ger-taming exhibitions. Scarcely, how
ever, has the echo of this affair died
away ere we hear of two very alarming
accidents which have occurred to q
pair of Wild beast tanners of some no.
tOriety in France. At Havre the lion,
king Bidel has had sufficiently mar
row escape from horrible death. 1t
was this performers custom to go into
the cage of his wild beasts, bearing
with him sheep. which, through the
awe inspired by his presence, was kept
safe from mOlestatiOn on the part of
the ferOciOus inmates of the den. On
a recent occasion he entered the lions
cage, and placed the sheep on the back
of tie liOns-a feat which he had often.
before accomplished with perfect safe
ty. No sooner, however, had he done
this than huge lion sprang upon the
unfortunate sheep, burying his teeth
in its body. There was q general COM
motion and panic among the crowded
audience, but the undaunted Bidell
stepped forward, and with heavy
bludgeon dealt Leo such tremendous
blow over the jaws that the beast, ut
tering a yell of pain. was completely
cOwed, abandoned his bleeding victim,
and crOuched hHmbly at the feet of his
master. The sight and smell of the
blood of the sheep were, however. too
much for wild beast nature to bear.
The other denizens of the cage began
to howl in an omnibus manner, and
with singular unanimity of teeth and
claws they attacked Monsieur Bidel,
even as Mr.. William Nye went at the
Heather Chinee. The beast tanner, not
whit terrified, chased the first lion in
to another cage. fought his way
through the remaining brutes, and.
rescuing his wounded sheep, issued
from the den.


Another accident to lion tanner oc-
CURED, in Paris, at the theater of
the Folies Bergeres, where one Del
mOnicO has gained great popularity
as a queller of wild beasts; but acci-
dents will happen in the best regulated
dens, and on Monday highly trained
liOness got her instructor into a corner
and severely mangled one of his hands.
There was tremendous excitement
among the audience, and the curtain
was let down. A few moments after
wards the report of musket was heard,
which, of course, caused the agitation
of the public to grow more intense.
Tranquility, however, was restored
when DelmOnicO made his appearance
at the fOOtlights, apparently none the
worse for his encounter with the liO-
ness. Now it is quite probable that in
the account of both of these casualties
there may remain something to be read
between the lines. Wild beast tanners
must necessarily be men of unflinching
courage, and of unerring presence of
mind but they are likewise, as a rule.
something else-they are shOwmen
and the musket- shot may have been a
mere coup de theatre. In any case it is
understood that the Paris police have
prohibited any futnre performances on
the part of DelmOnico; nor is it unlike
ly that these always dangerous and
frequently fatal exhibitions will be de-
finitely suppressed by the law through
out the whole of France.-LondOn TEL
egrdph,