THE IJATIONAL ZOO AT WASHINGTON. 709 



usually shut up, and when showing- it is in tho tent, always a drafty, 

 ill-ventilated, foul-sniellino- place. The great advantao'e of the eircus 

 is the constant change of scene — the varied excitements that give the 

 animals something to think about, and keep them from torpid habits 

 and mental morbidness. 



It has long l)een known that caged animals, especially the highly 

 organized kinds, sutler from a variety of mental diseases. Mr. Ohni- 

 mus, the superintendent referi'ed to, informs me that camels and several 

 other species connnonly end their cage lives in lunac}". The camels 

 turned loose in Arizona some ^ears ago were reduced at length to one 

 old male. Tn course of time his solitary life affected his l)rain. Accord- 

 ing to local tradition, he Avent crazy, and used to attack every living- 

 creature near, until he was killed by a mounted cowboy whom he had 

 pursued with murderous intent. 



Captive bears are apt to fall into a sort of sullen despondenc}'. 

 Foxes and cats often go crazy, and no matter how obviousl}' mental 

 the disease, it is usually set down to hydr()ph()1)ia, and the unanswered 

 question is. How did tiiey get it^ Dogs that are constantly chained 

 up connnonly l)ecome sullen and dangerous. The higher apes and 

 baboons rarely thrive in cages. Soon or late the}' become al)normally 

 vicious, or else have a complete physical breakdown. All this is so 

 human, and so emphasizes the great truth of evolution, that the wise 

 keeper seizes on the cue. and in his management of his charges treats 

 them like human ])eings of a lower de\ elopment than himself. 



Many a man shut u}) in a cell has saved his mind l)y inventing some 

 trifling anuisement. It is recorded that one set a daily watch on the 

 movements of a spider. Another tried how many times he had to toss 

 live pins ])efore they fell in just the same way. Another tried to run 

 10 miles each day in his narrow limits. Yet another busied himself 

 inventing new arrangements for the two or threa articles of furniture 

 in his cell. Many have paced up and down each day for a number of 

 hours. And whatever they did, all alike were seeking to put in time, 

 to while away the awful tedium of their monotonous lives, to respond 

 to the natural craving for exercise, and to save their minds and bodies 

 from actually withering from disuse. 



Jf instead of '' human captives'" we read "wild animals" in all this, 

 we shall have a very fair portrait of what we may see ever}- day in an 

 ordinary menagerie. Why does the elephant swing to and fro forever 

 from his chain picket? Why does he gather from the floor all the 

 straw he can reach, throw it over his back and over the stable, to be 

 regathered later? Why does the squirrel enter and work for hours 

 the aimless treadwheel, and the marten leap listlessly half a da}' from 

 point to point — floor, perch, slat, box; floor, perch, slat, box — again 

 and again, with monotonous sameness day aft(»r day? Why does the 

 lone ostrich waltz far more than does his wild kinsman that has manv 



