1G6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A LION TAMER 



all warnings and precautions, to risk his life, first in 

 offering a piece of bread through the bars, and next, as 

 his sleeping majesty took no notice of this affront, in 

 attempting to pat the lion on the head. Then arose the 

 king of beasts in his wrath, and, quick as lightning, the 

 unhappy man's arm was seized upon, crunched and 

 snapped off, with no more ado than a dog would make over 

 a chicken bone. His piercing cries promptly brought 

 the railway officials to the rescue, armed with pitchforks 

 and iron bars ; but, alas ! it was already too late, the monster 

 was licking his lips over the sanguinary morsel, while the 

 unhappy victim of his own folly was writhing in agonies, 

 which mercifully soon ended in death. I gave a per- 

 formance next evening for the benefit of the widow and 

 children, during which I entered the den of the rebellious 

 lion and publicly chastised him. 



After several weeks' successful performances at Lyons 

 I proposed to make a stay at Marseilles ; and, in order 

 to convey my living freight thither, chartered a train of 

 forty trucks. Decidedly Lyons station brought me bad 

 luck : it now witnessed a tussle with an elephant, who 

 positively declined to enter the car destined for him ; no 

 persuasions, no coaxings would induce him to budge — 

 the more I pommelled him the more he resisted ; finally 

 we were obliged to resort to force. A strong rope was 

 passed around his legs, at the other end of which was a 

 gang of nearly a hundred men, who, dragging and tugging, 

 only succeeded in embarking the unwilling passenger 

 as the train gave the warning whistle for departure. 



The white bear and the elephant were the cause of the 

 first really serious danger I ever ran. In the midst of 

 an exercise the white bear, irritated by some trifle, 

 suddenly threw itself on the elephant, who, surprised by 

 this unexpected and unmerited attack, set to work slowly 

 and methodically to repel his assailant. Feeling myself 

 the natural peacemaker, I threw myself between the 

 combatants, with the result that I became the assailed 



