168 RECOLLECTIONS OF A LION TAMER 



sulked in a corner and refused. When I cracked my 

 whip at him he growled, and the more I urged him the 

 louder he growled, showing his teeth and beating the air 

 with his heavy tail. 



To withdraw from the cage and leave him master of the 

 field would have been to acknowledge myself beaten, and 

 that would not have been in keeping with my charac- 

 ter. I determined to conquer him, and, in this deter- 

 mination, I advanced a step forward. Now it happened 

 that I was then suffering from rheumatism, particularly 

 in my knee, and as I stepped a sudden shoot of pain 

 caused the knee to bend, and me to fall to the ground ! 



Instantly I knew that I was lost. In a moment 

 Sultan was upon me, one heavy paw resting on my 

 head, while with the other he tore, gashed, clawed my 

 quivering flesh. 



On all sides resounded cries, shrieks from terrified 

 women, frantic calls for help from men. I, and I alone, 

 uttered no sound, I knew the necessity for calm and the 

 danger of the slightest false move. Seizing the raging 

 animal by the skin of the throat, I twisted it with all my 

 force, in hopes of strangling him. By degrees his frantic 

 movements began to cease, and his powerful muscles to 

 relax. Suddenly he turned his head ; something behind 

 was taking his attention off me. What was happening was 

 this : two of my men had succeeded in entering the cage, 

 and, with red-hot irons, were attacking his flanks. Pro- 

 fiting by the momentary respite, I managed to raise my- 

 self to a sitting posture, and I shortly found myself 

 upright again ; once on my feet I felt that I was safe, and 

 would resume my position as master. Summoning all 

 my resolution, I advanced on the rebel, and peremptorily 

 ordered him to his den. I compelled him, though 

 sullenly, to obey me, and would next have proceeded to 

 chastise him with an unsparing hand, but I yielded to the 

 clamour of the public and allowed my rescuers to lead 

 me from the cage. The only concession I obtained was 



