124 TEE ART OF TRAINIXG ANIMALS. 



out. Luckily his keeper came to our rescue at this critical 

 moment, and we retired uninjured but rather crestfallen. 



CHAPTER XIII. I 



LIONS, TIGERS, LEOPARDS AND PANTHERS. 



yrNQUESTIONABLY the lion in his native wilds, with his 

 LJ appetite keen from forced fasts, is a fierce and formidable 

 adversary to meet with, and well worthy the title of " king of 

 beasts.'^ But it is well established by travelers and hunters 

 that when his appetite is satisfied he will seldom attack a man 

 unprovoked, oiten parsing harmlessly by ; and will even permit 

 his best relished prey, the antelope, to come to his neighbor- 

 hood for water, without molestation. He is comparatively 

 gentle in a state of captivity, more to be depended upon, and 

 less treacherous, than the tiger, and has been preferred to the 

 tiger by tamers in all ages. 



When taken young he is tamed with little difficulty, and, 

 while a cub, may be handled and caressed like a great kitten. 

 As lie grows larger he becomes so rough in his play that he is 

 liable unintentionally to inflict injury. Hunters who capture a 

 family of cubs generally sell them to individuals who make a 

 business of buying up young animals in their native countries, 

 to be forwarded to correspondents in various parts of the 

 world. This is the way in which nearly all the wild animals on 

 exhibition are procured. 



When an animal ^' on the road " — which is the technical term 

 for moving with a traveling exhibition — is so unmindful of the 

 interests of his owners as to die, the showman telegraphs to a 

 dealer in wild animals, and often within twenty-four hours 

 another is on his way to supply the vacant place. Sometimes, 

 if the dead animal has acquired a reputation, the new one 

 assumes his name as well as his duties, and the public never 

 suspects there has been any change. 



Until bought by the exhibitor lions are considered merely as 

 articles of merchandise, to be kept in good condition, and, when 

 ordered, to be packed and forwarded with due care and despatch. 

 The dealer in wild animals does nothing in respect to taming 

 them, tho^igh a second-hand animal which has been tamed 

 sometimes comes into his hands. If it is desu*ed to tame a 



