shoulder, tore down all the flesh from the shoulder and breast. Raising his right arm to drive the lion off, the hand and arm were seized by the brute's teeth, and the bone laid bare from elbow to wrist. The other animals, as of course is their wont, were not slow to take advantage of the position of affairs, and soon the tamer's leg was bitten through and other injuries inflicted. It seems scarcely credible that during all this the man never for an instant lost his presence of mind, and, with all his fearful injuries, continued to whip the brutes into subjection, and actually succeeded in doing so, before making good his exit from the cage.
From this terrible adventure some idea may possibly be gained, not only of Cooper's extraordinary courage and coolness, but also of his immense bodily strength and vitality—lion-like in itself. All hope of saving the injured arm was at first given up—indeed, the mutilations might have killed a weaker man—but an eminent surgeon from Paris was called in, and in three months from his lively evening's work in Brussels, John Cooper was actually in the cage again, performing as well as ever. The lion which first attacked him, he is fond of relating, by way of vindication of the brute's disposition, turned out afterwards one of the most intelligent and faithful animals he had ever had to do with, if not quite the most so.
First steps in training.
Ask Mr. Cooper to tell you all about the "taming secrets" which have been talked of from time to time, and he will smile pleasantly. The only secrets he ever had, he will say, are confidence, coolness, and common sense. Many trainers make first acquaintance with an animal by approaching it from outside the bars and feeding it. Mr. Cooper simply walks into the cage at once. Animals are of all sorts and varieties of temper and disposition, just as human beings are. As a rule, lions are more trustworthy and even-tempered than tigers, or such things as hyenas; but then there are ill-tempered lions and good-tempered tigers. Again, every good-tempered animal has its fits of ill-temper, and the ill-tempered beasts are sometimes in a good humour. Now this, of course, makes the taming and handling of the animals a more uncertain and dangerous thing than ever, and it is here that the genius of a man like Mr. Cooper shows itself. For there is not an animal which you might put before him, whether a stranger or an old friend, that he cannot label, classify, and tell you all about at a glance. He will say at once: "This lion is a good-tempered fellow, but he is in a bad humour just for a time," or, "That tiger is a dangerous beast, but quite safe just at present." He is a sort of animal physiognomist, and knows what passes through a brute's brain almost as well as the brute itself. He seems to know what an animal will allow and what it will object to, by instinct. Most lions like stroking and fondling, as does an ordinary cat; but then some do not. Each animal has its natural aptitude, or the reverse, for particular tricks, and part of the trainer's art is to discover these peculiarities and keep each animal in its own "line." Going
