Chapter I: Introduction: xi

CHAPTER

I INSIDE THE TRAINING DEN 1

II TRAMPING IT TO CAGEDOM 40

III CHARACTER IN THE CAGES 55

IV KIDS OF THE CAGES 76

V THE DOG WAGON 109

VI MENAGERIE “PSYCH-STUFF” 145

VII THE ELLYPHANTS ARE COMING-G-G! 163

VIII A HUNDRED TONS OF PRANKISHNESS 191

IX THE KEEPER OF THE BULLS 213

ILLUSTRATIONS

Cagemates _Frontispiece_

PAGE

In the steel arena 6

A tiger being trained to ride horseback 6

Feed a hippopotamus and he’ll do the rest 38

Bon, the baby hippo, for whom a man gave his life 38

Indigestion makes a lion vicious in the arena 58

Never try to do this if the lion has a headache 58

Baby wild cats, and they look their part 64

Representative circus dogs 72

Baby lions are always sought after as pets 82

A pair of real “teddy bears” 82

A sick baby orang-outang 98

A baby camel with its mother, the “dumbbell baby” of
the menagerie 98

Baby Miracle, a few weeks before she decided to leave
this tempestuous world 102

Lion triplets 102

Collies make excellent circus dogs 114

Waiting to enter the big show 114

Young lions in the training den 154

Waiting for mealtime 154

An inbred lion, hence not a good worker 160

Circus men can’t beat these things, so they “jine ’em” 160

An elephant is the easiest to train and the hardest to
handle of any menagerie beast 178

A work elephant waiting for the crowds to leave the
circus grounds, when his labors will begin 178

Spring practice in the yard of winter quarters 192

The elephant turns naturally to clowning 192

In winter quarters 216

In the act of a breakaway 216

Old Mom and her girl friend Freida 222

Kas and Mo when they arrived in America 222