A LION AT LARGE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1060, 24 February 1911, Page 3

A LION AT LARGE.

: EXCITEMENT IN MELBOURNE. . - HOLDS A.' BUILDING : TOR TWO; ■ . lIOVKS. ' ; ; Fasoln, the Indian juggler, whoso, at- , tractivo perforiuanco has beon a feature ,of (lie ' programnio nt the Melbourne Opera • House,' had his turn spoiled ill a', most .sensational way. at tho matinee on.Saturday, February 11. Tho principal item in Fascia's act is the transformation of a lady, to'a lion. The lady is a '.'real" lady—there is no. doubt whatever about that—and the lion'is just as assuredly • a real lion;. The • ladyis in a cage,.and wiien i'asola tires a pistol she disappears simultaneously witn the report, ahd the lion appears in her place. As a general tiling,tno lion roars his displeasure at being luailo tne subject of Fasola's jokes, ana on this, occasion ho j'uani-'test'od-his disapproval of the business by .breaking out of tho cage and walking out of-'tho ..theatre'''in lull view of tho audience. Tho lion, a magnificent "old loltow, was hired from''tho Zoo. He possesses a'great shaggy -mane,".and looks . wonderfully • impressive,' but ho "shied" like a colt when. ho,met ono of; the perlormcrs behind the • scenes >. wearing a pair: of Dundreary whiskers • more monstrous than his own. That was his'first scare; and ho scuttled out of the place, scattering a bovy.of chorus girls' in all directions, and lollowed by J aines Pearson, one of Fasola's attendants. Scare No.'2. Tho lion trotted along tho "lane into Little.-Collins' Street and down towards Siranston Street, cat-liko luigsing the wall nil tho way. ' As ho neared the corner a'big motor dashed past, tho chauffeur, blasting a great horn that sounded like tho trumpeting of an agonised elephant. This was scare No; 2, and the lion paused irresolutely. The doors of the Temperanco and "General Building, SoeietV were wide open,'aud the lih was right opposite. The doors wero barred liko a:cage, and looked ' homelike. • Then 1 the agitated beast looked up and saw • overhead. tho sign. "Society for the Prevention .-of Cruelty to Animals." That decided him •—ho went in and lay down on the:mat, and the attendant .who had followed him slammed the door and hung on to' it from tho outside and■ yelled for help. •- ',- ;■ As-usual,'someone broke .the nearest fire alarm, but- when Chief Oflioer Leo heard that'the; job was lion hunting, he cancelled the '."turn out." "Let 'em call Mr. lio said; "if the lion sets firo to; the. plaio we'll extinguish him, sure enough. He's not our lion till- ho becomes an : incendiary.',' Meanwhilo another agonised call reached tho head station for a salvage wagou,. life-saving net, and tp rescuo the peoplo "hold up" by the lion in'tho building. Still the. chief officer was obdurate,-but at length ho; relented suflicieiitly to send down a net wherewith', to assist tho lion into his cage.. .However, it .was not used, for MK le - Souof had. been' notified, and lie sent'down'a cage from the' Zoo and a couple of men to put the lion into it., ! "Has He Eaten Anyone?" : • '.Meanwhile tho: crowd gathered,' and ; . a loud-murmur of voices-arose,'.iii: which tho predominant phrases weit'; -"WHat's Up?" . "Lion!", "Where? , ' Has he eaten anyone?" Every, now . and again tho lion, who was /growing more scared; and more'anxious concerning liis'iihusual surroundings,; lifted lip his' great 'Shaggy head, looked i out \ through tho plate-glass door,-blinked his'big yellow-eyes at ' tho crowd, and roared. '. Every time he opened ' his 'cavernous '.mouth' and- roared; - the crowd roared back ! I-l" ' Once, or twipe :got,sriarly, spread his claws on . the class , and' tried, to' get nt Pearson, but he..sqoh quietened down again, ,and a big bono thrown . in; gavq him . pause. •' The. crowd ' gathered more and more,' till!there were" 10,000 people, in Swa.nslon and Little Collins.Streets,, rind every man-Jack' in tho crowd appeared to bo a-lion-hunting expert, judging by tho. suggestions ,offered.. to theagitated man on the door." .The free list was j entirely • suspended, •' but in any ease no brio wanted to go in "on tho nod." ' While the excitement .was' at its lieight a lady within looked down, from an upstair .Window, and ordered those'bilow. to .'"take, the lion away from the door',inimcdiately, or 1 shall come down and, chase hini out!" Then'the caretaker of,'the building came along with his little daughter, and pushing his way'through the'crowd, wanted, to .get in; he. didn't know what tho fuss was nil. about, and ho insisted upon his right to enter.' While lie' was arguing the point the lion elevated, his head , and roared ; the caretaker thereupon, waived his claim and walked away.;; Glad'to Get Home; ; y • .Tho iion by tjiis. timo\had:had:possession of tho building .for an hour, aud then the performing cago was. rolled out.. It seemed to bo hitched togother with wiro or string, arid w'as : "passed" as being unsafe.' In any fcaso tho lion took no notice of,the cage; he'd had enough of it; Finally the men from tin Zoo, arrived with a cago on'a lorry; they .backed it in,..placed a large , wire screen over the upper part of the.door; and called "Here, boy." Tho Inn recognised safety at/last. The smell of the cage was liko ineat to him, and ho hopped m, carrying his bono with him. Then he yawned 'at : : ho crowd, and winked his eyo in a challengo that plainly - said, "Da your worst! I'm safe." Tho cago was boarded up, and tho lion went.back to tho Zoo. Ho bad taken charge of tho building for two hours. "Poor qld- chap," remarked, the man from tho Zoo, "he's very frightened. I cxpcct he thought tho crow'd was going to' kill' him; he's <an old lion, ' and ho likes pcaco and quietness." : When tho roar* went up "He's in!", a section, of the crowd evidently thought someone was "in" the 1i0n,., for a stampeilc from the vicinity occurred, in which the inn railings of the "ornamental" subterranean, dungeon in front of tho Town Hall tvero broken, and several adventurous spirits perched oil them were thrown down the steps. Slowly the crowd melied'aivay, but right up till midnight knots of'curious .citizens made nilgrimages to the spot, and looked at tho mat • upon which the'lion had'gnawed the .bone. ' The police under Senior Constable Gee-' lan ;did' vigorous .work •' in ' keeping tho crowd from jostling the lion.