CIRCUS THRILLS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 12804, 7 March 1936, Page 9

CIRCUS THRILLS

GIRL LION TAMER. ■ I CAN NEVER BE CERTAIN.” JjW EN in Ihe days when I was fifteen and earning my living in the circus at, bareback riding and in cowboy troupes. I had a longhi" to work with wild animals (writes the noted wild-animal lamer, Miss Patricia Bourne). Iwo years ago f had achance to leave horses for lions and £ took it. I began my cirrus carei-r with a company in France, where I learned trick riding with teams of horses and at, one time played in a cowboy troupe, doing such “stunts” as flicking cigarettes with a stockwhip while riding barebacked at. full gallop. Butexciting as the life was. it was nothing io the thrill f had when T first, went into n lion’s cage and realised that- my life depended on my courage and nerves, j say courage. Perhaps that is not quite the right word. Safety in the ring among the lions depends on concentration and keeping the animals in their place by showing yon are master. J shall not easily iorgef my first. ferrifying experience, ft was ai a little Town called Mirernont. near Bordeaux. in the South of France. The chief trainer wanted a girl assistant, and knowing that I had always longed to work witli lions asked me to help him. T went into the cage and 1 lie first thing he did was to seize me by the shoulder- and rush me towards the mouth ot a lion sitting on a pedestal. The beast growled horribly and opened bis mouth, showing rows of lingo teeth. I thought my last hour had come. But the trainer would not let me get away, felling me J must, never turn my hoc]; on the animal after T had approached him like that or else lie would pounce.

Long Memories. The savage instinct of flic beast would tell him that I was afraid, and that would ho fatal. It was. a lesson I never forgot, but it was a very abrupt wav of learning it. Thai lion. Cuieto. is with me now. appearing at Olympia. London. We are sometimes accused of illtreating animals to make them obey, hut if you ill-treat a lion he will never forget ii. ETo will wait years for a chance to get at anyone who has been unkind to him. often with ratal * results. A lion or lioness has a memory as long as an elephant For instance, my lioness, Sultan, was once whipped hv a trainer in Spain. Sultan waited her opportunity and one day took it. The man was badly mauled and wa- in hospital for a long tinto.

It is more than one’s ]if»» f< worth to hurt a lion. They are curious animals. You may think they are your friends and that you can trust them implicitly, ft may be so for a thous» and times, but on their next appearance they may iry to matt! you. I am devoted to my Monty. I can do anything with hint; ride on his hack, pick up In’s paws, treat him like a great cat. Rut 1 can. never he really certain, for wild animals can never be

properly domesties ted. The history of the circus has taught im rhat. The most rriflincr things are sufficient, to terrify ami subdue a lion or lioness. For instance. Sultan has thn reputation of a female memo. Hitt if I go straight tip to her. wit ip nut a half-filled hox of maiehes and shake them in her face, she will slink away as if site had been soundly beaten. Reaction to Clothes. Jt is the same in the ring. When 1 am training for a performance—and we rehearse our act every day if possible—l its.' nothing more- elaborate than an empty paint- pot. I ennnor remember where I found the old pot. It is an ordinary tin with a loose wire handle. When I pick it up itmakes a rattling noise. But thatnoise lias a strange effect on my team of live wild hea-sts. They will often pay no attention to the crack of the whip or my voice. But it I rattle the pot they at once become obedient. Lions react to clothes. Nicolai, my Greek groom, nearly always wears very baggy plus-fours when he is as--sisting me in the ring. The lions know those trousers just as well as they know Nicolai. But if 1 wore plus-fours like licit 1 <lo not kno'v wfiat would happen. Certainly I would never dare go into ' the ring wearing a skin. They would go for it immediately. There is something in the swish of the skirt that angers the lion. 1 always have to wear the same kind of costume, breeches and top hoots, with a tight-fitting jumper or shirt blouse which gives me absolute freedom of movement. That is essential, for you have to be just as nippy about the ring as the lions themselves. Surly Cubs. The one thing a lion-tamer must never do is to slip. The moment you are bn the ground the lions know you are helpless. They will leap on you simultaneously; although you havo known them for years. The instinct if the jungle gets the upper hand. t\nd. of course, there would not bo illicit left of a girl after two lions and lu'C-e lionesses had pounced on her ?ven if only for a second or two. Jt, is always well to keep on tho t,ove in the ring. As long as your eet arc on the ground, and ton are ioft obviously running away, then, lie lions will not go for you. If they ire sitting on their stools, you can sit» lown, too, and natch them or read n fivspapor. ,