The American--News. (El Reno, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 6, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 12, 1902 Page: 2 of 8
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| Academy on Sea=Going Ship* 4
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(Wm. t. MxlUbar, in Pennon’* Magazine.)
To most people a seal Is a rather
atupld cross between an animal and a |
fish, whose only value is to provide the ■
material for very expensive raiment. ■
When the fact of a seal being used
in a public performance is brought for- \
ward, the mind instantly flies to !
thoughts of a tank of water In which
n few seals listlessly swim around and ;
perfunctorily go through a number of j
minor tricks. It Is only within the
past few years that seals and sea lions
have been seen on the stages of the 1
leading vaudeville theaters, giving per- I
formances which have put to shame j
the best efforts of the ninny troupes
of monkeys, dogs and other animals
whose exhibitions we are nil familiar
with.
For many weeks a troupe of seals ;
mid sea lions appeared at a leading
vaudeville house in New York City, I
pole. Now he lifts himself up, higher,
a little more, and he is on the top of
tlie box; a word from the trainer, the
pole is thrown in the air, ami the
Osh comes down into its destined
place—between the jaws of the sea-
lion.
I he Seal-Skin Hand*' is another
of their wonderful acts. Every ani-
mal is equipped with some instru-
ment. and at a signal each one at-
tempts to outvie the others ill noise-
making. With drums, cymbals, horns
and bells they unite to make "music,"
ami if the melody is of a rather doubt-
ful character, they certainly make up
in vigor for what they lack in har-
mony.
The variety and excellence of their
feats are amazing. They are seem-
ingly capable of performing all the
tricks accomplished by other trained
and the sea-lion travels across the
stage to ills station, balancing them
as he did the pole. He mounts his
j box and gives his head a toss, with
| the result that the whole structure
| collapses, and, as the articles fall to
the stage, he catches the hall on hit
nose, holds It for a few minutes, am
j finally tosses it to his trainer.
Training these animals is far from
J *»ey work. They vary In intelligence
as do humans, and there i» a big ban
' dicap in the fact that they are out ol
their natural surroundings. Their
confidence has to be gained, and the
same fact holds true with them as
Tile "Drum Mnj ir" of the “Seal-Skin Rind" holding*
bis botan in his mouth, and aJittle aval ringing 1
tile beli with Ins flipper.
“A large hall is tossed in the air and caught, spinning,
on the pose of one of the sea-lions. ’
nml by courtesy of tho manug\ment,
facilities were granted to the writer
to interview the trainer of the troupe
and to secure photographs of the
animals during their performance.
It must be admitted that the per-
formance given by these animals is
little less than marvelous. It Is no
exaggeration to say that thoy show
mn almost human appreciation of what
they are doing. Watch one of them as
the trainer advances with a long pole,
something like a billiard cue. on the
end of which reposes a small fish. The
| animals, and surpass them in many
instances. It is in the balancing acts
they show their superiority. A large
ball Is tossed in the air and caught,
spinning, on the nose of one of the
sea-lions. Then it Is passed from
one to another, bouncing up in the
air, caught, passed, and repassed, nev-
er being allowed to drop to the floor.
A game of hall takes place; one seal
tosses the ball from his nose to the
batsman, who strikes at It, and as
it whirls across the stage another
sea-lion catches it in mid-air and bal-
Jii“ *'l tlie pc former, of Inc lYonnC nf trained seat, travelling shout the
stag- , imJ balancing up m In* unout a long polo upon the cud of which reels a flub.
pole is held upright, and a sea lion
carefully places his nose In position
to support the butt end. Sever il
times he draws back his bead and
looks along the pole still outstretched
la the trainer's hand. Finally It b
adjusted on the very tip of his nose
to his liking, and, as the trainer steps
back, releasing Ills hold of the pole,
the sea lion shuffles across the stage
balancing it with all the steadiness
and watchfulness of a human juggler.
He travels the full length of the stage,
|liis eyes fixed Intently upon Hie top of
the pole, anil rapidly swings his
(head, now sideways, now backward or
forward so as to maintain the batance.
-His companions follow him on his
course; In their eyes you can read the
hope that he will stumble or lose his
balance for then the prize will |>e
theirs. One, indeed, gives him a
slight push to accelerate the downfall,
but the quick eye of the trainer sees
the action, and he is recalled to his
peat. The pole-balancer at length
reaches his station, a box about three
feet high at the farther end of the
stage. His paws grope for the box;
lie cannot see it, for his whole atten-
tion Is concentrated on the top of the
with other animals; viz., they must
he taught by kindness and not by
fear.
They are great eaters, consuming
about seventy-five pounds of fish per
day. At the conclusion of every trick
j successfully performed they receive n
I small piece of fish, for, like most of
us. they do their best when a tangible
j reward is in sight.
It is hardly within the bounds ol
possibility that now a seal’s intelli-
gence is made known, they will evei
be adopted as household pets, [ex-
cepting to those persons with a large
aquarium they will hardly appeal in
this capacity. But it is now proven
beyond the possibility of a doubt that
they have a far larger degree of Intel-
ligence than any of our domestic an-
imals. Until, however, they are
trained to the point where they can
live entirely out of the water, and can
also eat such food as is general to
the ordinary household they have but
small chances of being adopted as fire-
side companions. The most we can
do at present Is to read R idyard Kip-
ling's “White Seal" with a better ap-
preciation. and the knowledge that
what he did was entirely within the
capacity of every seal.
Karl or Ox for ;•« Family dll oil.
It is interesting to note, in connec-
tion with the late earl’s* burial, that
his coffin when brought from London,
where he died, was not driven three
times round the church at Wolturton,
although this is the first time the for-
mality had been omitted. The tradi-
tion held that Horatio, second Marl of
Tie Sealskin Rind" “Ever* animal » equipped with tom. in.tnimmt. and
8lsn>l »aclw>nc r'tcinpn lo ouiv,e tlie other in none-making "
at a
anccs it until the hatter Is declared
out! The final one of the balancing
tricks Is one of the most surprising.
A hat Is placed on the tip of the ani-
mal's nose, upon It are balanced six
large wooden bricks, upon them is an
Iron frame somewhat like a three-
legged stool upside down, and In the
center of this stool is a large ball.
They make a tower of about four feet,
Orford, destroyed the tombs of iha
Scalmers, former possessors of tine
place, and one of the unhappy ladies
of this family, finding no rest, is said
to still haunt the churchyard, alwayi
searching for the remains of her rela-
tions. To mollify her uneasy spirit,
every Karl of Orford at Ills burial 1]
driven in his hearse three time round
j the church before he Is laid to his rest
The newest thing In the educational
world is a seagoing academy, which
will be launched during the summer.
The plan under consideration is lo
take a class of boys on a four years'
cruise around the world, and die
course will Include a curriculum that
prepares for college or business; phys-
ical development and discipline in-
cident to sea life under United States
naval regulations; travel and obser-
vation In all the principal countries of
the world; studies of foreign com-
merce by direct contact with the com-
mercial methods and needs of all pur-
chasing nations. For the study of
science and natural history collectors’
outfits will be provided with deep sea
dredges and all necessary appliances.
“Some day." says Santos-Dumont,
"we shall see monarehs and Princes
of the blood having not only their or-
dinary balloons, but aerial state
coaches."
Already Princes are turning to the
sport. One, the Archduke Leopold Sal-
vator of Austria-Hungary, recently
made a remarkable journey across the
Alps in his balloon, the Meteor. Not
content with making trips on his own
account in one or another of the three
large ballons which he had made, he
has commenced taking his wife and
children with him.
There are many members of the
other reigning houses who have made
aerial trips, notably the King of Italy's
two cousins, the Count of Turin and
the Duke Abruzzi. The Duke of
Abruzzl, in particular, made a num-
ber of ballooning trips before starting
on his arctic expedition with the ob-
ject of ascertaining to what extent he
could utilize tills mode of conveyance
in the polar regions. Apparently, he
was not satisfied with the practical re-
sults of his experiments, as he did not
take a balloon with him In the Polar
Star. The widowed Duchess of Aosta
and the young Duchess of Genoa,
while these trials were in progress at
Turin, took advantage of the oppor-
tunity to make several ascents. but
were ultimately forbidden to do so
again by the late King Humbert, who
was alarmed for their safety, and in-
sisted, in spite of all that was urged
| to the contrary, that they were risk-
j ing their lives.
The Emperor of Germany and his
I eldest sister. Princess Charlotte of
Saxe-Mcinlngen, have both been up >.i
i a balloon. It was. however, a captive
j one, and their ascent took place at
I Paris during the International Expo-
sition of 1878, when, it may lie remem-
J bered, the most gigantic balloon ever
produced used to ascend dally fro n
the Place des Tulleries to a height so
great as to almost disappear from
| sight, then to be drawn back to earth
\ by means of a couple of powerful sta-
j tionary steam engines. The present
j Kaiser was at the time in Paris in-
j cognito, intrusted to the care not of
J the German Ambassador, but of Lord
| Lyons, the English Ambassador, as a
grandson of Queen Victoria, and the
party who made the ascent in the bal-
loon on that occasion was restricted
| to Prince William, as the Kaiser was
I then called; to his sister, Princess
Charlotte of Saxe-Melningen; the laf-
! ter’s husband. Prince Bernhardt;
I Count Seckendorff, Grand Master of
the Household to Empire Frederick;
and two or three others.
King Edward. Queen Alexandria, the
late Duke of Albany, the Duke of
Brunswick and of Cumberland, who at
that time bore the title of Crown
Prince of Hanover, and likewise the
late Prince Jerome Napolen, all made
one or more ascents in this balloon,
as did also old Queen Isabella of
Spain, the Crown Prince and Crown
Princess of Denmark, the King and
Queen nf Greece, and, of course, King
Leopold of Belgium. Prince Frederick
Leopold of Prussia lias been up sev-
eral times in the military balloon on
the Temple Hof maneuver grounds,
near Belgium. But when the Kaiser
himself wished to accompany his
brother-in-law his ministerial and mil-
itary advisers urged him to abstain
from putting Ills project into execu-
tion on the ground that he had no
right to risk a life of such vital im-
portance to the empire. The Emperor
only yielded to their arguments when
they were reinforced by the Empress,
for he shares the conviction of Arch-
duke Leopold Salvator of Austria that
there is no more danger in ballooning
than in driving at the breakneck speed
which he invariably affects.
The school will be conducted on
j hoard the Young American, a modern
j full rigged sailing ship, with auxiliary
j steam power, built especially for the
purpose. The keel of the ship will no
laid within a month or two. The nuni-
i her of pupils will be limited to 250
and the faculty to 25. Shore leave
will be governed by the department
records of the cadets, who will always
be under the personal supervision of
professors. The organization will oe
along naval lines, the cadets being
formed into companies and the com-
panies divided into sections. Cadet of-
ficers will he appointed on the basis
of merit. The school will be non-sec-
tarian and there will be ample amuse-
ment. including athletics, band con-
certs, sight seeing, a library, a month-
ly periodical printed on hoard the ship
and a photographic plant.
Boys between the ages of 14 and 19
years who are not of retarded develop-
ment or vicious habits will be ac-
cepted and the cost per school year
will be $1,280, including tuition, board,
clothing, books and other expenses.
The first cruise will begin in Septem-
ber, 1903. During the four years the
principal ports of the world will be
visited.
By the recent census the population
of New Zealand is fixed at 815,820.
London bridge, when widened, will
be lighted from the center and not
from the rides.
ROYALTY WHO SAIL IN BALLOONS.
RCHDUKE LEOPOLD SALVATOR’S TRIP ACROSS THE ALPS.
Archduke Leopold Sclvator and His Balloon.
Aouto of the Duke's Flight Across Jho Alps,
rice cakes, rico gravy, rice pudding,
rice pie. and a number of other good
things adulterated with rice.
Fuslilnx Css of Hire.
An association of men interested In
growing rice and figuring on widening
the market for it has opened “rice
kitchens” in Washington and in a
number of large cities, where free
cooking lessons are given at certain
hours of the day, and at meal times
rice concoctions are sold to the hun-
gry. They have rice cream, rice salad.
Su nken* Will Hardly lltlleve Till*.
Some of the clerks in the war de-
partment played a joke on a well-
known clerk in the telegraph office the
other day. They got a cheap cigar,
filled it with small pieces of rubber and
then gave it to the telegraph man. He
is always playing practical jokes on his
fellows and they were merely trying
to even up. He started in to work as
usual and puffed vigorously on the
cigar. He must have had a cold in
his head, for he didn't seem to notice
tho foul smell that soon permeated the
atmosphere. His associates could
hardly stand it, however, but they
didn’t know about the cigar. The odor
finally became overpowering, and the
smell of rubber was unmistakable. As
there had been some trouble with the
telegraphic apparatus the innocent vic-
tims concluded from the smell that the
insulators had caught fire. An expert
electrician was summoned from the
Western Union office and spent some
time examining the switchboard con-
nections. It was not until after he re-
ported that there was nothing at all
the matter with them that the truth
dawned upon the operators that it was
merely a case of “bad cigar.” It was a
curious commentary on the smoker’s
taste that he didn’t know he was not
smoking tobacco until those around
him informed him of the fact
Traits of the Ithliioeeros,
Commander Whltehouse of the Brit-
ish navy writes as follows of his ex-
perience with the rhinoceros in Africa:
As a rule they do not interfere with
travelers that let them alone. In
some cases, of course, they are danger-
ous, hut it was easy to get close to
many for photographs. It is often said
that a rhinocerous will charge the per-
sons that he gets the wind of; such is
not my experience. I walked close up
to the first I saw by accident—a cow
and its calf. They certainly got my
wind at a distance of less than twenty
yards, but after looking at me for a
few seconds, they both bolted. On an-
other occasion, on the Athl plains, one
came up toward us and, stopping less
than 20 yards away, watched the cara-
van go by, with the wind blowing
straigth from us to him. Probably he
was used to seeing Masai and other na-
tives, and rhinoceroses in less fre-
quented places might have been more
dangerous. Two are allowed to be
shot by license. It is very poor sport
shooting them, but, like the hippo-
potamus, they are a cheap present to
gain the natives’ good will in famine
time. One shot at Kin was entirely
eaten that day, and the next morning
we found some poor starved creatures
picking off what flesh was left on the
head and eating it raw."
The road that 13 paved with good
intentions generally has a disiaterest-
1 friend at every corner.
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Brown, U. S. The American--News. (El Reno, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 6, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 12, 1902, newspaper, June 12, 1902; El Reno, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc911284/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.