LIONS V. TIGERS

Auckland Star, Volume III, Issue 639, 29 January 1872, Page 3

LIONS V. TIGERS

De. Haughton, in lecturing in England recently, said that he was sorry to upset the superstitions of childhood, but_ tho tiger was a much more powerful animal than the lion, and would always beat the lion in a fair fight. The lion had a great mane and looked big, but still he was a humbug, like a great many people the lecturer knew. Whilst speaking of the strength of tigers, he narrated how he cut the claws of a tiger in the Zoological Gardens of Dublin, because the claws were growing in to the body of the foot. Eight men held the tiger close to -he bars of the cage by means of ropes. They kept one foot of the tiger off the ground, and this was a great point in the operation, because then the tiger was obliged to keep the other foot on the floor to keep him from falling, so could not use it offensively. As Dr Haughton was on the point of cutting the claws, the tigress came up to see what was going on. She put out her paw, and laid hold of Dr Haughton's bat, and in doing so, lifted up the door of the cage, leaving him face to face with the animals. The eight men resolved themselves into their component elements -, all of them but one ran away. The tiger bent itself for a spring, Dr Haughton pulled down the door of the cage, and the animal broke its teeth against the bars. The seven cowards were then collected, and the claws of the tiger were cut, after which the animal began to purr and lick the hands of the operator.

The Strand tradesmen are moving to have that great London thoroughfare paved with bituminous aspbalte.