TORN TO DEATH BY LIONS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 526, 17 May 1872, Page 1 (Supplement)

TORN TO DEATH BY LIONS.

—o — The following is taken from a London journal;-«-At Bolton an inquest was held on Thomas M‘Carte, who died from injuries inflicted on him by the lions in Mander’s Menagerie. He was a native of Cork, a id thirty-three years of age. The first witness was Eliza M‘Carte, widow of the deceased, who said he was engaged as the liontuner at Mander’s Circus. His duty was to perform with the lions and elephants only. The deceased came to Bolton on Friday, and had per formed eight and nine times a day in the den with the lions. On Monday night he had his wrist bitten by the large lion. He had only one arm. The other he lost nine years ago, in Liverpool, by two lions connected with Myer’s and Bell’s circus, with which deceased was connected as lion-tamer. He was frightened on Monday night by the -arge lion, which was always growling at him. He was bitten by it that night, John Ryan—l am a keeper in the menagerie, and was present at the time. I heard a scream and I then s w deceased slip on to the floor of tie den. As soon as I saw him fall I ran with the lamp iron and put it into the fire, and as soon as I could make it hot, in about a minute I ran with it to the den It being an extra performance, the iron which had been kept hot all day had been taken out, and none were ready at the time It is the duty of every om connected with the menagerie to heat irons Deceased was laid upon the floor, the lions worrying him when I got to the den. I probed one of the lions in the eye. After taking the iron to the lire again and getting back again to the den, foui lions were then worrying him. He fought them with his sword as long as he could. All four lions were at him on his right side. The largest of them got hold of him by the thick part of the arm. When M‘Carte found [lie was overpowered and could not use his arm, he dropped the sword, saying “ rfome one take tie sword.” They took the sword out, and s ides were put into the den as quickly as possible to separate the lions. After the four lions had had him down, M‘Carte got up and went towards the door, which he reached within a yaid, when one of the lions got hold of him by the top of his boots and pulled him back again, A slide had by this time been got half way in but as strangers had put it in, it was inserted in the wrong place, and it took one and a half or two minutes to get it out again The four lions again attacked him, had all hold of him with their months at once, and dragged him about three times from one end of ihe caravan to the other. The lions were fed about five o’clock in the afternoon. I cannot say the deceased had not had any drink, but he did not appear to be the worse for liquor. He was speaking to me about the minutes before he went into the den to perform. He was quite able to conduct the performance. I have seen him the worse for. liquor in business liouis, but I never knew that he took’iquor to assisthim in his business. I am sure we could have saved him had there been no one in the menagerie but our own men. A number of shots were fired, but I cannot tell how mauv. Three o“' the pieces were loaded with bullets. M‘Carte had a revolver and fired it once : some one else also fired it, but that had no effect. The Rev. Enoch Franks, Methodist Newj Connection minister, said-—I was in the menagerie and saw the deceased go into the den. I do not think anybody would call him drunk. He wasjust in that position when men are mischievous, bold, daring, thoughtless. I called the attention of a gentlemen to him and said, ‘“Unlike every other lion-tamer, he is not managing those beasts with his eyes,” I was very much impressed wiih that He kept the lions going through one class of performance what appeared to me a long time—it might be usual but still it was a long time—and I began to be apprehensive that aggravation must follow. I was going away when I saw the lion-tamer down in a corner of the den which was wet and a lion had taken a leopard’s akin from his breast When he dropped the skin the lion seiz ;l hold of him by the boot. There was one lion : n the corner sitting on its haunch's looking on. The lion-tamer seemed to me to be as cool as any man possibly could be under the circumstances and while he lay in a lecumbent position with his head up he was fighting away with his sword all round, striking out. The lions then dragged the poor man to the end of the den and he fired his own revolver three times. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that death was caused by misadventure while performing with lions, and the following remarks were added:—“ That the jury feel it to be their bounden duty to express their entire disapprobation of the reckless custom of so-called lion-tamers performing in the dens where ferocious animals are caged up.”