Chair and Training (From Richard Flint)

chair and training001, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. A few weeks back there was some questioning about the use of a chair in cat acts. Beatty is well documented, of course, and there is reasonable suspicion that his mentor Pete Taylor could have used it. Here is a poorly drawn illustration that first appears in Cleveland Moffett's "Careers of Danger and Daring" series in the young people's magazine, St. Nicholas, in 1901 but later in his book of the same title. Moffet wrote two articles about the circus--on flyers and animal trainers. He befriended Bill Newman of elephant fame who took Moffet to meet George Arstingstall, another great trainer from the 1870s-80s; Moffet also spent time with Bostock and Bonavita. The animal essay is not quite as good as the story on the flyers with its many quotes responding to technical questions, but it is entertaining and tells us that "One tamer used a common chair with much success against unbroken lions. If the creature came at him, there were the four legs in his face..." Dick Flint Baltimore