Driver Daniel and the Lions' Den
Page 9
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An Authentic Story of a Transport Feat which Ranks Almost as High as the Adventures of Baron Munchausen
MT have received from Mr. L. W. VV Gupwell the true and interesting story of an incident in the transporting by road of five lions in three cages, when two were nearly liberated as the result of an accident. Incorrect versions of the story appeared in the daily Press, but the facts are even stranger than the fiction.
The vehicle used was a 7-ton platform lorry owned by A. J. Gupwell, Ltd., and the lions were being sent by Messrs. Chapmans, of Birmingham to a variety theatre at Nottingham.
The lorry unfortunately skidded on
1, an icy road during the early hours of the morning and went through a hedge but it could have been backed out without damage to vehicle or load However, a private car, which was following, stopped for its driver to render assistance. Unfortunately, he left his head lamps full on, with the result that the driver of another lorry coming in the opposite direction was blinded, and hitting the near-side rear of the lions' conveyance, damaged the
back end of a cage containing two of
the animals. The cages were, fortunately, adequately sheeted and roped.
The motorist, meeting the Gupwell driver crawling back through the hedge, -asked if he could be of assistance, but he was told to be careful as the cargo consisted of live lions, and their cages might have been damaged in the accident. The motorist regarded this as a joke and made some facetious remark, whereupon the driver invited him to take a look. The motorist was carrying a torch, which he flashed on to the lorry, and saw, through the sheets which had been torn in the collision, two lions in a cage, the door of which had been dislodged. He let forth one yell, bolted for his car and disappeared at speed.
The driver of the other lorry then appeared and assisted the Gupwell man in the somewhat difficult task of making good the damage. It was effected by borrowing a sheet of corru gated iron from a nearby field, wedging and roping this where the door had been, and again sheeting the cage
The driver next communicated by telephone with the night mechanical staff, asking for immediate assistance in view of the nature of the cargo. Police were also summoned to watch the vehicle, and they decided that, in the circumstances, the duty warranted two constables instead of the usual one. [This would appear to indicate that one policeman is equal to one lion, which will perhaps make Americans keener still on lionizing the Force —Fn.] In due course breakdown lorry arrived, and the mechanic, lying under the vehicle, commenced to replace a spring, which had ;also been damaged. While doing so he received a bath, regarding which we will say no more.
A Bid for Freedom.
The repairs executed, the lorry proceeded on its way to Nottingham. Having reached the environs of that city, a heavy thud was heard, and upon stopping the wagon the driver found that a lion in the rear cage had become annoyed at the temporary iron door and had knocked it out of place into the interior of his cage, so that only a sheet separated the two animals from the outside world. A further tarpaulin was stretched over it to make the cage as dark as possible, and the short distance remaining was covered in this fashion.
Mutual Welcome.
All went well until the theatre was reached, when the lion tamer rushed out, uttering joyful comments at the presumably safe arrival of his pets. The lions immediately recognized the voice of their trainer, and one of them slashed through the two covers over his cage and poked his head out. The next few minutes might have provided a comic scene for a film, as the trainer was entreating the too-enterprising lion to he good and to stay in his cage, between whiles shouting for someone to find something in the nature of a door to take the place of that which had been broken, so that the unloading could proceed.
Eventually the task was safely effected, and the animals executed their evening performance in good order, whilst despite all these excitements, delivery was made in good time.