On one occasion, Lent was a part owner of a travling circus and menagerie. One day he met a man out West who had a grizzly bear for sale. As the animal was a splendid specimen of a young grizzly, Lent purchased him, and after he got him he found himself in the position of the man who drew the elephant. There was but one cage in the menagerie that could contain the bear, and that already had an occupant in the shape of a large and finely developed Bengal tiger. Lent told one of his partners that he was going to quarter the grizzy with the tiger.
    “The devil you are,” was the answer. “Why that tiger will make a square meal of him before you can wink.”
    “All right, If he does, I’m satisfied,” says Lent. “You look after your tiger, and I’ll take care of my bear.”
    The grizzly was accordingly lifted into the cage, the tiger having been priviously driven to the opposite corner by the application of hot irons. Then all the employes of the circus gathered to witness the fight. The animals sighted each other at the same instant, but while the tiger’s eyes blazed with fury, and his tail lashed the bars in his excitement, the grizzly simply nodded in a sleepy manner, as if in recognition of the other beast, and crouched against the bars, awaiting developments.
    They remained as far apart as the cage would permit at least five minutes; but the rage of the tiger seemed to increase while the bear seemed to be sinking into slumber. At last the tiger began to growl and slide toward the bear, moving from side to side of the cage as he did so. The growling aroused the bear to life, and he had just time to measure his enemy, when, with the rapidity of lightning, the tiger sprang forward and alighted on his head and back. For a moment there was a terrible howling from both animals, as they rolled over and over in the cage, and they separated for an instant, the bear seeming to have shaken off his antagonist. During this brief cessation of hostilities it was seen that the bear had got decidedlythe worst of the combat, as he was bleeding freely from several gaping wounds.
    The backer of the tiger was delighted, and wanted Lent to consent to having a stop put to the fight. “No,” answered he. “Let them fight, and I’ll bet on the bear.” So at it they went again, and there was terrible fighting for several minutes. It finally ended in the tiger giving several mournful howls, and, when they seperated, he slunk away to his corner as meek and submissive looking as an animal could be. After that day, the bear bossed that cage, and if the tiger became unruly he received a blow from the grizzly’s paw that set him to thinking over past events at once.
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