100 years ago in Spokane: Exotic animals on display at Al Barnes circus

The Al G. Barnes Animal Circus staged a wild series of performances to a capacity crowd in a tent on the courthouse grounds.

Here are a few of the noteworthy sights:

A panther, a bear, a leopard and a monkey rode on the backs of four horses.

Leopard trainer Martha Florine “caressed or whipped into subjection” her wild cats in an iron cage. (Florine was only recently back with the circus after “being torn by a leopard” and spending months in the hospital.)

Three elephants promptly obeyed the commands of trainer Grace Marvell.

Clarence Copper “mussed up the bears when they appeared on the verge of mutiny.”

Captain Stonewall “made the seals do things they would never do at home.”

Mabel Stone wrestled with a tiger.

Venus Fashion entered a cage containing 12 lions.

Austin King paraded his “pet” zebras in a “variety of dancing figures.”

Bob Thornton “got more out of the trained pigs than could Mr. Armour himself.”