Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1891 — Took a Lion by the Tail. [ARTICLE]

Took a Lion by the Tail.

When P. T. Barnum’s winter quarters were burned two years ago one of the lions escaped and entered the bam of Mrs. Gilligan, a widow living on Pequonnock street, Bridgeport, Conn., says the Pittsburg Dispatch. Mrs. Gilligan bravely entered the barn, grabbed the king of beasts by the tail.- and belabored him with a pitchfork handle to drive him out. Her pluck and courage were noted in the newspapers at the time, and she received many offers of marriage from men in the far West who needed brave wives. Mrs. Gilligan has again distinguished herself. She is a great poultry fancier, and her hennery is a standing temptation to the lawless tramps and toughs who make that neighborhood their headquarters. Recently she heard her chickens making an unusual noise, and, hastily dressing, she got to the coop just in time to see two men carrying off thirteen of her fowls. She followed them to their camp in the woods, and, jumping into the midst of the gang, she grabbed the chickens from the hands of the thieves, and gave them a piece of her mind. Then she sent for the police and made complaint against the men. They were sent up for theft, and Mrs. Gilligan was complimented by the court.