By RENE TORRES
Special to the NEWS
In 1934, Manuel King was 11-years-old, and a fifth grader in a Brownsville grammar school. It was said that the young King was born with a whip in his hand—the mastery of which he developed to grow up to become one of the youngest lion tamers in the world.
Manuel was the son of a veteran animal trainer William A. King, who was a breeder of wild animals in a preserve near Brownsville. His father was well known as the “Snake King” of the Texas-Mexican border.
At a young age, Manuel got an eye-catching gift from his father. He was given 10 newborn lion cubs for his birthday. From this point on, they became inseparable, playing and growing as one.
Just like most prodigies have a personal trainer, Manuel was under the tutelage of John. C. Guilfoyle, who with decades of experience in working with animals, proved to be an ideal mentor for Manuel.
John described Manuel as totally unafraid of the lions and had trouble convincing him that safeguards were essential. John had to remind him that these were no longer his playful cubs, but treacherous and sometimes hungry carnivores.
The young Manuel had a talent given to few and inherited a profession that kept him in constant danger. He would walk boldly into a lion cage outfitted with a cracking whip, light chair, and a blank cartridge pistol.
IN THE CAGE…
The lions would not react until his sharp demands were given, and what followed was silence from the bleachers as the crowd anticipated the worst was yet to come.
But to their surprise, the animals obediently followed his instructions and started rolling barrels across the floor, romp on a seesaw and roared in mock rage. He was a dwarf standing among lions, but at barely four feet tall, his cracking whip got immediate attention.
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