Lion hunt 'one of the great stories' of Southeast Missouri

During the Great Depression, many zoos and circuses struggled to make enough money to take care of their animals. That's how Denver Wright ended up with Nellie and Bess, two 10-month-old lions a circus in St. Louis had to find a home for. Wright kept them in his backyard in Brentwood for a while, but his wife was concerned about the safety of the curious neighborhood children, and Wright himself despaired of keeping them in steak.

Wright was an active hunter who'd stalked wild animals in Africa. He hit upon the idea of selling tickets to participate in a lion-hunting safari in the familiar environs of Southeast Missouri. He had lived in Caruthersville and Cape Girardeau before moving to St. Louis to work for the International Shoe Co.

Wednesday will be the 75th anniversary of the hunt covered by St. Louis Post-Dispatch, United Press, the Southeast Missourian and Time magazine. "It was one of the great stories to come out of Southeast Missouri," said Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University.

Not everyone liked the idea, including Wright's wife. The Mississippi County sheriff had already spent two months chasing down an escaped circus lion. He didn't want any more lions running around the countryside. The director of the Missouri Humane Society unsuccessfully appealed to state agencies to stop the hunt.

Wright decided to hold the safari on an island in the Mississippi, just north of Commerce, Mo. Everyone had guns and dogs. But when the time came to release the lions, the hunters couldn't get them to leave their cage. "They were absolutely terrified," said Nickell, who has interviewed a number of people who were living in the area at the time.

Wright decided everyone should go back to Commerce for a chicken dinner to let the lions find their own way out of the cage. Unknown to Wright, some of the party, including a deputy sheriff, returned to the island. The deputy was worried about the throngs of spectators lining the shore at Commerce and the rowboats and motorboats running over toward the island.

One of the men in that group came upon the lions and killed them.

Wright was disconsolate. He told the Southeast Missourian he only intended to kill the lions if they attacked the party or showed signs of a fight.

The lions' carcasses were dumped on the shore at Commerce. Letcher Bom, a local resident, told Nickell the deputy sheriff hid out in an office at the county courthouse for three days.

Four years later, Wright returned to Southeast Missouri for another lion-hunting safari, this one in a fenced-in area. This one was more successful from the hunters' point of view. Wright made a movie about this hunt. Nickell has a copy.

Nellie and Bess were stuffed and now can be seen at the College of the Ozarks in Branson.

The lion hunt became part of the folklore of Southeast Missouri. "Stories were told about the great lion hunt for years and embellished a lot," Nickell said.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137