In 1934, Manuel King was 11 years old and a fifth-grader in a Brownsville grammar school. The young King was literally 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 ...