New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1867-05-19
THE IArAHEsE JuGGLERs.
TheIr Performances in New York CITY

hours and half, Il succession of acrOhatiC
and gymuastic feats which defcd the laws
of gravitation, and made every spectator
catch MS breath
AT the rise of the curtain the whole com
pany were presented. A score Of men,
women, and children, surrounded by curl.
Gus paraphcrualla, simultaneously knocked
their fOreheads against the floor of the
stage, by way of expressing their abasc
ment before the thrOng of American
sovereigns. Then came Il short Grafton, in
soft and flowing japanese, delivered by the
earnest master of Ceremonies-no doubt Il
mastery effort, but not generally under
stood. 1t was Intended to introduce the
performances of two "prOdgies" These
little persons, endowed with the names of
lhoyokichi and Thomatzuf were even
more extraordinary than the excellent Mr..
Crummles' Infant Phenomenon. Their
pusturing and grouping proved one thing
conclusiyely- that they hadn't a bone in
their bodies; at least, no bone that was in.
convenient to them. They placed their
feet on their nCcks and walked about the
stage on their hands; they bent over back.
wards and trottcd around with their heads
between their ankles; they tied themselves
together in the most incoInprehensible way.
and rolled like a wheel with wonderful
velocity: they did with the hands what the
feet should DO, and with the feet what the
hands were made for. In short, these little
Japs were the funniest Of little Chaps-with
the exception Of one, still smaller, who
came in later
Next came series Of gymnastfc evolu
tons by the chief Of the COmpany-Mr
Hamaikari SadakiChi-aud his son, Il queer
little lad Of eight or nine years known as
Ilamaikari Mikishi, otherwise IAN Right"
The nickname is bestowed because this
sprightly little creature has habit Of
shouting out in his shriil treble "All right
Whenever he happens to get into a pecu-
larly perilous pusition-and he got into
about twenty such places before the evening
ended. The father, lying upon cushioned
table with his head to the audience, ele
waited his feet and his son simultaneously,
and, after tossing the little fellow about in
the most reckless manner proceeded to ele-
ydtc him by slow degrees by the process of
putting one small tub after another under
him, until twelve of these tubs had been
piled mp, with the boy perched like mon.
key upon the uppermost. Then the pyra
MD began to revolVe and the boy to cut
Capcrs. 1t was an extraordinary feat of
balancing. The boy shouted An right"
and grlnned with delight at his success in
keeping his footing on a precariOus founda-
ton After while the tubs were kicked
away by the elder Hamaikara, and the fall.
ing boy was deity caught upon the fathers
upturned feet.
Top spinning was the next thing 10 order.
Every American boy who saw the double
performances in this line of business will
poster the household till he gets au assert.
meut of tops and goes through a series of
experiments, for the possibilities of the
art of top spinning were never so revealed
to the gaze of an astOuished public. To
spin tops is ordinarily an Amusement for
children: but Mr. MatZui kikOoiiru aud
his sunny faced little daughter Otsunce
bring it up to the rank OF high art. Tops
thrown into the air with "a Jerk come down
upon the point of "a stick and spin away:
tops travel up an inclined plane, into
laCquered pagoda, spin around inside, come
out trough an opposite door. still spinning
and run down another incline, spinning
away, and keep on spinning; tops put on
man + shoulder spin about his back, around
his neck, down his arms, aud still spin: tops
thrown spinning up to the height Of twenty
feet fail upon the sharp edge Of sword.
blade and spin back and forth on the sleu-
der bridge with as little danger of falling or
stopping as the MOhammedan saint passing
INTO Paradise over similar footWay. once
or twice the top failed to obey the hand of
the master, whercupOn the latter abascd
himself before the people, and rose from his
knees 10 do still more wonderful things.
The Butterfly trick was piece OF kill
ful lcgerdemain, with a touch of poetry n
It, magician who answers to the cheer
full name of Zumidangawa Matzungoro,
standing behind table, performs this trick
by cutting from paper the image OF but
terily, and causing it to hutter about his
head in the breeze created by ian. A
bouquet OF flowers, held in one of the per.
formers hands, attracts the butterfly; pre-
sently other butterflies appear, and soon a
swarm movers about the nosegay. This
trick IS simple, but very graceful and beau
tiiul.
Two women then appeared. One was a
luggIer, the other musician. The latter
seated herself on the floor, with japanese
guitar--a queer instrument, compounded OF
"A zlthen and Il baujo-and III company with
4 dreadful drummer, who beat wooden
beetle and struck some ClashiHg brass and
another guitarist, who was very doeful,
kept up running accompaniment to the
uggle going on at the neighboring table.
The principal feat was the production from
a japaHned box OF an incaloulable quantity
Of silk ribbon, which, when ignitcd, eX.
ploded like piece of fireworks and changed
into huge Japanese umbrella, gorgeously
cOlored.
Later in the evening came three of the
most surprising feats Of the programme |
irst, eyolutions on an upright bamboo pole |
by All Right - secondly, performances |
on suspended bamboo, by Matzungoro |
thirdly, the Enchanted Ladder
The bamboo pole upon which the little |
Jap displayed his powers was twenty feet |
long, and supported only by the shoulder OF |
his father. The boy clambered to the top |
Of the pole, seated himself on Il space of |
two inches, swung off by one foot chung by |
a hand, tied himself into knots, and came |
united instantly, cried his war-cry, and |
then varied it with bit Of slang picked up
In California-thus: All right, YOU bet -
all the Japs below yelled "0w!n |
As they did at intervals through the even.
ing, at critical moments of the play.
The suspended bamboo fete was Matzun
by the ladder trick. This was clear def |
ance ofall natural laws, and ii was watched |
with breathless decision. The chief lying |
upon his back, supported with his feet a |
huge ladder, to which smaller one was
attached at right angle. Upthese ladders |
scrambled the little q All Right pausing |
occasionally to utter his scream, "0ww |
: Dw y and all the Japs below said |
= OE Coming down, the little fellow |
aid himself out on the crossladder and |
said " ow!' then he travelled eau
siously to the tip, hung by one foot. famed |
himself, and exclaimed " All rightly This |
seemed TO be an impossible trick, but it was |
performed without a blunder. At the end |
IF the Understanding and posturing, the |
igile little lad sprang UP cord to the roof |
lf the Academy, put pulley upon tixet /
,ope which SPAWNED the building, andHii |
loyn 10 the first row of boxes with immense |
lelocity.. He was caught by two men, upon |
he shoulder Of one of whom he perched, |
md went out OF sight in blaze Of glory
All right-0w n fa5f ~,
The perfect grace of these performers is /
noteworthy. All they do Is TO destroy our
aith in the laws of nature by the calm per. |
of feats apparently Impossible. |
The performer who engages the attention of |
he spectator at the moment Is always grave,
except the irrepressble young gentleman /
vhg.r lt.iY,