Wilmington daily commercial., 1872-06-03
e,,arles Of tho .Aorobats, Gym
nasts, RldeTs, go.

Tha Nav York Mail recently Published the fol-
,,,yinr interesting article ON the circus buii-
ness;
M the men not performers who receive high
ia,ias there are the head teamsters, OF whom
1Iere are generally three or four. Each one will
nave charge Of one Of the dlnerent sets OF nor
ses. one draws the performers baggage and horse
trsnninRs; another, the canvas, ,centre-poles, guy
nnas and Chains; another, the ring curb tools,
.,akes chains and miscellaneous material.
THESE teamsters are their own hostlers, never
trnsting the care OF any Of their stock TO un-
iThe boss seat man has the charge Of putting
nm tbe seats and is responsible not alone for
their being secure and comfortable, but also Tor
their taking down udatorage in the proper wa
'". All the wagons attached to the concern
sre number cd and each vehicle carries precisely
s,,o sane load 10 day that 1t did yerterday-not
,n.rely the same nUntber-of seats boards, or
chains, or ropes, or the same toelglt OF canvas
mr. hAgrage, sut precisely the same Identical pie
c,a Mere not this strict Observance OF order
csriied out the whole affair would fall in sin
Ola day into inextricAble disorder and confusion
The leader OF the band is another boss, and
ia necessarily man OF some talent. Good bands
,nn.t be employed. as q show is very often judg-
al by ills music in the days procession, and
Moor performance Of few stale tunes by mea-
prs half dozen or or 30 OF Wretched "blowers
,il keen more money ont OF the tent in week
than mi ght suffice to pay the Aaries OF BET Of
,lnud musicians for the entire season.
There is a head q Dom, who has in charge the
ring horses belonging to the management, and
who has to see that they are mt and ready at the
nroper times TO enter the ring. This is very
nneient office from the boss hostler, who has the
care OF the draught or baggage horses. Star
nnrIormerv, most Of them own their own horses
and carry their own servants, who attend to
their private horses themselves.
There IL boss harness man, who attends TO
the silver mounted fancy harness. and the
drnught harness. He must be good judge OF
work AZ repairs are constantly necessary. He.
with hls helpers, must also keep clean the man
ayers light wagons and the pony carriages, the
The repairer and the blacksmith are both per-
Auns Of some importance. They carry tools with
them and can usually manage any break down
not particularly serious. II they are compelled
to call in outside aid they must be capable OF su-
,pryisng the work and see that it is well and
Properly done aud for a reasonable price.
lnel comes the boss cGnyasman, whose duty
il il to lect the erection OF the tents al soon
Ar their locality has been decided on by the gem
.rsl manager: he also takes down the tents, at
tends to the slowing Of each load into its prop
ar wagon; dries, IL possible, his canvas il there
la. eeu rain; sees that all holes aud rips are
promptly meuded, and Is, in fact responsible
NOT only for the and safe keeping of the
tents, but for every palticular piece being ex-
.ctly where il is wanted when ii is wanted.
Tie boss ring man lays out the ring, OF the
curved, banked, leyelled, graded and put III
perfect order for the performances.
The property man has the care of all the par
GphernAliA, banners, trappings, dresses aud dec
uIatiOns belonging to the management. The
uIncIpal performers own their personal wand.
robe and of course take their own care of 1t.
The property man" has also to see that all
things needed fer the performances are ready
aid at hand, such as hoops, balloons, CATERS,
leallng bars, the scenery and tricks used in the
after pieces, etc.
Next come the watchmen, OF whom thsre are
two or more for the hotels and as many more
Tor the grounds at night (where the establish
nent remains more than one day) and Two fOI
the horses. These men have very responsible
trust, having in charge all the property Of the
company, and having TO watch against thieves,
who are always collected from miles around,
aud are ever ready to snatch up any and every
thing they can lay their hands ON.
Inc Treasurer ls constantly subjec to the
most barefaced attempts at imposItion aud
swindlug, aud requires rare combination ol
good qualities to get with his work easily
aid smoothly. He must be a trustworthy anc
quick accountant, and ~ he has to pay ali bills
winch he will not do until examination Of the
vouchers, and AS all his work must be done in
very few hours, he has generally two good as
sistAnts.
The ticket sellers is the most onerous bertl
in the entire business. II the treasurer has L
repel attempts at imposition (endeavors to ge
extra pay, or to get more than contract pnce
Or to get money without voucher on pretens,
the paper has been lost, etc. }, the ticket selle
has 10 be constantly on his guard against at
tempts at real, absolute robbery he must b'
good Judge of money, both bank notes ant
Hpoce, be instantaneous in his decisions qucl
aud prompt IN all his actions, courteous ant
genllemanly III his speech, and must be able 4
nand out tickets with one hand, make correc
change with the other, detect counterfeit none
with Ills eyes, listen to q score Uf orders wit
hlB OARS, and talk with hls lips to q dozen per
SONS at once, and do all these things at the Sam
time, and with the utmost rapidity for hours To
gether. He must never for AN instant get con
isued-he has to watch the money he takes an
the ticket hS gives, Bee tnat every man gets
right change and right tickets, and keep hi
temper against the most impudent lying Q
Ieckess rahcals who are always ready to swea
hlm out Of dollar or ticket, II mere swsarin
would do it. II there IL a counterfeit shinpla,
ter bogus half dollar, lead quarter or ii
sApence IN a town 1t Ii certain 10 lind it's wa
to the ticket sellers wagon. When refused, tn
same old fraud will be sent up again and agai
iOur OF hve times by different people until he
Obliged to stop 1t by threats OF arrest. In
HNlndle is often attempted by men who ca
themselves honest, and who probably are hoI
est, IN their dealings with everybody else, br
VINO, by some CURIOUS hitch IN their code
morality, have made up tnelr minds that 1t is L
sln to cheat Snowman.
All these head" or boss" men before mel
TONED have numerous and capable assistants
the mere common labOrers attached to q lars
SHOW are rcores in themselves, aud when, in a
dltiOn to tho mere wages, all expenses Of tran
porting, feeding, and looking after the smi
army are reckUned, it is easy to see where Il
money goes.
The pay OF circus performers is by no meal
commensurate with the risks they must son
Times run and with the years Of toll required
learn the business
FIRST class stock gymnasts and acrobats 6
fio TO SlOO week and their expenses Tor u
travelling season. First class riuerH, both m
and women, receive from @6U TO @l75 we
aud expenses (board and travelling expenses
uood ciowns, from S75 to SlOO. Ordinary
ueia and gymnasts, who are not STARED"
The bulls, get S25 to $50 per week Star equG
lHans, like James Melville, James Robinso
Ahd Robert Stickney, are paid 5000 to Il ,20U
month Tor personal services. They also recel
a large sum for their trained horses, and in t
Case VI Melville and Robinson, for the perfor
shces OF their children. Some of these p
iUIners are thrifty and become rich. PentlaI
Lately the clown at the Foui teenth street Clrcl
OWNS several valuable houses IN New York a
blOoklyn. Melville, the Australian rider, liN
III house OF his own in Thirty fourth sire
and Omns others in Sixth avenue James II,
msoh IL well OF, and now has circus OF
own Many others also have made fortuI
and lost them by investing in the same pre-
hous business.
lrlck horses are held at from 81 500 to ESQ.,
each by their owners this last sum, it is 50
naH