The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1874-05-21
THE BIG SHOW.
The kind Of q Thing Barnum 10
0oing to Travel With this Sum

The kind Of Thing Barnum 10
0oing to Travel With this Sum
mOr.
In the circus sense, the opening OF
Barnum's Roman Hipodrome last
night doubtless justified the manage
rial prediction that it would be the
event of 1874. Everybody who had
stared with amazement at the enor-
nous structure spreading itself SO
RAPIDLY over the entire block between
Madison and Fourth avenues on
Twenty-sixth street, desired to gee
into it when it was opened. Other
subsidiary and preliminary events OF
1874 had undoubtedly increased the
desire. A private rehearsal last week,
attended only by about 5000 people,
but to which at least $4,000 desired
to be admitted. was one of those
events. A very pompous and vo.
luminous street parade OF several
thousand horses and jockeys was an
other. In truth, the sagacious board
Of directors of the Roman were not at
all chary in the use and accumulation
Of events. Their scheme was foun-
ded on the well established fact that
the Americans like big things. and to
borrow the forcible if not faclnatlng
language ofthe Roman directory, they
determined to give them the biggest
thing on earth, adhering strictly to
the matter of circuses, Roman and
otherwise, such as the hippodrome
undoubtedly is. Its seating capacity
is modestly stated to be $4,000. 1T
eGcloses place inside the track that
is eighty four feet broad and go feet
long, and the track itself, laid out in
an ellipse, is one-fifth of a mile in
length. Rising nearly twenty feet
all around it are the seats for the
spectators, divided by grades Of up
ho!stery into gallery, dress circle, par
quet, &c. Filled as it was last night
by an assemblage of 10000 or $4,000
persons and brilliantly lightedby hun
dreds of gas-jets, the scene was OF
uncommon interest and beauty. As
already described in these columns,
the interior of the hippodrome IS not
laid out as circus. there is no rlng.
the track taking its place, and the
oval space closed within il, beng
laid out III a parterre with fountains
aud statuary, also serves for the ex-
hibition Of feats of agility and
strength. 1t will thus be seen that
the the entertainments must necessa-
rily be in great part composed OF
spectacular professions and races. In
such the bill last night obennded.-
The opening pageant was called - hc
Congress OF Nations" and consisted
of snowy procession, which was
constantly augmented until il entire
Nv filed the arena, making All cnliyen
ing and exceedingly picturesle SPEC
tacle. Probably no Theatre exhibi
ton ever reached such magnitude
as this. Measured by the running
yard it was simply stupenduous.-
England, France, Rome, Germany
Turkey, Italy, Egypt, Russia, China
India and the United States woun'
in fantastic groups with soldiers. drag
ons, chariots, slaves, camels, elephants
horses and music round the broa
pathway. This swarming plctnr
finally overflowed the spacious tract
1t dwindled as it wound. Doors w,r
opened som ewhere into which drag
ons, princes, camcls, slaves, and eve
His Holiness Himself dropped. an
presently the whole phantasnaeori
had disappeared. No such movement
providing work for he unemploye'
masses has been brought to our no
tice this winter. Its glitter. it
Kaleidoscope variety, and its infni,
4 of costumerv was received a.
deserved, with much wonder am
considerable applause. When 1t Ia
slowly wound itself away. the enfeI
tainment proper was opened hy
gvmnastc act. Mon. Loyal, thc p.
former, was driven INTO she arena
an open carriage bv Inverted drir,
and deposited near his trapcze, an
after concluding his gymnastics W,
as handsomely driven back. The
came the races. Up to this tin
the vast audience ha
looked on with amazemcl
and qualification. Now IL stlrre
itself. Six women ride into view
They make an easy start. and 9
tearing around the track i'll the hv'
hest style. The audience is excite
1t shouts aud claps its hands, an
presently it rises IN its seats. -.
i, is all over shortly. Monaey race.
a Roman standing race on two horse
by four riders--Stevens, North, Soul
and Hogle; more gymnastics; n
man chariot race by three ladies', on
Of them meeting with Sigh, ace
dent by the breaking of a pole; fla
race by six English jockeys; an ele
phant trot; and then scene rcpr,
senting the chase and kssoing {
wild cattle by Signor Leon, Don II
dro and Comanchc chief. Tn
part of the exhibition, although gei
uine enough, was not pleasant. Tn
Texan long horned cattle were not i
the best of spirits, and tn" chase wa
somewhat cruel Indeed before
was over the audience began to hi
In the huIdle race which ;ull3wr,
six women mounted on hunters wer
cordially received.
There were two hurdles four fee
high of brush. The horses took thel
smoothly, but when on the secon
field one of the riders fell, and wa
dragged several feet by the animal
Instantly the audience rose to It's fee
again. and it was not until she ha
been carried out of sight by the at
tendanrs that it regained It's compo
sure sufficiently to set down again
The remainder of the programme
consisted of comic race by tel
monkeys on Shetland ponies; a Ro
man chariot race, four horses abreast
some prodigious feats of strength b,
the Hercules, NJ. Soigncr; and a sta!
hunt with hounds.
Altogether the entertainment wa
remarkable one for variety, for dar
ing, for snowy pageantry, and 70
| that L;nd &C ;nt.pvo ,b v;si.,1 a,tio,