American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-04-17

18th. 1.-THE Great Roman HIRpodroms wi will re-
and the stock includes $50 horses and ponies,
besides elephants, camcls, English stag and
stag hounds, trained ostriches, lions, bears,
tigers and other animals. For the exhibition
of the menagerie and the various shows, dis
plays and performances connected with the
enterprises, two enormous tents, each 500
feet in length and 800 in width, have been
provided, one of which will be kept in
advance in order that no time may be lost
by delaying in making ready. The question
OF transportation by rail-a very serious one
was solved by the construction of $50 cars
| twice the usual length, built expressly for
this purpose. Among them are number Of
horse palace cars, constructed with COM
mOdious stalls, in which the horses can lie
down and rest while on the journey and arrive
at the place of exhibition quite fresh for the per-
| formance. Besides moving the tents, animals
and all other material in these Hippodrome
| cars, berths will be provided in those devoted
to the personnel Of the company for nearly all
the employees. Besides the great exhibition
tents, and stable tents for the horses and
| other animals. There Is also attached to the
company a large corps of blacksmiths and
| carpenters and builders, some Of whom pre-
cede the show several days, to make ready for
the exhibition by preparing the ground, erect
ing seats, ETC. The dressing room tents alone
will cover more ground than an ordinary
circuA
ITO move such an enormous establishment
without hitch or delay requires the employ
ment of clear-headed, practical men at the
arranged as to move with the smoothness and
precision of cIock-work. At the appointed
hour the canvas will go up, the street process
sion will move, the performs;nee will CON- tn,
cmptied, everything will be packed up by those
detailed for the work, and the caravan, with
out the loss of q minute, will be on the move
toward the next place Of exhibition.
Thn 0f
| varied and attractive. Donaldson will make
| daily balloon ascensions with car large
enough to contain a company Of five or six
persons, at a cost of about $500 a day for this
feature alone. Then there will be the Ro-
| man races in chariots driven by 'Amazons;'
the liberty races in which forty wild horses
| are turned loose in the arena, in exact imita-
| ton of the famous carnival races OF Rome
and Naples; standing races in which the
| riders stand on bareback horses; hurdle races
for ladies; fiat races by English, French and
| American jockeys; besides camel, elephant
| and ostrich and monkey races. Another
| feature will be the exhibition Of Indian life
| on the plains in which the actors will be
| scores Of Indians, with their sQuaws and pap
pooses. They will put up genuine Indian
encAmpment, hunt real buffaloes, give war
| dances, pony races, foot races against horses,
| exhibitions Of daring horsemanship, lasso-
| throwing. A band Of Mexican riders, mount
| ed on famous mustangs, will make pretend
| ed attack on the Indian camp and give a
| mimic but faithful representation Of the
wild scenes enacted on the Western frontier.
| The English stag hunt will be an exact pict.
| ure of the sport itself, with company Of $50
| men and women in full hunting costume, and
| large pack of English stax-hounds. There
| will also be many other interesting and at
tractive features, the mere mention OF which
would make a small volume.
"Mr. Barnum certainly deserves great credit
| for an enterprise which is calculated to afford
| a vast amount Of innocent, popular amuse-
ment; and although this gigantic venture
of
present too many attractions not to DO gem
| orally sustained"
Amazing as this exhibition seems from the
description given by Ha,per's, we can say,
| to be introduced into the travelling Roman
| Hippodrome more interesting and instructive
| than any other. 1t is the great procession
known as 1.-The Congress of Monarchs." The
| Har1cr's omitted mentioning this because,
| probably, they supposed Mr.. Barnum would
| not dare incur the expense OF transporting
| such an enormous affair through the coun-
try. But he will do SO, and here is brief de-
| scription of this dazzling and bewildering
| exhibition, as given by New York contem-
porAry:
"Of all the gorgeous pageants the world
| greatest, and how the surprising genius Of
even Barnum could produce it Is q wonder.
The costumes are true to life, and many OF
them are genuine, having been procured d.
| rect from the nationalities which they repre-
sent. The individuals employed to personate
the historical characters have the most faith
| full resemblance to the originals in face and
physique. Each nation finds its special por-
iraiture in some kind Of triumphal car, brill
iantly bedecked with appropriate flags, en-
blems, colors and intricate devices, and all
sorts of characteristics in the way OF pecul-
lar uniforms, animals, sOldiery, attendants
and music. Scores Of glistening gilded chari-
OTIS illumine the arena with halo OF luster,
as it were, and the display of royal splendor
is far more imposing and impressive than
words can describe thrilling the auditor with
unspeakable amazement and admiration.
"As the name of the grand Congress implies,
1t is a stupendous gathering of the Monarchs
OF the universe, bringing in vivid view the
Of tie past nine centuries, eliminating in an
affecting finale SO touching that it must
awaken the emotions Of stole. Her Majesty,
the Queen of England. heads the glittering
followed by a long ancestral line, the NOTABLE
ity and richly-uniformed "life guardsmen."
Then France, in the person of Napoleon the
First and his famous Field Marshals; Ireland,
Rome, Russia, Germany, Italy, Turkey, India,
Japan, China, and SO on, until all the Mon
archs and Courts of the entire world pass In
review, winding up like jewel-besprinkled
coil around the continuous circle. To look
| upon this beautiful historical procession in
all its grandness and greatness is equivalent
to sitting in full view of the courts of all the
earth, so truthfully realistic are the bcwilder-
ing pictures revealed in rapid succession.
Such q dazzling half mile Of solid gold,
Jewels, silver, precious stones and tin
sci could only be produce after years OF
preparation and the expenditure of half a
dozen completeness. Amy attempt at imita-
ton on the part of ambitious and unscrupu-
lous showmen for years to come will result
in the most inglorious failure. None other
than the prince OF Showmen' himself
would undertake it, and none other than the
great and irrepressible Barnum could achieve
so signal O triumph"
This entire exhibition is advertised to ex-
hibit in New England in May, New York, etc,
in June, Chicago early in July, Ohio, Illinois
and Michigan in July and August.
1t is due to our readers that we inform them
that Mr.. Barnum announces that certain i'm
posters in Cincinnati have copied his bills,
posters, cuts and advertisements, and with a
few broken-down circus horses and wagons
will precede his exhibition in the West, and
by announcing the Great Roman Hippodrome
will attempt to make the public believe
that it is his unrivaled establishment.
He cautions the public against being
thus deceived, and reminds them that
il would be impossible with any amount
of money to organize and equip even . sem
blancc Of his establishment without q prepa-
ration of several years. The Cincinnati Daily
Enquirer OF Feb. ~, 1875, says that this pre-
tended "HippOdrome" Is simply the "wreck
Eastern and Great Southern Circus and Me-
nagerie combination, which exploded at Sell
ma Ala the 10th of last November, o num-
Der of horses having to be sold to pay the
expenses of shipping the show to this city,
where the proprietors left number of their
emDloyes unpaid and penniless, and vamoscd.
Who the real proprietors Of the business