Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-14
From the Chicago Times.

Jokes Are Not PaIatable-Fight. IN
College Towns.
From the Chicago Times.
There has been many man shot Just as
LOngmire was. | know fifty cases like It.
Every summer some one gets killed that way"
The remark was made in a restaurant last even
Ing. There were three at the table-a reporter
for the Times the speaker, and his friend The
reporter listened quietly, and soon learned
enough to convince him that the man possessed
a good deal of Information about circus fights
Introducing himself the reporter desired to
learn the mans story. He was communion
tive.
II was Just reading" said he "a letter from
Billy Cole aGd Il set me thinking about men
being killed with crcuses I've been with
shows many year: used to travel with cid
Dan Rice and Uncle John Robinson and Fore
pau9h, and I've seen many a tough battle
between the people and the shOwmen.
Nhen L joined they used 10 hire canvas
men as much for their ability To fight as To
work. They rad more trouble then than
they do now-kind OF quoted down of late
years Shows were small and men with
them few. and the people used TO get the
best OF them; but that's all gone They
carry too Uany men for them nowadays
These rows generally took prace in small towns,
and there We're places wherea light was expected
COhUes. n Y, cldtOwn. Me: Paterson. n j.:
paWtuckct. Il. / Youngstown Ohio: Fall River
Mass: SteuHtHV He. Ohio; CHAMPAIGN Ill: Mex
leo, No, Brrm.n- ham and Scranton. Pa and in
fact every coa-min.nT or irnn-wOrking town in
the country. In these places there We're gangs
OF ToughS who started out in search of a
fight when show came that way Down
south the rows always start from one or two
men having trouble. and OF hers taking sides
The di>tni bance comes in two ways so tn speak
there : either a row between the docrkeaper
OF some other man with the show. and one or
two citizens. or else gam goes down to clean
The show out Now. the mtn with the show are
just like family. all together. from owner
down. and the tent is home to them as it were.
Nuen thousands of people come every day. it's
noj strange tiidJ some quarrelSOme ones come
anon, tuem. Men will get drunk and bring I'D
al the door and there's trouble They want to
90 In iTee. or sneak in under the canvas or talk
To }he men. ctnYaSInan watching the tent is
lust like man watching his home. He'll fight
In INFINITE II the outsider cuts the canvas. and
u crowd comes to quarrel he will yell. Hey,
Ruhe. That's the circus raying cry and look
ont for war when you hear it. Almost every
nan about show. no matter what he is doing.
VIII start and rush to the place that cry comes
from: ami he viii take any weapon he can lay
his hands on. TOO. Sometimes the parties that
cause the trouble are knocked down. aud the
matter ends. and sometimes others take their
part AID the
FIGHT LASTS A LONG TINE.
I've heard them yell Hey, RubeI' many a
time and seen as bad fighting as did in the
war | with the old Van Amburg party
when they did tough work i tell you. There
was the fight at Steubenyille Ohio in 1851.
when they killed three of the outsiders. and
lost man in Murfreesboro. Tenn when John
liEs got killed. In 1888 ar Toledo. boy tried
to get under the canvas and Snowman struck
him. Some one raised the CRY OF murder and
there was fight aud finally they arrested the
whole show. In 1865 we had it hot at Rock
land. Ne. A party forced themselves into the
side->hOw. and tried the same game at the cir
Gus door They We're drunk Billy Simpson
The boss canyasman. had men at the big show
door ready for them. and the mayor read
the rot act. and said he wOuld deputize the
shOwmel to keep order The gang thought
they could get in any way and at
last some one was hit and the cotillon COM
mencrd 1t was fine party to tackle and the
way that gang was done up was n caution
Seven cOrpSes, / think. and only one of them
belonging To the snow. When we got to CohOes
We bad another just like it. There were tough
men with shows then-the Townsend bows and
the Bakers-quict fellows that never looked for
a rOv. but did terrible work when they rot
In one As general thing. in the middle and
New England states sticks stones and fists
Were the weapons. and few men were killed but
down south. where it's knife or q gun thinrs
Were different There's been many man buried
In ring bank. can tell YOU. Why a ring
They got drunk and went to the show.
raised row and got done up. 10 Pater-
son, y J., about 1858. Dick Sands was told the
gang was going to tear his show to pieces. so
ne goes over to New York and gets Tom
H!er. the fighter. who then kept the Punch
house IN the BOwery. Tom got gang. and
when the fight began il was a sumner. liver
had about twenty men from the B0werv and
Some friends in Paterson. besides and they
went at II with will There's never been q bio
.fisrx ha Il ..
Why, that one at Jacksonville Texas. with the
Robinson show in 1873. Moves show had fipht
There once and four were killed. and the Orton
snow got cut to pieces there. A bad town and
Dad men. and circuSes don't show at night
there. one drunken fellow goes into the Robin
son show and seats himself on the ring bank.
ana they threw him out bodily. He went I'D
town and got gang. They were going to run
tie snow out OF town The town marshal told
the men 10 protect their property and they did
The gang waited around till evening. and when
they were loading the show on the ears they
commenced. Gil Robinson asked Uncle John
what 10 do. and the old man says: Let 'ern
swear all they want 10. but if they shoot rive
'eni TIE best you've got 4 shot was fired. and
they "ent ar it. The show
Had ABOUT FIFTY CARBINEs.
And they were In good hands. The ffgit bp,an
about haf-Past three O'Clock in the afternoon
aha lasted uatl eleven at night They CHARGED
ahu fought IN the streets and about the cars
anu t"enty-three We're killed and more than
nifty wounded 1t was q regular battle. The
SHOW lost seven men. They finally got the
Tram away. but the people undertook to saw
down railroad bridge just out of the town
As the train passed it a yOlley gas fired and one
man killed The next day they were at Crockett
theG Iluntsyille} Houston and Galveston Tho
Authorities took the show bills and sent ont
warrants fOr all the men whose names were ON
then. hut they were lost by the sheriff and
that Ii1ht Robinson got his people and the most
variable part Of his show on board a boat
ant went TO New Orleans. leaving a GOOD
deal OF property behind him and giving nm a
4i4F%--0 towns where he was billed to appPar
The show has not been in Texas since At SOM
trstt ONO. III lo5i Haruum 4 Howe's circus had
IL VITA railroad lah@rerS, twenty being killed
amon@ them several women. 10 ali started from
drunken woman trying TO take ten children
INTO ne show without tickets. Seth B. Howe's
snow mad n-ht at Toronto in that same year
anu they threw the cages into the lake and
burned the canvas The rot act was read There
was no death but plenty OF blood In 1851. an
No0nan. Ga a young fellow shot At an elephant.
the yelled Hey bube, aud seven men and one