Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-11
THE HUMAN TUMBLER,
How the Circus Craze Drives
Boys into the Profession.
The Inner Secrets Of the Ring
and the Mysteries OF Somer
saults Explained by an
Expert.

vaulted over hve elephants, and was
brushing the sswdust from his knees,
"Anoroinary tumbler gers $50 q week;
an extraordinary one, $50. A leaper
who is able to turn u double, back
spiral corkscrew p%irouette over four
elephants on the ground, and n
elephant In mid. air, standing on q
tub, may command $75 a week, which
is increased to 500 when he does a
trspeze act"
Glow does one learn the business2'
81 will tell you how l learned 1t,
My experience, in part, is that of
many. When l was q green country
boy 1 dropped corn for six cents a day
and sold Wild blsckberries for three
cents q quart to get money to go to a
circus with. l looked forward to the
show for four months; talked about It
daytimes and dreamed of 1t nights. l
walked five miles into town TO see the
circus, and seven miles out Of town to
meet 1t. / went into the side show.
1 saw the anaconda, the bearded
woman, and the educated hog, which
could spell backwards and forwards
and was immensely better in figures
than 1 was. I went into the circus.
Such riding! was delirious with Joy.
When the trick mule Jane out l got
on his back, Just as the regulation
drunken man belonging to the circus
made q broad swsthe through the
crowd at the front door and fell over
against the ropes. I chung to the mule
like grim death. he buoked with me.
He backed me against the center pole.
He rolled over and over In the ring
and wiped up most of the sawdust with
me. The clown lifted me off, When
1 came to my senses the clown was
bending over me. I was In the Dress
Ing room Just as / am now"
He 6 q plucky chap" said q man
In tights. A half dozen other tights
and spspgles said I was Q plucky fell.
low, and then the frat man asked me
to travel with him. I had made ar.
rangements to go to sea with the cap.
tain of q canal boat. I broke my ro-
mantle engagement with the captain,
and when the circus left town l went
away, covered With plaaters, In the
band wagon.
"The man said he would take me
as an apprentice for four years. This
Is the regular time to serve at the
present day. Sometimes u take
apprentices. Sometimes performers
take them. The conditions are the
same. Circus actors invariably begin
to learn their art when children. 1t
is useless for any one to try to become
a performer after he has grown up. l
never knew such a one to succeed.
My teacher and patron gave me my
board and clothes, some spending
money, many whippings, and when l
had become a little proficient drew my
salary along with his own. I prao.
ticed an hour q day. Longer prac-
tice Is hurtful. I first learned to bal
anoe myself on my hands; then to turn
. back somersault; 1t being an easier
somersault than Q front one. Thenin
turn I learned f~ip.flaps, hand springs,
forward s~omersaults, rows of forward
s~omersaults, be edward somersaults In
rows, progressive and retrogressive
flip.flsps and twister combined. This
feat belongs to- cross tumbllng, the
most difficult kind, Not every per-
former does It. A flip, flap Is turned
by throwing yourself on your hands
on the very spot your feet were o mo.
ment before and then s~pringipg to an
upfight position. To throw yourself
en- your hands q yard or 40 from where
you stand 10 a 'lob.gob.' Only anna.
teurs do It. A professional can turn
twenty. four flip flaps In succession on
q space ak inches square.
"Ittook me two years to learn the
routine Of tumblipg and five years to
become proficient. Inever lost prao.
tice for a single day. In winter I per.
formed my feats every afternoon In
the circus barn."
SIS 1t hard to turn q summersault
over five elephants"
SIT requires great nerve and entire
self confidence. If a man loses his
self-confidence he will never do 1t.
Sometimes we fail because we do not
strike the spring board right ; some.
times because w do not take the right
step. l never knew any accident to a
tumbler more serious than q eprain or
the breaking of his arm. / have no.
ticed that short men make better ar
lists than tall ones, and that alertness
is a greater requisite than strength.
When the men run down to the spring
board the the least skilful tumbler al.
ways comes first, a less skilful second,
and 80 on; the beat tumbler comes
last"
"Is 1t possible for q OF eyed man
to turn q summersault over five ele-
phsntsl"
"Emphatically, no."
"Are any performers trying to learn
to turn the triple summersaultl"
"Yes. 1t has already been done,
but never satisfactorily. tits impos'
sible to get command Of the third
somersault. An expert performe,
sometimes hits upon 1t by accident,
but 1t Is W sure. In the thirc
somersault one whirls around three
times as fast as he does In the frst
one and 1t is only by chance that he
may strike on his feet or keep on hi
feet when he does strike. In
double somersault you 60 round twicI
as fast the second time an you do tn,
first"
SIS the art of tumbling developing2'
"We nov turn a double back som
ersault from u mans hand. A few
years ago only one somersault wa
turned In this way. Half our art con
sists in the grace with which we d,
our feats. The style of the tumble
Is n OF the principal points on which
he is judged by professionals. NJ
two tumblers do the same thing In thu
same manner. For Instance, one mar
| haotpR n round.nH With opa bad a,