Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-15

don't think It will v 9 be ccom
plished. 1t Is impossible fer q man
to calculate when to double up and
then to strsighteu himself out In or.
Ger to land with safety In such q long
flying leap.
II joined the circus" he continued,
In answer to a leading question,
when was IL years old; that was In
1875 1t was In 1rooklyn here-or
rather 1t was q little distance out of
Brooklyn, at the Military garden,
which was situated where the new
court house now Is, and occupied about
ell tho space now bounded by BoeIum,
Joralemon, and Fulton, and 1 guess,
Court street, too, though there were
no streets there then. 1t was consid-
cred a long walk then from Brooklyn
out to the Military garden. The cir
Gus was Howe, Quick & Mead's, and
some of the han s saw me tumbling
about o0tside the show AMI called
howe's attention to me. My mother
s~pprenticed me to him under my
threat to run away II she didn't, and
In fifteen months after ward l was q
rider, at IL years of age. IL wac q
hard life, but 1t made me tough-as
you zee.
mo, c%lrcuses and m~enagerles were
not big affairs In those days like they
are now, We didn't have Groves of
horses and herds of elephants, MOI
three rings and three tents. We
played In Military garden In tho open
air; and when travelling In the south
1t was customary to show In the yard
attached to the inn at which we put
up. Menageries In those days con.
sisted of on elephant, a lion or tiger,
and two or three monkeys, but only
the monkeys were plenty enough to
duplicate In one show. There was o
big elephant In those days namod
Columbus. He was so big that 1t took
a stock company to own him. Menag.
cries and clrcuses were distinct organ.
izat!ons In those days. The aouth was
a great field for both before the war.
l have played with q circus for two
months In Columbia, s. O. Such q
place ss Milledgeville, Ga, was good
for n week or ten days, and any conn-
try village was q good two days stand.
The country people, black and white,
for scores Of miles around used to
to a circus In those days.
at is the magnitude of Barnum's
show which Is Its biggest attraction.
there is nothing particularly new;
only variations of old acts. 1t Is the
duplication, duplication and all which
brings out the Immense crowds. Peo.
pie will 60 to see q circus with four
Rugs when thoy wouldn't 60 to q
show with one; and a Oingle elephant,
Jumbo though 1t be, wouldn't Of him.
self attract people who will 60 to see
a whole herd of them Of all ages and
sizes. Riding six horses isn't any
more difficult than riding two, but II
sounds bigger. I have no doubt that
B,rnum's expenses are So, 500 n day,
but l doubt If they ere 81. 500 Show.
men must be al!o we'd a considerable
leeway for lying. It's no doubt q big
show.
"There never was q circus which
succeeded which did not have eaues-
trlan performapc %, and never will,
It's my belief. 1t Is tho charm Of the
sawdust ring, and when you haven't
got performing horses and riders you
had better call your show a museum
and play mermaids and throe.headed
women and niger Indians ON the
public"
North had previously explained that
he had just come from the "Blg In.
dian Wigwan," q mongrel entertain
ment of educated monkeys, trained
dogs and swarthy braves, and other
brutes, and the reporter fancled thit
last opinion was IN expression of hit
contempt for any sort of performanc,
that had nothing Of the centaur Inca
msnts about It,"