Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-15
AN oLD-rIME SNOWMAN.
The Veteran Levi North Interviewed
The Sswdust Arena or
Forty Years Ago.

New York Tribrne.
Just of Fulton, In Jay street,
Brooklyn, Thomas Dent keeps an
English chop-house which he calls the
PEnuix Jun, for the reason, as he ex-
plains, that the original establishment
was burned In "the great FIRE of 1847,"
Brooklyn, 1t Seems, has had It's great
fire once, as New York and Boston
and Portland, and even such q modern
town as Chicago have had theirs,
This locally famous chop house and
several predecessors In various local
tiles appear to have risen, metaphors.
o,lly speaking, from the ashes of tho
1S47 establishment. Mr.. Dent aud n
large collection of pictures of racing
scenes aud sporting characters and
portraits of actors more or less noted
ct one time, and now most II not all
forgotten appear to have beon the
only survivors and relics of the origi.
nal house.
Among the more re ,ent additions to
his collection, and one which the old
host of tho Pboaix appears to take
much pride in, Ia q small and some
what faded picture of a young and
diminutive man dressed In tights,
posing in the most light and airy style
on q broad pad upon the bsck o. a
~partl-colored horse which Is cavorting
at the break.neck speed still to DO seen
In the circus ring. The figure is
graceful al we'll as small, and the face
10 smooth and almost girlish. The
legend below, carefully written by
some master of ~penmanship, gives the
engraving it's chief interest. 1t Is as
follows: "Mr. Levi North, as no ap.
peared before Louis Philippe, tho
king of the French, and the royal
! family, Paris, June 81, 1916. Pre-.
uented by MI. Rivers, stage mana.
ger"
An old actor of renown and III old
reporter of Tho Tribune were coming
the picture q few days ago while sip
plug their ole, aud were commenting
!, on the subject of 1t. Both had seen
Levi NorIh when they were mere
boys, and when he was at the height
of his popularity as ''the great and
, daring bareback RIDER" etc. C.lcu.
lating back dates they discovered tina.
y they must have seen him before the
' date of 1845 on the picture. While
f they were thus commenting the door
D Of the Phoenix inn opened and a
small figure, that of an old man, but
Y whose grey hair wac the only evidence
of his age, walked In and passed by
3 them to ~ table on the opposite side
r Of the room. His entrance did not
disturb their calculations, which cul.
minated ia the remark of the actor
s that the subject of tho picture, if
] alive, must o be quite al old
a man.
"What ever became of him2' asked
the reporter OF Mr.. Dent.
:. "he Ia alive and well," said MIR.
|, Dsnt, smiling, land that Ia he just
behind you" he added, pointing to
the little old mar who had Just en-.
> tered. 1ntroductions followed, lead
. ing TO an informal talk about North
: and tho picture, and about ~clrcuses
generally of the last generation and
the present day. North Is now nearly
: 20 years old, but does not look over
DO, and o with the elasticity of
40. he lives quietly In Brooklyn,
= where he was born, and daily visits
bis friend Dsnt. He has been retired
from the circus business for some
> years, but was actively engaged In 1t
as boy and man, and as tumbler,
clown, rider, and manager Tor forty.
. years.
Tho engraving naturally led him
Into his frat "reminiscences. II was
performing with Rivers American
, circus In Paris" he said, land had
some reputation-which reached the
!, kings ears-as a graceful rider. That
style was the rage then; were 'pouers'
In those days-regulsr Oscar Wildes
. on horseback. The king wished to
see tho circus. He didn't come to the
|, circus, however, but had the circus
! como to him. There was q large rid
ing school at Neuilly, where the king
had his summer r%esidencs-it was de-
stroyed three years after I was there
in the revolution of 1848 The school
was located In tho park, which was
most extensive and beautiful, running
for miles along the bank of the Seine
and including some of the Islands In
the utream. Oh! 1t was a lovely place.
He had the circus give exhibitions be-
fore him In this rlding, school. / tell
{ you they did things up In style there.
l had q tent for q dressiug.room which
was as big as the usual drsssing.room
OF the entire company. It wal fur
D nished with large mirrors and a dress
Ing case, and there were hankies In
livery to walt on me and hand me Ices
and wine between the acts. MY tent
was some distance from the riding.
s,hool, scross the beautiful, smooth,
grassy lawn, and even the pathway
between the tent snd school was laid
with carpet for me to walk on. They
treated Us royalty, / tell you. / fell
during the perfOrmsnoe-the mare
shy ing at the music as / did my back
ward somersault-sad the queen sent
! her " surgeon to attend me-"
"You did suoh acts In those days as
the somersault on horseback asked
the reporter.
II WAS the first who ever accom-
piiahed IT," wa tho reply. Goa! we
! had dartng fssts ia those days as we'll
an mercy grGoslul posiugs. There
are very few If tho daring acts of to-
day which we're not dOne forty-aye!
sixty years ago. l have never seen a
more daring or successful bareback
rider chan old man Hunter was away
blcS In the twentles, when l was q
snail boy and whom I cav before 1
joined the procaslion. He did ell the
really difficult acts which the best of
them do now. We hear a great deal
said OF the double Bomerssult nova