The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-01-20
Circus Hustlers.

ayes, it has been booming season for
some of the shows; but some of them,
on the other hand, have gone to pieces"
said well-known advance agent in
| Union Square the other day. You
see,'' he continued, 1.-THE big fish have
swallowed up the little fish and there
has been good deal of squirming"
But can you tell me what hustler
is, what he has to do with the services OF
circus?" queried the Star reporter.
"What do you know about hustler
young man?"
"Only this" said the reporter, dis
| playing the following advertisement
from sportive paper:
| VIVIAN rEO-Forty more first-cass bill-pos.
w tiers for United Shows We.have already
| secured seventy good men, but q; we antici-
| pate sixty days opposition this spring on the
sttrt, we want forty more reliable bill posters.
| Tley must be god wdr.workers, true to their
employers, hu Stlers, AMI rea ty, day or night for
any emergency; Not afraid to fight for their
their rights. Only those who are well-known
| bill-posters need apply We want no litho.
| graphers or program ners. To the right kind
will be paid. Want none but sober, reliable
| men. Consider two weeks silence respect
| full MIGHT'VE Apply Immediately to -.
Well, that is apretty bold advertise
ment," said the man of sawdust, ''but
hustlers' must be had, and dom know
OF amy better way of getting them. Peo-
| pie who go to circus shows in the city
have no idea of the trials we have to en-
counter in out-of-the-w country places.
Not only is there the competition of rival
| companies, but the countrymen, although
they will come any distance to see the
| show. seem to look upon the show peo-
| pie as their natural enemies outside of
the canvas. 1t is necessary, therefore,
for every company to carry with it
number of strong fellows. who, as this
| adTertisem ent says, are mot afraid to
tight for their side if it should become
necessary to protect their rights "
" You mean to say, then, that the cir
Gus companies carry fighters with them?"
"Of course. Why, when circus man
goes off to some of the out of the way
places in the Southwest he takes his life
in his han Is. Tody Hamilton used to
tell story of his adventures in town
somewhere in. Texas. The show had
large crowd at both the day and evening
performances, bat many negroes of the
vicinity had tried to force their way in
without paying. On being elected they
vowed vengeance. 1t was evident when
the time cams for striking the tents that
there would be trouble. The night was
ptchy dark and torches were lighted
outside the line of the tents. Then it was
seen that knots of negroes had gathered
and were watching the proceedings with
snlen expression. The circus men knew
wat was coming and prepared for ac-
tlon. A tent was never struck much
quicker than that. 1t was folded, packed
and placed in the wagons, when there
wasa movement among the negroes. The
circus men knew that the moment for ac-
ton had come. Almost in the twinkling
of an eve the torches were extinguished,,
an in the stiffness OF the night came the
sound of the tent men as they descended
uD)n the negroes heads. Each tent
MIN had selected the negro he was to
attack, and silently and swiftly the work
was done, and the circus moved out of
town before dayhreak. Toly used to
say that. six negroes were left dead on
the ield, and that the show people were
not pro 'ecuted, because it would have
been impossible to have identified the
killers. 1t was certainly case of the
lives OF the circus people against those
OF the negroes, and the circus people did
not propose TO take any chances. This
was one Of the most serious circus fights
that has DC ;urrel in some time, but every
season there are greater or less mum
Der OF these encounters which never oet
into the papers; and the show folk have
learned to go prepared. So you see.
young man, a hustler is very useful
element in the interior economy of
circus. IN Y Star.
The sporting fraternity of Paducah,
XIV. winel dinel and linnized a follow,