Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-03
CIRCUS
Tho Curious Peope Who Follow 9
Show and What They Do.


"'Peanut Jim'w was 30 called because
he could take out an eight.qusrt bas.
ket of peanuts and come back with
$l9. Bahama Ben,' KID Barton,
'Fri.ky' Coleman, Canada Jack, and
'Brummagen BIZ we're fly workers.
b ,hams Ben's speciality was bananas"
The speaker was a retired candy
butcher" who now lives ia Fifth ave.
nue.. and was disguised rs a prince at
the Vanderbilt ball-at least such was
the "tsffy" he gave an innocent re.
porter of the New York Morning
Journal. He continued: The candy
butchers in a circus never work the
bottom row of seats. Country bump.
kins who easily become their pray
always get up In the top benches.
They do this because they are afraid of
| the butchers and want to hide from
them. The latter move around on the
top seats, and when they find a YER.
dant fellow they fill his girls lap with
oranges, candy, popcorn and fans.
If the girl says she doesn't want them,
they ask her why she took them, and
make the young man pay thirteen or
fourteen prices for the rubbish.
Strawberry lemonade men make two
barrels of the delicious beverage which
they sell Of 10 cents worth of tartaric
acid, 5 cents worth of aniline and two
lemons. They make $50 a day each,
When they have saved capital enough
they buy a snake, hire a bearded
woman, and start a side show. Bar
mum keeps two detectives to watch out
for travelling swindlers who follow cir.
cuses and usually work in connection
with the side show There are
four of them in a gang. One, who
looks pretty solio, is called the doc
tor" Another, who has a sedate a16
d'guifed bearing, is known as the
"judge." A third Is called the "set.
tier" and the fourth the ssdealer.
They get In town early In the morning
They pretend to be business men. On'
of them approaches q resident Of tn,
place and says:
whats land worth2'
Glands pretty good around here
Old man Jones has some to sell
elbows money!
moneys tight. Old MIR. Brown
has so, 600 In the bank to lend"
If MI. Brown is old and week APT
} in his second childhood, he receives
business call from the "judge," VIII
treats him to wine end cigars, and 10
: vites him to 60 to the circus. The
60 into the side.show and find th
"doctor" winning heavily at bancc
The Judge has got the old mans conf
dence completely. He asks the yer
cradle relic to join him In bettin
against the game. The two will pu
up 81, 500 each. The Judge has hi
money 10 his pocket and the old ms
may get his out of the bank. The oil
fellow rushes down to the bank, TO
lowed by the Gender" He come
: back on q dead run, so sure Is he
winning. The judge and he lose. .
cspper who has advised the old ma
to bet actually faints away. Th
' Judge cries like q child. He says tbs
1 1t will ruin his social standing If an
3 one finds out that he has bet money
Q and begs the old nan never to tell i
I He Is 80 h~eartbroken at having &C
: vised the old man to play that tn
latter forgets his own losses and syn
pathizss with the judge.
The judge says he feels culpable 9
, having innocently drawn his frien
: into an unfortunate loss, and II til
old mar will say nothing about tn
occurrence, will meet him In two weei
l and pay back the money out of his ow
Q pocket. In four cases out of five til
Victim does Just as he Is hidden. Til
swindlers leave a man behind VIII
watches him for a week. In som
country places they close the ban
whenever q circus comes to town
Q the depositors can't draw their money
The banco men won't touch a guy
for 800. They take q man with M
less than 81, 900.
8 "The genius of the show" said
Q veteran circus man, sis the advsnc
agent. He knows every town, ham
let, roads, school house, countr
t blacksmith shop, and country mill |
8 the United States and Canada. Il
t Is acquainted with every country editc
and his peculiarities. He know
whether the baptists or the methodist
are the strongest In any particular vi
= lsge He knows when to spring tn
l. 'Behemoth of Holy Writ on the ma
y tives, and when to advertise the sacre
# crocodile. Heis able to steer q cIror
= for a whole season without enoounte.
n ing a rain. He actually forecasts tn
weather. In winter he sits in o lit,
l. room with thousands of books pile
up around the walls, and studies sts
t~tstics. He gets the highest sals,
paid to any n connected with Il
q circus. 1t Is $40. 900 q year. He h,
been fifty years In the business"
Is There Is an sgent at the court of Il
IS king Of Slam trying to buy a viii
elephant. He expects to get the an
NAL mart aprinu II al