New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1884-12-03
SOMETHING ABOUT SHOWS
What it Costs to Equip and Maintain a
FirSt-C!ass Circus on the Road
Talk With an Old Snowman.

est democratic institutions the world
has vet SEEM said an old Snowman to
reporter yesterday, land | do not be-
licve we shall ever meet with anything
that can place people on more Of an
cquality.'
"WEat causes you to say this?' ask
ed the reporter, somewhat surprised at
the old veterans manifest enthusiasm.
1T is easily understood by one who
has studied the circus. The fact is,
what makes the circus so popular is the
fact that everyone can understand it,
and it stirs in all alike the same SYM
pathy of sentiment, no matter what
may be his station in life. Rich or
poor he pays like admission price and
enjoys the show to the same extent. In
this country, where the circus has been
far more successful than in all other
nations combined, it is largely the ma
ture of the people to associate together,
and they overlook the idea of it's audi
ence being promiscuous, while in Eng
land, for instance, think the reverse
of this is one reason for the lack of sue
cess the circus has attained there
''You say the success of the show
the circus-in America is prc-emin-
cnt?'
YES, indeed. The history of the
circus III this country presents one of
the finest examples of American pluck,
ingenuity and enterprise that has ever
been offered to us by any class of peo-
pie. and it has grown to such an ex-
tent that now nothing will attract such
| immense crowds as q reputable tent
| chow ovid ,,nopla will c,o ,,;1,- 4o coo
| it,
''How many years has it taken for
| this success to be >acqured?"
''Why, not so many years, i i2r4 Is Il was
in 1928 that the first circus started out,
but, of course, this was rather prema-
turc and decidedly Incomplete, for no
| tents, seats, or animals were thought
necessary At the time, and the people
| flockcd as they do now, largely to wit
ness fcats of strength and enjoy the
| music, such as it was. OF course, tray
cling was overland then, and the idea
of special trains had not been thought
Of; but they had the same old parade,
| and that was their means of announce
ing themselves to the astonished popu-
| lace. This primitive custom lasted for
| about four years, and then the modern
tent came into use, however, oh much
smaller scale, and it soon became APP
| parent that better form of advertising
| should be adopted, and the advance
agent and newspaper ads. were
brought into use. do not think YOU
can imagine the tremendous excitement
| that the introduction of an elephant in
! to the list Of curiosities caused Why,
really, people would follow it for miles.
About the same time the clowns and
jumpers made their appearance, and
naturally scored a hit that will always
last as long as the show docs.'
lin what year were wild animals
! made a part OF the show?'
81 think it was in 1910 when Van
Amburgh followed Dresback and began
to exhibit them, and when Van, as
| we called him then. began to 90 into
the den Of lions. His fame, tell you,
was sung everywhere. About the same
time the miraculous fcats of riding on
the bare back Of a horse startled the
people, and the example of one man
Immediately began to be cmulatcd.
But from the time Of the beginning of
the first circus until 1860 everything
was decidedly slow of progress; but
since this latter date the Improvement
has been great and grows as the years
pass.
'What started the menagcric feature
of the modern circus?'
1T began rather Quecrly in 1874,
when two brothers in New York COM
mcnced to import and pcddlc birds
around the streets. These birds soon
became the rage. Then these same
men conceived the idea of establishing
foreign house and shipping all sorts
of beasts to this country for sale to
proprietors of shows. They proceeded
/ to carry this out and went to some of
the wild nations to purchase and ship
them to this country.''
''Tell me something about the ami
mails that 60 to make up a show
Gas you probably know, the hippo
tamus trade is one Of the most extern
sensive, and this is made comparative
ly cheap from the fact that the animals
are captured necessarily when young,
as are elephants also, which strangely
! are cheaper than the former, and still
cheaper, OF course. are good tigers and
lcopards. The rhinoceros is worth
about $4,000 to the hunter. Monkeys
come in packs, one might say, and
bring about $50 for each brute. One
of the most expensive and tender crea-
lures is the giraffe, which is very hard
to keep. Sea lions come from the
west and bring about $500 each, while
polar bears coming from the same di-
rection bring about $4,000. The poor,
scnseless ostrich is very expensive, and
of course, hard to procure. Central
America is the home of snakes and is
the place where we get them.n
"Do you know anything about the
tanning Of animals?"
ut is easy enough to beat fero-
cious animal when it is down. The
trial and danger come in thrashing him
too much when he is not tied It re-
quires a wonderful amount of inge-
nuity and skill and a very great amount
of patience. There is lots of danger
when the tanners cannot control the
brutes.'
Il suppose there are plenty of conf
cal things continually happening, are
there not?'
Eyes, indeed; and what is more, one
finds plenty of the reverse-very trag-
zeal affairs that almost make the life SO
disagreeable and dangerous as to keep
one out Of it. But the peculiarities of
the elephant will always be a favorite
piece of comedy. His cuteness as we'll
as his sagacity make him wonderful
animal. And Of course the monkey is
always causing plenty of fun. But I
really believe the real sport is on the
outside@of the tent in the class of peo-
pie showmen meet with and the peculi-
aritiss they possess. | mean princi-
pally in this class to include the dead
beats and the people from the back
woods districts. Yes,' continued he
rather moqrnfully, as if in remembrance
of the accidents he had seen, ''the cas-
ualties have been frequent and sad, but
when one thinks of the awful risk that
the bareback rider, jumper and trapez-
list are ALWAYS incurrinp it is to he won