Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-01-17
scenes 81 the sawa<t.

-f-c':Aefy Few OF the presenegeneratiOn
laye any ideaof the comRldte change
which circuseS have undergone within
he past twenty years" said Richard
Hemmings, the retired circus manager
and performer. "The mode OF travel,
The tent. the ring, the performance, the
salaries paid, the method of training
elders are ali very different. All circus
IS twenty years ago Travelled in Wagons
trawn by horses; now all but the small
est and most insignificant travel by
! call. This change is rendered necessa-
~ by the enormous proportions to
which the modern circus has grown.
To transport by wagon such immense
organizations would require an army
IF men and horses. and the cities and
towns to be visited are so far apart that
it would be impossible to reach them
within the required time. The labor,
anxiety and possible loss with even the
! srhall-sized wagon shows of the past
were terrible. In bad weather. over
muddy roads, horses would become ex-
hausted and have to be left TO die, wag-
ons would be broken to pieces, and the
show would often fail, day after day, to
reach in time the towns where it was
| advertised to perform.
| "Stll, travelling with a wagon show
| had its pleasures for the performers.
| Those of them who received large sal
aries had their own conveyances and
| could choose their own time for making
taeir Journeys, provided they arrived
| at their destination in time to perform,
and in pleasant weather it was by no
means 'disagreeable to drive 4 fine team
| over good roads, through 81 beautiful
! country, in the cool of a summer morn
| ing, from twelve to thirty miles, which
was about the range of the distances.
But in very hot weather the drives were
made at night to. spare the horses, and
! thus the people often lost 4 great deal
Of rest. Theiway through the country
was found byltwo men, who, in a bug
! gy, preceded the show, and aided by a
| synopsis OF the route furnished them
by the advance agent. inquired the way
and MAJ hed doubtful parts o., the road
with rai!s taken from the .nc;ghboring
| fences. At one TIME there were num-
Der of circuses which exhibited onlyiin
river towns and travelled by steamboat,
but of late years this enterprise seems
to have been wholly abandoned. y .eo-
elias there Leen much change in the
| character of the performance"
9-''Yes, n;,ny acts that were great IA
vorites once are now never done at all.
Most prominent among these is scenic-
riding, that is, the enactment of dra-
matte, scenic by, one Or more performers
! Old horseback. An idea of what is meant
may well be gathered from the descrip-,
[ ton of one Of the most popular of these
scenes called The. Shipwrecked Sailor
| Ar;dor APPEARS dressed as a sailor. The
band PLAYS lively music. descriptive OF
his departure from port. Ii changes
gradually, and soon indicates that a
,torm has arisen, which fact is made still
more palpable tn the audience by the
pitching and tossing of the sailor upon
the horse and the descriptive .exclama-
tons of the ring-master, who verbally
| makes known ell that the rider seeks to
convey in pantomime. At last he is
supposed to be completely shipwrecked
and to be floating upon a spar in mid.
ocean. His face and attitude Indicate
despair. Suddenly, as he is looking anx-
iO,lslv off in the distance, hope seems to
revive within him and the ring-master
exclaims ieyfully: Aha, jack! a sail!
A sail! Signal it, Jack signals it, is
rescued, and is. finally brought safely,
back to the port, from which he sailed,
where. to lively music again, he is
greeted by his overioycd though imagi-
narysweetheart and friends This scenic,
riding twenty-five years ago was the
principal feature of every circus. Now
it is never seen. except with very small
shows in remote country districts.
''Other acts which were favorites,
but are scarcely ever seen now. are Jug
Cling on horseback, walking and bal
ancing on decanters and bottles, double
leaping, which consisted of jumping
from one spring-board to another, then
jumping from the second one and
throwing a somersault over an object;
and still vaulting, which consists in
turning somersaults, one after the 9TH
er, in rapid succession from SPRING
board, and alighting Oh the same.
Some performers could turn avast NUM-
Der of them, Arthur Barnes, an En-
;ylishman, having frequently turned in
the feighborhqod of ten. This is very
fine act, and might be revived with adj
vantage. Misunderstanding was anoth-
er, act which was very popular, and
which has been revived of late years,
though it is not done to anyth;n like the
same extent that it once was. It CON
sists of running, vaulting from the
ground and a1ighting with the feet upon
the back ofa rapidiy-moving horse.'' .
% eThe cavalcade of riders, which al
ways commences q circus performance,
and is called by showmen the entry,
used to be much more elaborate in the
character OF the. riding than it is now.
The entries at the present time are
nearly all alike aud are mere meaning.
less professions: but there used TO be a
great ariety of them,i each having a
dramatic plot rs distinct and Ineligible
as that of any play" sn sad zig c
"What was the usual finale of the
old-time circuses ?'' TN
THE performances used to conclude
With an equestrian drama or panto-
mime, SUCH AsP Dick Turpin,' or La
Statue Blanc.' Then Da,t Rice Orisi-
mated the idea f ending with the intro
duction OF two trick mules, and offered
five dollars to any one who would ride
either of them three times around the
ring without falling off. This custom
generally prevailed until so Hmany. we're
injured by being kicked and thrown BY
the mules that itlhad to be abandoned.
Large shows generally conclude now
with tumbling or ,leaping act by the
entire company, Or with races if there
is hippodroine. - ~.
Has it always been the custom to
give a so-called Concert aftef the per-
.-l.lI ~ en- o. fIit.l II u