The Hazlehurst signal., 1884-01-17
Scenes or the Sawdus,.

which circuses have undergone within
the past twenty years" said Richard
Hcmmings, the retired circus manager
and performer. "rhe mode Of travel.
the tent, the ring, the performance. the
salaries paid, tho method of training
riders are all very different All circus
es twenty years ago travelled In wagons
drawn by horses; now all but the small
| est and most insignificant travel by
rail. This change Is rendered neccssa.
~ by tho enormous proportions to
which the modern circus has grown.
To transport by wagon such immense
organizations would require an army
of men and horses, and the cities and
towns To be visited are SO far apart that
Il would bc impossible L. reach them
within the required time. Tho labor.
anxiety and possible loss with oven tho
small-sizcd wagon shows of the past
were terrible. In bad weather. over
muddy roads. horses would become ey-
harlsted and have to be left TO die. wag-
ons would bc broken To pieces, and the
show would often fail, day after day. to
reach in time the towns where il was
advertised to perform.
"Still. travelling with wagon show
had its pleasures for tho performers.
Those Of them who received large sal
aries had their own convcyanccs and
could choose their own time for making
their journeys, provided they arrived
at their destination in time to perform,
and in pleasant weather it was by no
means disagrceablc to drive u fine team
over good roads, through beautiful
country, in the cool of 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 great deal
OF rest. The way through the country
was found by two men, who, in n bug
~, preceded the show. and. aided by n
synopsis of the route furnished them
by the advance agent. inquired the way
and marked doubtful parts Of the road
with rails taken from the neighboring
fences. At one time there were num-
Der of circuscs which exhibited only in
river towns and Travelled by steamboat,
but of late years this enterprise seems
To have been wholly abandoned.
. elias there been much change in the
character of the pcrformancew
"Yes, many acts that were great IA
voritcs 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 moro performers
on horseback. An idea Of what is meant
may well bc gathered from the dcscrip'
ton Of one of the most popular Of these
scenes called The Shipwrcckcd Sailor.
A rider appears dressed rs sailor. The
band PLAYS Lively music. descriptive OF
his departure from port. IL changes
gradually, and soon indicates that n
storm has arisen, winch TACT Is hiale sun
more palpable (" the audience by the
pitching aud tossing Of the sailor upon
the horse and the descriptive cNclama-
tions of the ring-mastcr, who verbally
makes known all that the rider seeks to
convey in pantomime. At last he Is
supposed TO bc completely shipwrcckcd
and to be floating upon spar In mid
ocean. His face and attitude Indicate
despair. Suddenly, rs he is looking anN-
iously of i'm the distance. hope seems to
revive within him and the rinS-mas,cr
exclaims ioyfully: AHA. Jack! a sail!
A sail! Signal it, Jack signals 1t. 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 ovcrioycd though imagi-
nary sweetheart and friends. Thisscenic-
riding twenty-five years ago was the
principal feature Of every circus. Now
IL Is never sect, except with very small
shows i'm remote country districts.
"Othcr acts which were favoritcs,
out arc scarcely ever seen now, are Jug.
Cling on horseback, walking and bal
ancing on dccantcrs and bottles, double
lcaping, which consisted of jumping
from one spring-board to another. then
jumping from the second one ami
throwing somcrsault over an object;
and still vaulting. which consists in
turning somersaults, one after the 9TH
or. i'm rapid succession from u spring
board, and alighting on the same.
Some performers could turn avast num-
ber of them, Arthur Barnes. an En-
glishman, having frequently turned In
the ncighborhood of ten. This is n very
fine act, and might be revived with ad-
vantage. Running-vaulting was anoth.
cr act which was very popular, and
which has been revived OF late years,
though il is not done TO anything like the
same extent that II once was. IL con-
sists of running. vaulting from the
ground and alghting with the feet upon
the back of n rapidly-moving horse.
"The cavalcade of riders, which nj
ways commences circus performance,
and is called by showmcn the entry,
used to be much more elaborate in the
character of the riding than 1t is now.
The entries at the present time arc
nearly all alike aud are mere meaning
less professions; but there used TO be n
great variety of them, each having a
dramatic plot rs distinct and ineligible
Is that OF any play"
"What was the usual finale OF tho
cld-time circuscs?"
1.-The performance used to conclude
with an equestrian drama or panto-
mime, such rs Dick Turpin, or La
Statue Blanc Then Dan Rice origi-
mated the idea of 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 of. This custom
generally prevailed until so many were
Injured by being kicked and thrown BY
the mules that l. had to he abandoned.
large shows generally conclude now
/ Al los t,xr ha
entire company, or with races II there
Is u hippodrome."
HAS it always been the custom to
give u so-called concert after the per-
formance?"
"No; but 1t has prevailed for very
long time. But twenty years ago 1t was
not so universal rs II is now, and those
shows which gave concert did so in a
separate canvas; but the side-show and
| candy-stand have been inscpara bic