, 1884-07-31
BORDER SHOW LIFE.
A District Where Old Jokes Are Not
Heard with Patience.
"Reminiscences by n Tumbler-DeaI-
Ing with n Cowboy Audience
The sad End Of n
Pretty Singer.

AAb NA@@ 1SaA@
high sounding Mexican name, was here the
other day, and, in the evening, when sur
rounded by u party of boon companions, he
gave IA few details OF his experiences ON
the trail, aH he called it. He said:
Il was with a company in Soccorro
once. We had five or six men and two women
in the party, and our tent was big enough to
seat maybe two hundred people and leave
room for the bar. A good many cowboys and
r~ustleTs were in town, and they had been
making more or less trouble all day. In the
evening the show was going on about as
usual, with half u house present, perhaps,
when in marched the cowboys ul
drunk and quarrelsome. As they filed
in l saluted them and motioned to the
man who WINS operating the hand organ TO
start up the music. He did so, and / made
my obeisance again. Noticing that there
were not seats enough on one side for all of
them, l said in u gentlemanly way that IL
our guests would walk around to the other
side they would find plenty of room. |
hadn't any more than got the words out of
my mouth when I noticed a stampede among
the first corners, and saw that the boys were
forcing them to the other side ut the points OF
reyolvers. The change was soon made, and
just as quiet was restored and we were about
TO proceed, a big fellow, with a voice like Il
buzz saw, stood up on the top seat and
yelled:
"'Now, mister, you go on with this ERE
show without any more fooling.'
81 was n little nervous, though l had faced
many such crowds before. | finished some
tumbling that | was engaged in when they
entered, and as the boys seemed peaceful,
everything went along smoothly TO the close.
When 1 had finished my goodnight speech
to the crowd the spokesman of the cowboys
aaros, .-.,tz SIn raaN .rI I-.aaI.l L.. .
loud voice that that part of the programme
which had been gone through with before
they entered should be given again. l de
INJURED and told them that it would be i'm
possible to dc it that evening, and that we
were not 10 blame il they had missed it. They
insisted and one or two of them began shoot
irg holes in the canvass and trying to snuff
out the lamps. When | saw that there
was liable to be trouble l told them to wait
awhile and we would give the extra perform
ance for their benefit. / gave them the
grand entree,' at which their pleasure was
great; u trapeze act, and announced that we
would conclude with u little bareback riding.
They seemed satisfied. The riders came out,
and the clown toddlod around cracking jokes
and making ready for the riding. Before the
horses started one critical fellow on u top
seat observed:
" Say, / don't like TINT clown. He's got
off two gags that l heard five years ago in
Las.Animas. Thar cant no man rub old gag
in on me and live
"Well, sir, what did the cuss do but give an
unearthly war whoop and yell, Lets clean
'em outN We skipped for the dressing room
and got our guns, but the boss came up just
then, and, finding out what the trouble was,
ordered the tent down. We had that canvas
fiat in less time than it takes to tell it, and
yptt nt.ght m ha Va caatt tboca rnpptau crau vI
ing out from under it, splitting mud and half
dead from suffocation. They went down to
some of the saloons, and began to mike
ready for another attack; but they got too
merry with other things, and by the next day
we were far away.
-Four years ago this summer a girl Joined
our company Mt Calnbasas to do some songs
and dances. She did not know anything
about dancing, but she did not have to know
much in that country. She sang very
sweetly, however, and she was the ~prettiest
woman | ever saw in a circus tent there. No
body knew where she came from, except that
she WINS eastern born, and | knew that she
had been well bred. Some of the men about
the show made themselves obnoxious to her,
and she came to me, because l was older than
the Others, and asked my protection. gave
1t to her and defended her many a time when
pistols were necessary to do it. | liked
the girl, and l believe | should
have plucked up courage in time to asI her
to marry me, for she made me kind of tired
Of the business somehow. She was out of
place in il, AMI | cannot understand to this
day, though now somewhat familiar with
her life, what could have induced her to come
out her. There must nave been a weak spot
in her head, or she was unconlmonly desper-
ate, or something. When the railroad got
intp Culnbag0S we malai II "a npiut no ha thaFa
and as there were d good many heightened
eastern people in town we frequently had
them at the show. They were mighty pleased
with the girl. She was so fresh, so pretty,
and so different from the ordinary run of
women out here in those days, and she
uld sing enough for them. One night,
when a number Of fresh arrivals were In
town and at the show, the girl sang as
usual, and was loudly applauded.
They tried to get her to come out
again, but when l vent after her she pleaded
sickness, and promised that later on, when she
was to sing in another character, if they en-
cored her she would respond. made ex-
cuses to the audience, and The performance
proceeded. An hour later, when it was time
for her to come ON again, | went to call her
and found her lying on u buffalo robe, APP
parently asleep. l shook her gently, but she
did not wake. ! felt her forehead and stroked
her hair. The one was cool and the other
wet, | called for a light and discovered that
there was blood on my hand. AS / stepped
back in horror L saw a revolver lying by her
side, and, tucked in her belt, was a little note
to me. l tore it open hastily and read: 4
am sorry to do this, for your sake, but there
is a man in the audience tonight whom L
cannot meet as l am, and l know that he rec
ognizes me. | now take the only course left
open to me-one that I should have adopted
long before coming here
well, she was dead as a door-nail and |
was wild with rage. l had defended thu girl
so long; l had been in so many fights for her
she had exercised such an influence over mo,
and had permitted myself to dream of our
future 50 many times, that before any one
could stop me l ran into the ring swinging
the note aloft, and calling on the man, who
ever he was, to come ont and meet me, il he
had one spark of manhood left. saw that
they thought thatI was crazy, and l then ex.
planned what had happened, and read the
note, and once more / dared the man to show
himself. No one responded,
"When they had all gone, and ] found
that 1t would be useless to investigate
further, l began TO think maybe the
girl was out OF her head. Perhaps, after all
she was mistaken. She may haye seen q
ia fIfaR fa,a Ia l.. E.. -la.t -.