Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-09-25
IsID Il !. \
How fes 1teae SnYsrior
A1neri 3 n, 100

i JJarnes Isolbiinalso 81 was badly tlhss
king of the trade. Joseph ypheelock,a||
tho actor who ,l,as the boon ii pan-S1
lion 81 the rider nee told me the
dents Is lie career off lis friend during
asyisit he paid to Engl land abo HI fff.s
teen ears ago. Rob bins On had been
engaged at d s,ll:,ry of So, 900 @a week
Ito ride in Ashley roy al amph heater
in Ilond ON. IL or four weeks before haS
arrived he was heralded as the gneatssl
IS bareback eqnestri OF the age.
amuse himself he to- ok over with him,
a team OF American trOt.4
i ting horses and a light buggy
but neglected to bring such
horses as he would need to ride The
oversight rat her asst onished the English
managers, who thought their contract
Of course included the furnishing Of
horses. Robinson made light Of the
matter. and said he could break the
animals to his liking in the fortnighf
| intervening between his arrival and the
date Of his. debut There was nothing
{, left for the managers to do than to-
swallow their disappoint ment and pro
t vide him with horses. These he re-
hearsed day after day. at the cil'ctls /.
with skill and assidtity, but to find ats
| last that they We're beasts far5illferiors
T in intelligence to the Kentucky
thoroughbreds with which he was ac-ss
customedto deal. The night OF the first
appearance Of the American champions
arrived, The great building bearing
the historical name Of Ashley was
packed to asuffocation to see the per-
Torrance of the reckless rider from
over the sea. Robinson had, how
ever, in the short time allowed been
utterly unable to train the English
quence was at q sad disadvantage in
what he attempted. The best features
of the acts, including the vaulting, he
failed in. The audience hurried his
exit from the ring with Kisses. Amore
dismal fiasco could not have awaited
an artist. The Englishmen naturally
took keen delight Ill the failure Of the
American, whom it was announced
would eclipse the best. exploits in
Workmanship as illustrated by
English and French riders The
disgrace Inundated Robinson to the
dust. That very night he went to the
manager Of the circus to release him
from his contract. ''A1l ask" he
said, lis that may be retained in the
establishment on the salary OF the
tunblers with whom will appear at
each performance unannounced. Then
[ want the privilege Of practicing in
the morning." The manager, glad
enough to be relieved from the heavy
cost OF the bargain, accepted the con.
ditions. The next day Robinson had
disposed Of his trott1ng horses and
vehicle, as we'll as other traps and
jewelry, until he had enough to pur.
chase six horses OF the best blood at.
tainable, none OF which had ever been
ridden in airing. The selection OF the
animals occupied some time. When
at last the troupe was completed he
began breaking them to- his business,
a task which required great patienca
and an absolute insight into the
nature OF the beast. Weeks passed.
James Robinson, who had in the mean.
time been the butt of ridicule, was for
gotten. Nightly he was turning flip
1lops insawdust with pack of mounte.
that among their number was the best
rider in the world. About the tima
that the menials about the circus es.
tablishment began to whisper that
they guessed that "Dlarsted Yankee''
could ride little bit after all, Robin.
son called on the manager. ~ WISH"
he said, chat you would bill me to
reappear next Monday night. Ii ]
don'U succeed I'll pack up andgo home
With more than q 1nisgiving the
posters were pasted up over
London's dead walls. Again there
was an unusual throng to have their
sneer at the presumptuous fellow whom
everybody thought had long before
gone back. But the American made
them laugh on the other side of their
mouths. The display ofequestrianism
which he gave threw the house into
an ecstacy of delight. The way he
vaulted on and off the backs of thefiy-
ing steeds electrified the frigid hearts
before him: Recall after recall made
him famous in London town. The
newspapers rang withshis praise and
spoke Of his previous failure as a re-
H. arkable "reminiscences. The Ashley
people were glad enough to renew the
original contract to retain the Amer
lean rider, who returned home two
years later, with European reputa-
ton and fifty thousand dollars to boot.
Syracuse Standard. i