The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-05-14
LADIES OF THE CIRCUS.
Some Feminine Gymnasts
snd Trapeze Performers,
How they Look, What they Do and the
Remuneration they Get.

and springy step indicative of health.
She has been eleven years in the pro-
fession, first as trapeze performer
and now as an artist on the mid air |
rings. A few years ago she met with
an accident in Western town and
....actured her left knee through fall
from the trapeze. Since then she has
confined herself to the mid air rings,
requiring the use of the arms princi-
oally. Next to what she calls the
shoulder dislocation trick-that is
turning a double somerset while hold
sng the rings-her most difficult feat
IS swinging by the teeth. And yet
she has not, so far, had occasion for
dentists services.
"But don't you feel timorous before
performing these feats, and utter
prayer for safety?" asked the reporter.
30. 1 never have any fear," said
Mile. Zoe. 81 say my prayers both
morning and night"
"And trust to the strength of your
arms"
"And the strength of the rope" she
answered, (which sometimes fails. My
first accident was when was Is years
old, when rope parted and ] fell on
some chairs, breaking two ribs"
Every female gymnast, by the way,
is careful of her appearance. They all
hate matinees, because in the daylight,
they say, they cannot look as well as
by an artificial light. Mile. Zoe is
native of Binghamton, N. Y. ,and began
her exercises when she was schoolgirl.
The remuneration these performers
receive varies from $50 to 5000 week.
The best of them, and of course the
few, can command the latter sum.
But it must be remembered that for
several months in the year they are
idle. Many also have to support a
mother or younger brothers and sisters.
The latter is the case with one we'll
known gymnast, who is the niece of a
United States Senator. Her father in
his later days was financially unfortu-
nate, and, dying poor, left boy and a
| girl to be provided for by his eldest
daughter. Her uncle told her she was
disgracing her family by becoming a
circus performer, but she did not re-
gard it in the same light She said
she was able to take care of herself,
the remuneration was good, and her
brother and sister had to be supported.
Nine. Zarah is heavyweight bru-
nette, who does daring feats Of bal
ancing on the swaying trapeze. One
Of her acts is a swift descent on a
sloping wire which she holds in her
teeth. But she particularly prides
oerself on ascending rope hand over
nand, feat which she defes any other
woman to initiate. Not, many men
and certainly very few women, have
such muscular arm capable of doing
the hand-over-hand work. She has
been ten years in the profession. She
IS married to Spaniard named Cebal-
.os, and they have one boy, now about
10 years old. Nine. Zarah is of Scot
;ish birth, her maiden name having
been Zarah Fergus, and she came to
;his country when quite a child. HeI
husband trained her for about year
She is an excellent circus rider, but
gave up the practice because she could
aot keep horse of her own. With
strange horses circus riding is danger
,us work. Nine. Zarah is quite lin
guist, speaking Spanish like native
and French quite fiuently. She also
,onverses in the Malay tongue and in
Hindostanee
Nine. Zuila is small but well-built
woman. She is high-wire evolution
st, what Mr.. Barnum, when young
nan, used to call tight-rope dancer
She performs some wonderful feats OF
{. ;he high wire, such as walking across
with her feet encased in baskets, walk
ng over blindfolded, and with a sack
over her; but her most daring deed il
riding across on a bicycle. She wa:
born in Sydney, Australia, and was
trained by her husband, Mr.. George
Loyal. She has been in the profession
thirteen years, has travelled considera
oily, and is proud of decorations from
the Emperor of Brazil, the King Of
Siam, and the Mikado of Japan. Sh,
mas plenty of nerve, and is quite II
love with her work. She has had on,
accident. Some years ago in indiana
her balance pole broke. and she fel
from the wire. After ten days, how
ever, she was again performing. Sh'
has one girl 9 years old, who is trlcl
bicycle rider.
Mile. la Fevre. seen in an ordinary
black dress, looks little body, bu
when in costume her development o
arm is surprising, and her achieve
ments on the zenith floating ring re
markable. She is Californian,
widow, and the mother of 14-year
old girl. Mile. la Fevre was so unfor
tunate three years ago in Indianapoli
as to fall with trapeze. Her grea
trick is the rapid descent of rope, fac
downward. Like all female gymnasts
she is, she says, oblivious of her audi
ences. All these performers ar
obliged to concentrate their whole at
tention upon their work, and applaus
or disapproval is quite lost upon then
i - l.