The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1886-03-04
Scenes Of the Snwdast.

"very few Of the present generation
have any idea Of the complete change
which circuses have undergone within
the 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
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 necessa-
ry by the 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 tho 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
small-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 wherc it was
advertised to perform.
'Still, 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
their journeys, provided they arrived
at their destination in time to perform,
and in pleasant weather it was by no
means disagreeable to drive 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 a great deal
of rest. The way through th2 country
was found by two men, who, in bug
gy, preceded the show, and. aided by q
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 circuses which exhibited only in
river towns and travelled by steamboat,
but Of late years this enterprise seems
to have been wholly abandoned.
HAS there been much change in the
character of the performance"
Eyes, many acts that were great fa-
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
l. h. l. IL, <>f lrk
may well be gathered from the descrip-
ton of one of the most popular of these
scenes called The Shipwrecked Sailor. ;
A rider appears dressed as sailor The
band plays lively music, descriptive of
his departure from port. 1t changes
gradually, and soon indicates that a
storm 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-
tions of the ring-master, who verbally
makes known all that the rider seeks to
convey in pantomime. At last he is
supposed to be completely shipwrecked
and to be floating upon spar in mid
ocean. His face and attitude indicate
despair. Suddenly, as he is looking anx-
iously off in the distance, hope seems to
revive within him and the ring-master
exclaims ioyfully: Aha, Jack! A sail!
A sail! Signal it'll 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 overjoyed though imagi-
nary sweetheart and friends This scenic
riding twenty-five years ago was the
principal feature of every circus. Now
it is never seeE, except with very small
shows in remote country districts.
"Other acts which were favorites,
out 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 a spring.
board, and alighting on the same.
Some performers could turn avast num-
Der of them, Arthur Barnes, an En-
glishman, having frequently turned in
the neighborhood of ten. This is a very
fine act, aud might be revived with adj
vantage. Running-vaulting was anoth-
er act which was very popular, and
which has been revived of late years,
though il i not done to anything like the
same extent that it once was. 1t con
sists of running, vaulting from the
ground and alighting with the feet upon
the back of rapidly horse.
1.-THE cavalcade of riders, which al
ways commences 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 and arc mere meaning
less professions; but there used to be a
great variety of them, each having a
dramatic plot rs distinct and Ineligible
as that OF any play"
"What was the usual finale OF the
old-time circusesP"
"The performance used to conclude
with an equestrian drama or panto-
mime. such as 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