Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-10-16
SCENES AT THE CIRCUS.
The Crowds thar Saw Bsrnum's
Great ShhW.

Great ShhW.
When the phllosuphic historian 5000
years hence comes 70 write an ancient
and medieval history OF the world he will
certainly give chapter or two to tn 9
amusements OF what is now the present,
but what will then be past age. And il
he draws the past faithfully the peregri-
mating menagerie and circus of to-day
will be prominent feature, and the
name, Pnineas T. Barnum, will head tn e
list of showmen.
National issues of the nineteenth
century may have passed into obliv-
ion, but Barnum and .'the greatest
show on earth" will be part Of tradition
and folk lore, The greatest calamity, the
visible eclipse, Christmas, the positively
last appearance-and circuses come an
nuaily-but Of all things that come only
once year nothing stirs a com
munity to its greatest depths as
does circus with it's three-sheet
posters, g8udy street parade,
gilt and red chariots, elephants, camels.
clowns, ponies and general Kaleidoscope
appearance. The train of fifty or more
! cars bringing tae circus had not been in
| the city much more than one hour before
expected line OF the parade. Friday is said
10 be an unlucky day, aud it did seem so
at the outset for tue circus people. Moth
| ing serious happened TO them, but they
experienced an unusual number of pro-
yoking delays. Finally. though, the pro
cession was starred. but good part OF
VIVA. is ordinarily seen in the pageant had
20 be left out. One reason was that the
telegraph and telephone wires overhead
! n n hp a. In fRr Of n q
pieces. Even as 1t was several wires were
broken.
six thousand people, it was SAID, went
out TO take IN the afternoon performance,
and TO be taken IN by the takirs who
pitched their tents as near the circus as
they were permitted. The crowd swarmed
into the menagerle tent first, stopped TO
see the polar bear take an ice water bath
and come out painting and perspiring,
said: ugh, what horrid things" at the
rhinOcerOs and dOuble-horned hippopot-
anus, tried to creep under the ropes,
treated the monkeys To peanuts and the
lion cages to wide Oeftls, wondered why
the lions did not roar, and if the came S
h0d been watered in n week. admired the
baby leopard and infant tiger, counted
all the elephants TO see il there Was one
less than was advertised. gazed aston
ished at the mammoth skeleton
tail man with tall hat on
could walk under him, gazed again at his
stuffed hide and passed In TO the next tent,
where the rings and stage were. For two
hours the two arenas aud the stage were
so lull of performing men, women and
children, horses, goats, pigs and elephants
that one pair OF eyes could not take il all
in. A fO-year-Old in the audience ex-
pressed the general feeling when he re-
~ hnd nf dod
with three sets OF eyes. To mention the
good features would be TO reproduce the
programme entire. The tumblers, the
riders, the acrObats, the cOntortiOuists
the bycyclers were all the very best In
their respective lines. Tom Thumb 10 un-
doubleday the best clown elephant in "the
profession" He Is the dwarf which
Jumbo saved the moment before he was
killed himself. The dwarf Is born low
comedian and as full OF tricks of the stage
as ON. Billy, the trick goat, did his
acts without break, notwthstand-
ing he had only lew minutes before
cheWed and swallowed reporters cigar
because Mr.. Warner, the press agent for
the show, had backed him to do it. Young
Nicolas did anumber of remarkable leafs
and walked the high wire with the ease
or an old professional.
Miss Rose Julian, pretty and graceful
Madam Cardona, the champion eques-
trIenne OF the world, Mile. Zarah, who
slid down high wire hanging by her
teeth, the GiliOrts in statuesque posing
were all applauded. Besides there were
jockey races, men and women. separate
races for each, double bareback racing,
ponies ridden by monkeys, wheelbarroW
racing, cattle races, and an exciting four
horse Roman Coliseum chariot race.
nj Jry in nIt
hippOdrome races, and the dust flew and
the horses strained every nerve. John
Hunterson, a double bareback rider, car
res deep scars scarcely Bealed on his
head, caused by being thrown not long
ago.
The above features were only a few of
the more prominent ones. At night it
was repeated. concert and all, before 49,
600 people. Under the glare OF light the
costumes, banners, caparlsons and every
thing seemed far more resplendent than
in the afternoon, A great many visitors
came in from the surrounding country
aud swelled the audience. Beaufort and
Hampton counties, ). c., Bryan, Liberty,
bingham and other counties along the
Savannah, Florida and Western and Cen
trail roads were we'll represented. All
said it was great show. Had they seen
1t as the representatives OF the
daily press saw it, they would
think of it as Warner and Barnum's show.
For the private delectation of the report
ers Mr.. Warner showed them through
and through the tents, put his hand IN the
Old lions mouth, strOked tigers back
the wrong way, pulled the curtain of the
dressing room aside and pulled feathers
out of the Australian ostrich for souve-
Mrs. The audience at night. ne said, was
tue largest the show has had since it left
Mem his. Atmidnight it lett for Charles.
ton, where it shows to-day. Next season
the combination Will 90 to England and
then to the continent.
HE MISSED THE CIRCUS.