The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1888-11-03
LETTER FROM F0x GRAPES.
Fox GaArns, Miss, Oct. 81, Issl


wish you could have been herei
TAX about your high-hoalcd, hog !
killing times, but last Saturday in
Fox Grapes beat anything that
ever saw. Ram? No, it didn't I
rain, but the heavenly wator-gatcs
were lifted to the highest notch,
and the liqaid just sloshed out.
Stop the circus and the fun? Not |
a bit of it. Even the street |
parade, with the gilied chariot,
full of solemn fellows 10 blue uni
forms, footing brass horns, and
one talking himself hoarse aud
throwing out handfuls Of circu-
lars; the lion : cage. an old yellow
lioness that couldn't bite, on top,
fellow holding her by the collar,
and looking like the picture of
Samson in the Bible; the calliopc
on wheels, (run by steam, you
know, Il fellow, his hmr parted
in the middle and s.iiily poma-
tuned, lingering the hot keys;
esquire Binks calls It callyope,
plaiu so, aud got mad at Miss
Belva Switchgood, the school
mlstres, because she pronounced
It cal .ii-o-p .c;) and then all the
httIr trick ponies and mules, the
-huge elephants, bold-leoking
y oman d.iying two mllS-wh,te
horscs to what looked like paint
ed checse-box on u dray, Il big
cage full Of monkey, and other
things too numerous TO mention,
rs the ssNYhistIer" would say.
I But when the two clowns came
along-one so fat he could hardly
wabble, and the Other so lean he
! ,oked consumptiye--you ought
to have heard the racket. Every
little monkey shine from these
seemingly good-natule cd cusses just
drove the people that lined the
sidewalks and followed OH pehinc
wild with delight. "Go il, ole
flour facet" or "IIit hun agaIn
old sluffed5 d5brerches!" could bl
, heard on all sides.
The mud-well in some places
1t was more tnan ankle deep
! Long-halrcd men from the ex
treme corners Of Goober county
! and even adjoining counties, vii
a nevel come nero, unlese it IS &
: see circus, sell cotton, or pa
4 taxes, struggled on behind th
i procession in the middle Of Til
i street, holding babies in the
+ arms and leading bands of frigh'
!, ened children BY the hand. IL
. hind them walked their wive
4 houndering in the red mud, the
!, gormants wet and bedragglc'
WHY these folks acted as thg
70 did, when they might have see
a the whole thing standing on Il
m sidewalk, out Of the mud a.
& rain, IS more than [ know. 81
~ Paydrawer, The marshal, sad 81
~ tarnaiion geese arc afraid the cl
IL Gus will ran off and leave EN-
j. But Bob IS wicked.
The circus tent was pitch
'or back of the Blue Hog hotel.
was an immense affair, with diff
ent kinds Of flags fluiterlng at I
de top. Side shows, with the usl
,,c scare-crow pictures Of Will IN
bo from Borneo, huge reptiles,
IL women and living skeletons, W
,ho all in full blast and we'll patr'
IA lied. Here and there were whe
~ of fortune, knife and cane rae
Large crowds hung around the
or many bit and were bitten,
all usual. ,nebody said tho
tlo lows who RIM them were IL cab
% with the officers. } Directly al
80 the procession was over, the
.ss shone out in all his glory.
he Jack Tightbark, who is rich
lends his money at twenty
r;ef cent, brought his whole fan
e to town, showed them the pro
re- sion, the pictures on the tents
m fences, and then went home W
han out seeing the circus. HIS
cuse was the low price of cot
the high price Of aour, and
times generally. Poor old il
oiee He win die beggar yeI
iten The circus oand were pla,
lively airs inside the tent by
t'ns o clock, and all Fox CIR
ere had turned out to see the 81
Charley Sweetsmell, young |
nng tor Goitblind, Casey Brazenl
! 70 Ike Hammerslager, Beauty 5
dog. wood and few otiier Fox Cir
dudes, were busy from 10 tc
llent splitting the mud with their
gy wheels, for they were d
mined that the girls should q
ensi- the circus dry-shod, All Of w
hem is creditabIe, to say the
dom Among the FIRST peaplc llsid'
CIRCUS tent was A. Sweet