Omaha daily bee., 1891-12-27
THE GOOSE FAIR AT PRESTON
A Misnomer for Penny Shows and the Sale
of shoddy Trinkets,
BLATANT CoCKNtYS APElNG AMERICANS.
The Effect of n Ghos Show Upon n
Young Sioux Buck-DisgraCe-
full Carousal at the Close
of the Affair.

ton, England, by Sherman Garfield, son o
George Garfield of this city, who is now ii
England managing n successful dramatic
venture in which Sioux Indians form one o.
the attractions
Tho celebrated goose fair was in progress.
While we were in Nottingham, but 1t is not as
It's name implies: a fair for the exhibition o.
geese. The only specimens Of that noble
bird so reverenced in Rome that
L saw there were the vast crowds
which patronizeu the undertaking
1t continued three days, Thursday, Friday
and Saturday, and was nothing more or less
than a carousal.
THE people began to gather as early as
Tuesday, and by Wednesday every available
inch Of space in the market square was oc-
cupled with booths of every description and
for a variety of purposes-the sale of hot
potatoes. fried fish and sweets. Stands were
at every turn, and merry-go-rounds, ghost
shows. tying swings, m"enageries and
numerous other catch penny fakes, with
their steam organs and bass drums, were
enough to set one wild. A few moments be-
fore the show began on the inside of these
tmprovised theaterS, were devoted TO ex-
hibiting a few of the wonderful things on
exhibition. Girls in short skirts singing aud
dancing, and men with wonderfully developed
muscles OF tho right arm beating bass
I drums generally proved too alluring for the
supplemented ~rustics, and impelled tlockS OF
them TO pay their pennies and pass in. Any
thing labeled America seemed TO be a special
draw and, Notwithstanding the pronounced
CoclInCy or Lancashire dialect of the sup
posed American managers or performers
while crying the special features of their
show, the rustics crowded in, and generally
came out convinced that the "I anks'' were
wonderfully clever people. The flying swings
and hurdy gurdies were not patronized by
the children, as one would suppose, but by
men and women, old and young. At fire.
quent intervals one with too much bitters or
ali and 'alf on board would lose his balance
and fall from his wooden horse into the
crowd, Everything cost a penny-no more
and the number of vendors of small wares
was astonishing.
"lne 'bogie man. was ont in force, and i
counted no less than sixteen of him in a line
selling these demonstrating objects made
to jump up and down by means of a rubber.
Tho 'bOgic man was yelled into one's ear at
every turn. 1t seemed as though every man,
woman and child in England who possessed
a spark of talent was there.
The streets were lined with voCalists, per
formers Oh the penny whistle, hand organ
grinders, etc, and one could hear almost
every song or tune that was ever written.
One of the ghost shows was really good. |
took some of the Indians down to see 1T. |
made three attempts before 1 was able to get
them In, as the crowd gathered around US
and simply penned us up, so eager We're
they to see the noble red men. At last | got
two police constables to escort us and finally
landed the Indians inside. One of the latter
Is a big young fellow who had never been
off OF the reservation before, and who is still
a firm believer in the Messiah. He had on
ono of the ghost shirts and happened to be
the only one who wore one. When the show
ghost appeared, the first time, it stayed only
a moment and the expression on the Indians
face was a study. He looked at the other
Indians but they showed no signs of fear or
ama2ement. The young Indian was puzzled
about it.
The second time the ghost came it staid
longer and the poor boy shook like a leaf.
When the ghost pointed in the direction of
the young Indian It was too much for him.
With a fearful yell the young buck jumped
up, tried to get his ghost shirt off and started
for the door. or course that created a panic
and broke up the show. Children screamed
and women tainted, ana for a few moments |
feared it would result seriously.
NV hen we got home the young Indian
locked himself up and began to make medi-
cine The Interpreter and | finally got him
Quoted. He swore that 1t was the ghost
of Sitting Bull that he had seen.
The reason the other Indians did not see it,
ne said, was because they did not wear the
ghost shirts.
''Ihe scene on Saturday night when the
far closed beggars description. There were
100, 900 strangers III the city and at IL O'clock
the streets leading to the station were liter
ally packed with drunken men and women,
and the air was filed with ~lntermiugled BITS
of curses and songs. Mothers with babes in
their arms sat on the curbstones too drunk to
walk or tell where they wanted to go. They
could be numbered by the hundreds, while
drunken brawls in which both men and
women participated were too numerous to
mention. Policemen were helpless and tho
town ran riot.
at was a scene one can never forget but
which he does not want to witness a second
time. How they ever managed to get into
the right train and reach their des tination is
more than | can tell.
Notwithstanding tho horror, some of the
scenes were very funny and if ] had had some
of the Omaha boys with me to with ess them,
l could have enjoyed it greatly.
eve get three or four letters a week from
Colonel Cody, congratulatIng us on our sue
cess and also Complimenting me as a man
ager.
THE Wild West returns to America in
January and next year will have one of the
largest and most novel entertainments ever
Notwithstanding entirely new and orr
ginai.
II have not decided yet whether I will re-
turn with them or remain hero until
our tour is finished IN the spring. In either
case, | will be with the colonel again next
summer, unless something unforeseen hap
pens.n