Rock Island daily Argus., 1892-08-20
THE GREAT AND ONLY.

Rock Island puts on its gala day attire. 1t
is holiday. locally speaking. More par
ticularly is this true when the Barnum &
Bailey aggregation puts in date with
us. 1t is SO today, for the only Bcrnum
& Bailey shows are with US. From the
the small boy who rises with the first
peep Of day to see the show trains come
in. to witness the unloading of the cars.
and follow the immense wagons and the
elephant to the grounds and observe the
erection OF the tents, to the gray-haired
patriarch who saw Barnum in his youth,
something less than a century ago, the
coming Of the Barnum wonders is re-
garded as an event of considerably more
than sordinary Importance. Barnum, to
be sure, is dead. but his wondrous works
live after him. and will continue to live.
at any rate while his longtime partner
and successor in the management, j. A.
Bailey, lives. Every two years the Bar
mum & Bailey shows visit Rock Island.
The people here appreciate their shows
and they know it.
mt rning the streets were lined with peo-
Pile. The million dollar pageant was a
gorgeous affair. All the principal events
in American history we're illustrated by
living figures on costly chariots and
Arabian night stories, nursery rhymes.
children's fables and childhood dreams
were beautifully pictured by living tab
leaux. The procession was made up
about as follows: Four bands. two cal
iopes. six cages Of animals 1S chsriots.
II elephants, 1 camels aod dromedaries,
23S horses and ponies, three zebr.s 175
men and 102 women. 1t was a mann
moth line of march. and presents 10 itself
a world Of moving wonders. untold ex
pense and ring talent that is the wonder
of two admiring continents. To all it's
great circus in three rings, elevated stage
performances, novel and daring hippo
drome races, gallery of mystifying iliu-
sions, double menageries. herds of ele-
plants, camels, 400 fine bred horses and
ponies, curious qusdrupeds, and other
VOL ders tie show has been enriched by
the addition Of the most magnificent
spectacle the eyes of mortal ever looked
upon. The stupendous historical piece,
called Columbus and the Discovery of
America, is an achievement IN spectacu-
lar productions almost beyond compre
heDson.
This afternoon the multitudes have
~
b aving been pitched at Columbia park.
1t is very difficult task to attempt any
description of such ar emba,7as dc rich-
esse in the way of diversion for both eyes
and ears as this great circus offers, but it
will doubtless be Of interest if some of
the salient points are picked out and de
scribed in few words. 1t is not merely
called the Greatest Show on Earth
that is what it is. What a series
of deligh is for anyone fond of trained
animals! In the three rings and two are
mas may be seen at one time performances
by ponies, horses, goats, cats, dogs and
donkeys-all doing their various acts
with almost human intelligence. They
disappeared from view only to be re-
placed by two heards Of performing e!e-
plants; the huge beasts whose clumsy,
ungainly bodies are the sharpest contrast
TO their extraordinary intelligence. Dur
ing this act the middle ring was occupied
by delightful little elephant who is not
only amazingly clever as to his own
training, but who also has a history and
very touching and pathetic one at that.
1t was to save this little fellows life that
"Jumbo"-that most celebrated elephant
OF circus history--willingly gave up his
own.
Among the individual acts. all of
which are of unusual merit and origins
slity. probably the most extraordinary is
Ceballos. who does the most remarkable
bit of wire>wslking that has ever been
put before the public. He uses no ball
ancing pole. and yet he seems as much at
home on his slender wire at it's dizzy
height as if he were standing ON terra
firma. His performance is simply mar
velous, and far excels any similar exhibi-
tion that has ever been seen here. Has
san Ben Ali is a commissioner from the
sultan OF Morocco to the Worlds Fair, but
this does not prevent him from turning
the most astounding somersaults and
hand springs-an accomplishment, it
may be remarked in passing, that very
few Worlds Fair Commissioners are pos
sessed of. His troupe Of Arab Athletes is
really extraordinary, and their tumbling
is of the highest order