Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-03-11
FOUR-F00TED ACTORS.
WOES ADDED TO THE LIFE OF
THE MANAGER.
coralled Behind tho scenes Until the
Time for Their Appearance ON the
Stage Training the Trick
Ponies.

OF all the people in the world
whose life is made burden by con.
tlnual struggling against contrary
circumstances perhaps the only man
who outranks tho night editor Is tho
general manager OF a theatrical com
pany, aud the position Of the latter Is
steadily growing worse. at least so
says Mr.. Lewis nj. f. Haase the gen.
eral manager OF the Country Car
Gus which amused the people OF
Washington lately. In speaking TO Q
Post reporter he said:
You see said Mr. Haase that
we cannot pretend to keep the ami.
mails in the theater ITSELF as | tind Is
the very general idea among the aud
fence. We have between fifty and
sixty head OF stock in all. though
sometimes on a larger stage We in.
troduce hundred or more These.
on entering town. We house in some
good livery stable where they are
looked after by our own grooms for
we would never trust the handling of
the trick horses to an outsider. These
stablemen and laborers form large
part Of the 1925 people we carry with
Us on the road all the time. and the
most OF them never come in sight OF
the audience ut all.
The last net OF the evenings pre-.
paration while the audience is as.
sembling IS 70 bring in the horses
from the street They are led up up
on the stage through this long trap
door that you see in the floor in the
! rear and all OF the horses are stabbed
over the left hand fly in that sawdust.
covered space you see fenced oil there.
They are packed in like sardines with
the ones that are to DO used first
nearest the exit Of their pen. Thcn
all the ponies are tied up in a limo
along at the back OF tho stage. right
against tho wall; for there must al.
ways be space behind even the deep.
est set scenes. II is like the mysteries
Of Brahaminism. a thing that no
searcher Ger shall know with
mortal mind. Drop upon drop
may rise but there shall
be drop upon drop behind.
Then after tho circus parade
which opens the circus part OF tho
performance wo got rid OF all the
horses we are not going TO need in
tho ring by sending them down
through the trap door and out upon
the street as soon as they have
crossed the stage. Then the way Is
tolerably clear for the acting animals.
The circus ring Is the regulation sizo
"a trifle over / feet in diameter
and smooth. noiseless surface is
secured by this cocoa mat pointing
TO an immense drugget almost two
inches thick. which lay rolled up like
an immense sea serpent at the back
OF the stage. That mat Is now in
one solid piece and weighs between
three and four tons and takes fifteen
or twenty men TO unrOll IL. When II
has to be shipped 1t Is ripped up into
sections and sewed together again on
reaching the next theatcr This mat
is covered with sawdust and makes
a sure footing for tho horses. which
is especially important with those
used in tho bareback acts.
MIR. Conrad is our animal trainer
and no will tell you that the big.
barebacked animals are tho most
troublesome OF all the stock. IL Is
only one out OF several that can DO
trained to the work. In the first
place it takes a very philosophical
animal to stand having q man prauee
up and down the length Of his spinal .
column and turn sOmersaults on his
back. with the audience and the .
brass band making all the noise they
we'll can. And there are still fewer
horses that have tho even gait that
will allow a man to stand upright on
them at all while they arc going 1t
takes months Of practice to get them
down to it and they work when ii Il
done like apiece OF machinery. They
are wonderfully like human beings
and have stage fright the nrst few
times they face an audience. and ii Is
a long. long time before you can BIO
certain that they will not bolt the
ring alta sudden noise, and this Is in.
finitely worse In theater than il Is in
q regular circus tent.
"a .Then there are trick ponies. Evon
more OF them have TO be rejected to
get a good working set than OF the
bareback workers. The worst OF these
is that they nearly always have 10 DO
worked on the stage and trained be.
forehand by two different men and
this necessitates three separate train
ings. Tho first Is done ny the expert
trainer absolutely alone. and usually
at night to avoid noisc and other in
terruptions. Then he has to take in
the man who is to perform the ami
mails and teach him the signals and
get the animals used to him. and final.
ly they have TO be taught how to be-
have before an audience. The ami.
mails have great deal OF indiyiduali.
ty and those are in the end the best
who are of timid and conhding ma.
ture for they learn to look entirely
to their trainer for orders and protec-
ton and think that nothing much
matters as long as he Is with them.
Literally what he says goes -
no Hurry.
Mrs. Weeds-Doctor do you think