Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-07-29


~ cor tos bod dsys,. ihst Travelled
sofoss coonify ~ teams ffon iown - /
town Waa bet af,sf ~ mJfs sBi 'yabis /
affair than Ne ~ eslled monster rail-. |
f0ad show. Afe 800 not cefiain the
clown was fonnief W thoss days, the
Isn9aade swsetss. sud that peanuts
he'd . richer hsvyf. the gifis bad red
der cheeks and their muslin gowns aud
ribbons had = fiutief We 90 longer see.
The esreus came n towp early ~ the
moruing, = long train of wagons made
up u animal esges, baud ebariOtp aud
long reaching vehicles conveying the
blue painted cynter roles and paTaphsr-
MALTA Of the big tent aud side show.
They were generally a worn-out, sleepy
lOJkiug or nd, peop'e, bOrs :, dogs and
all. Then there followed the location
" the show. tie unloading, the setting
up. soon the bucssters etsnd WAS up,
The side show man Was bawl ng, the
street parade took place, AID the crowds
begIn streaming IN from the cpuntry
for the afternoon show. II u well once
10 a while to close our eyes and dream
ourselves into the Joyous past Of child
hood.
There were circuses from NOah's day.
Our graDdfather's youth in Germany
was eDlivened by { circus that bor-
dered on the miracle plays Of the me-
1eval times. 1t was travelling show
called the "Old Woman Machine"
For rollickibg fun il beat many shows
Of the present day. His majesty, the
old nick, presided over the strange per-
formanee which was rigged up to re-
sembIe one Of our present day thresh-
ing machines, with straw carrier ex-
tending high in air. 1t was operated
by belts and machinery and hopper
at one end received the old women. OF
course, they were not real old women,
but boys dressed up to resemble tooth
less old bags with long necks, hawk
beak noses, and dressed in an outland
ish manner, fit brides or grandmotheEs
for his satanic highness who grinned
diabolically as the procession Of beau
ties approached. The character repre-
senting Satan had pitchfOrk in one
hand and a book 10 the other where he
entered the names of those who were
willing to sell their souls to him in
order to get rid of their burden of years
and be restored to youth and beauty.
After all the ceremony of bargaining
away their immortal part the fun be-
: gan.
Satan who was q stout fellow would
stick his fork into the panier of one of
the old hags and TOSS her up into the
air and she would fall into the hopper
aud disappear. A cloud Of sulphurous
smoke would arise. bad. smell would
fill the air, the wheels of the Old-wom-
an machine would revolve amid great
laughter of the crowd, and, presto
change, out OF the strawcarrier at the
other end would come, not tOothless
old hag, but beautiful, elegantly
dressed. smiling young woman, pretty
as a peach. Satan would politely hand
feel of and talk to, aud there was great
:, , merry making. Then another would be
ground through and the devil would
claim them all in succession as his
bride. At the close of the performance
the initiative Satan who was his own
clown, advertiser, ring-master and
manager, would clear away the crowd,
close his tent aud prepare his mystic
rious go-devil for the next day.
That was the funniest thing agoing
= In our grandfather's day early In the
!, century in Europe. OF course, people
were more simple-miAded then than
now. They were also more supersti'
tious and the devil played more Inn
, portant part in the affairs of every
ones life then than now. He was al
. active agent In religious matters. But
! the old-woman machine shows thai
they were already beginning to poke
fun at him and look, upon him as q
p wholesome source of amusement rather
' than an inspiration OF terror, or OF
much moral importance. The devil
: would not be a drawing card in the
: modern circus. He would take bach
seat probably as against many of the
star features of a three-ringed show. He
: is still part of the stock in trade o
: the ignorant and superstitious and We
: may all be very happy to be intelligent
enough to get along without him, even
as part Of our lmaginings. The cir
Gus aud society in general is probably q
good deal improved In the past century
and while We look into the roseate light
of the past with many fond imaglnings
it is quite likely there is as much fun
aud expansion Of the heart aud rea
J enjoyment Of life In store for US now a,
, ever II we only set about to take IL.