The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1893-06-22
Sitting BULBS Show.

l
, and Fargo was booming town of
$4,000 inhabitants.
In those days money was made
easily in that section, and, in the
ma ority of instances, it was spent
as fast as it was made. The main
channels through which it flowed
were the gambling houses and the
theaters. The town supported half
dozen theatrical establishments,
every one of which gave the public
nightly a vaudeville entertainment as
excellent and as full of variety as
could be found in Eastern cities of
twenty times the population.
John Guerin, who for three years
had been drawing card in comedy
parts at the Coliseum, the leading
theater in town, determined to open
a house and manage it himself. AS
result of this determination, in
three months time Fargo was given
play house that in the richness Of
it's appointments far outshone any of
it's competitors. Great preparations
were made for the opening of this
house. New artists were brought
from Eastern cities at enormous sal
aries, and the programme prepared
for the first week was full of attrac
tive features.
The theater was to be opened on
Monday evening, and that morning
the train from the West brought the
great Sioux chief, Sitting Bull, with
a small party of Indians, who were
en- route to Washington to interview
the Great Father The famous In
dian chief became. at once q bone of
contention between the theatrical
managers, who saw that they could
add to the box office receipts if they
could induce him to occupy a front
seat in their places of amusements
that evening. The town was full of
Eastern people, or "tenderfeet" as
they were called, to whom the sight
Of an unkcmpt Indian, fresh from
the reservation, was something to be
talked of and remembered for life
timc-cspecially an Indian az motor
iouS as was Sitting Bull.
The interpreter in charge Of the
party of Indians was quick to see the
opportunity for making stake, and
coolly told the theatrical managers
that Sitting Bull and two of his war
riors would attend the theater that
offered him the highest price. Bid
ding ran high. The hackers of the
Guerin's Theatcr had abundance of
capital, and they finally compelled
the other men to quit the field by Of
fering $500 for Sitting Bull and two
of his men to sit through their. per-
Torrance.
That night the floating population
of the town Aocked to Guerin's The
alter. Seats were sold at auction,
and many a man paid $40 for the
privilege of standing in the gallery.
Sitting Bull and his warriors were
on hand early, gaudily arrayed in
fccthers, headdress, beaded blankets
and wampum. They were seated at
the end of the center aisle in the
space between the orchestra railing
and the front row of parquet chairs.
M, " sat with their backs to the au-
,;.nco If which they were in full
view.
The red men preserved their mon
;, -, ,ntal stoicism, and throughout
tho an, ertainment not smile wrink-
Id +ho;r {:,ces. 1t was impossible
Cor the observ,, r to tell whether the
show was a bore or pleasure to
them. Each one of item carried a
short painted stick, one en-" o. ""''"
was split. Into the split was thr"s'
a small piece of looking glass. oc-
casionally the Indians held the mir
riors up before their eyes and took a
careful survey of the audience be-
bind them. This enabled them to
see what was going on all over the
house without shifting their position.
The closing feature of the pro-
aramme was an act performed by a
female trapeze performer who was
advertised to possess wonderful