The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-02-12

TRYING To MAKE TIN LAUGH.
Charli7 Browne llirielnTs Ward) had
amused his friends many times by his
loci, If intense sadness even while he
was IN some -rotesgac situation which
itscl' made everybody laugh. but he did
not know that he was acting. He did
not know that he WIS doing n comedy
part without support or stage till he saw.
jefferson in "A Terrible Fix"
Tnen his Yankee shrewjiness showed
him that lie might utilize this power 10
his WI advantage and the entertain
ment of others. Then he said to him
self: II neei not rely wholly on my pen
to give me II living. Here's a chance to
do better. and at the same time to do
something that is agreeable to myself"
So he became the first lecturer in
America and England who could please
and delight an audience alone with his
huinor. heightened by the art of the stage.
Yet Daniel Dougherty told me nee
that he and Edwin Forrest went to hear
Ward together. and Forrest especially
was disappointed. That never impaired
my good opinion of Ward. for another
man once said that the greatest task of the
humorous lecturer II 10 work all of one
evening 70 make those laugh whom God
had never intende,! should laugh. For
rest belonged to Il time when school chill
| dren believed that the celebrated Indian
chiefs. Black Hawk and Logan. were
greater men than John Quincy Adams
and Beniainig Franslia. Franklin used
10 say humorous things between times.
and when Worn ont after Il days angling
ia the sky for IA new kind of lightning
wrote humorous things for an almanac.
This lowered him in the estimation of
those who w~orshiped the solemn dignity
Of Logan. who was the friend of the
white man" an'. who dared ''any white
man to say that h Yer entered LOgan's
cabin hungry without getting IA drink
Ii is said that Colonel Cressap in cold
blood killed the family Of Logan so
that there ran rot in the veins of any
living creature one crop OF the blood of
Logan Later historians say that Logan
ha! no family. dying !. bachelor and EN-
treis mp Il stump iis regards his family
Tree. being utterly destitute Of parents
", far bach As the eye could reacn: alsv
that Il school teacher near CUhasset wrote
ali of Lo@an'S speeches for him.
Eut since that time We have learned
that the best dramatic WORK is the best
representation Of human action and
human life. Human life isnot aii poison
and murder. ana Save me! Save me!
for /. am but il poor sewing girl" (pro-
n:rnc.,i ,uping Crib. bat there are times
Thcn people eat well. sleep we'll and
have fun i'll preference To running around
with IA 4-foot swe.l sticking out between
their shoulder blades.
presume thar in the days of Thespis.
his first tragedy was produced,
there was nothing TO laugh at except his
poor Greek pronunciation and the digni-
fed way his dead men had to walk off
the stage without assistance.
No doubt Thespis did the kerosene oil
circuit with his first tragedy. The dress
ing rooms We're as bad as they are now.
It's pretty hard IA sly, but very likely in
the smaller towns, after YOU left Attica,
the star had "a three cornered room with
the record of Alvin .Ioslyn's company in
pencil on the wall and IA rude lithograph
of Alvin with Il dried quid of tobacco Oh
his 2-pound diamond. Dressing rooms
i'll those days also had a view of "A colorel
gambling he'll IN the alley, and Thespis
entered by means of the trunk chute.
Dressing then WAS less %dificult, no
doubt. and the star wore lis street cos
tume and tad no valet. IL tae roads
Were bad be turned up the edges of MS
irapery till time to ring up, and then
turning it down and powdering his legs
where the brieTs had cruelty scratched
them he sailed in.
After he va, over with his work friends
came back II shake hands with him and
neal him tell meekly of his success, and
how they hired a field near Icaria and
then turned people away.
Pisistratus was IA contemporary of
Thespis' and admired him very much.
They collabo rated on "A play called How
Greece Was Tried" 1t ran "a week in
Attica and then Went on the road. Tlies-
pis furnished the blood and Pisistratus
the teams. The support was poor and
immoral. Pisis'ratus took tickets at
the door and drove the team d~aytimes.
When the cleaning came Thespis, who
sat on the front seat. would say, STRATUS,
do YOU reckon we are far enough away
from the last town TO try it here?'
Thespis PLAYED mC7t2y by main
strength ana often carried bis audience
with Hin v-r the houec WIS Ee't
ConHannt Is, 30 sad thai N onechar-
aeter where he sal.cately killed his ad-
.. -. l. -Ia.--l