The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-08-18
From yesterdays daily.
THE BIG SHOW.


The big Forepaugh shows are in
town. and they have fine day. That
promises plenty of fun for the crowds.
The Forepaugh Shows have always
been favorite in Mankato, because
they have always brought novelty and
and an excellent performance. This
year they are better than ever. 1t is
pretty hard to guess. what they will 90
to next to secure new features. The
shows this season have invaded the
dominion of the theater and adopted
some of it's best features in the histor-
ical pageant CT 1916, the American
Revolution. Then in searching for
new nationalities to introduce to the
people of America, the daring horse
men of the Caucasian mountains, the
Cossacks who for the past twenty
years have been the picked warriors
OF the Cars armies, are selected, and
a troop brought over to exhibit the
wonderful feats of horsemanship that
constitute their national sports. In
the animal world the dominion of
man over the lower orders of creation
has been asserted in new and wonder
full ways in the exhibition of the ami
NAL circus acts, the performance of a
happy family of carnivorous acrobats
consisting of lions, leopards, panthers,
bears and dogs:
The shows came in early this morn
ing over the Northwestern road from
st. Paul in three special trains. The
universal nature of youth was demon
strated by the boys who sat out half
the night on box cars waiting to see
trains unloaded, just as their fathers
used to sit out half the night by the
roadside mile or two out of town to
see the overland caravans arrive, and
preparations for the grand entry into
town. The tents were pitched out
South Front street and FREE PRESS
reporter who wandered out there ear
ly in tie morning was we'll repaid for
the sight. The way in which pegs
walk into the ground under the urg-
ging of a dozen strong arms swinging
sledge hammers, and the manner in
which canvas tops rise like giant
mushrooms into the air will never
grow into an old stoly.
Boss Canvassman VIM. Kelley was
hustling about urging his. men to
greater activity and they all flew
when he urged them, in a manner to
suggest that discipline is pretty ,se-
we're around the Forepaugh Shows.
Yet with it all there was no confus-
ion, or profanity, no back talk at the
bosses. The machinery of big mill
does not run with greater regularity,
or the movements of an army display
more carefully planned and ,skillfully
executed manouvers. In reply to re-
mark that there would be no rain
here today, Mr.. Kelley said:
Rain OR shine makes very little
difference under these tents. The
canvas has all been treated to a wat
er-proof solution, and all the water
that can fall from the clouds in week
can't soak through"
George Arstingstall the celebrated
animal trainer was busy looking
after his charges.
"They are fine lot. are they not?"
said he proudly pointing to the spe-
cimen in the cages waiting for
parade. "They are all healthy and
they get the best of care. The agent
of the humane society came to see US
at St. Paul. and wanted to inspect
all our animels. He had seen evidence
of cruelty in some little show which
came there, and he fell into the error
of thinking that all circuses are alike.
We showed him around, and gave
him chance to inspect all the
horses and other animals, and when
he got through he said they were the
finest and healthiest lot he had ever
seen. Manager McCaddan will not
keep an animal around that is sick
and suffering. The other day he
ordered one Of the camels to be
chloroformed and put out of the way,
because it was in constant pain from
a natural cause and could not remove.
That meant dead loss of $1,000,
and many another manager would
have refused to take the step.
The parade at 10 O'Clock this morn
lug was in main the same as all
circus parades, but it was clean, and
neat and bore a prosperous air, the
grand display of fine horses, of which
the shows have 378, was perhaps it's
finest feature, though the bands, the
calllope, the elephants the camels
and the bright costumes caught the