The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-05-17
MOVING THE CIRCUS
A "News" Reporters Interesting
Story Of a Night With
the Workmen.
HOW IT IS ALL ACCOMPLISHED
Taking Down the Big Tent-Mov-
ing the Elephants and
Other Animals.
HOW IT IS ALL ACCOMPLISHED


The residents Of Lafayette, who were sur
prised upon waking up yesterday morning to
find that the Barnum and Bailey circus had
| during the night been moved from Elizabeth
to this city and that while they were slum-
bering all the tents had been put up and
everything put in r~eadinessfor the afternoon
performance, were doubly surprised this
morning upon discovering that there was no
trace left of the show which, when they re-
tired for the evening, occupied nearly two
acres of property at johnson avenue and
Monitor street.
To the average individual 1t would seem
impossible to transfer the large how from
one city to another In six hours, but to Bar
mum and Bailey the task is a simple one and
| easy of accomplishment. In The JERSEY
CRY News yesterday the putting up Of the
| tents was exclusively described as a de-
cidedly novel and interesting spectacle, but
| the breaking up of the show is far more in
teresting and certainly more confusing to
those who witness 1t. Grorn the m that
| the performance closes the show ground
is thrown into a state of chaos
that Is bewiidering to say the
least. Huge piles of canvas are lying here,
| There ana EVERYWHERE. w HgOuS dI6 DGluR
driven to and from the scene. Horses, ele-
| plants and other animals are being led some
where, no one seems to know just where, ex-
| cept the man leading them. A small army
| of men are at work on the canvas while
| others are busy loading the wagons. But
| the manner in which order grows out of the
| chaos shows how well every little detail is
| looked after by the management.
EVERY MAN KNOWS HIS DUTY.
AS IN erecting the tents every man has a
| specific work to do and for that he is per-
| sonally responsible. AS O result there is no
| excitement and the work goes on with
hardly d word from the men, who are SO
well trained that even the foremen of the
gangs are quiet and do not have to give
orders.
The life of a circus employee is not all sun
shine. 1t is doubtful If any workman puts
in more hours at hard work. The average
working day ofa circus helper is from four
teen to sixteenthours, and when he is not
| working he is sleeping. He has no time for
recreation, and thinks himself a lucky man
il be is allowed eight hours sleep daily. His
| duties are as numerous as the hairs on the
face of Jo-Jo. He has to drive pegs for the
tent, put up the poles, feed the stock" load
and unload the wagons, prevent small boys
from crawling under the edge of the tent
and is even sometimes called upon to act as
usher.
The first lesson that the workmen learn in
putting up or taking down a tent is to pay
no attention to the crowds which always
watch the work. They move about as If
unconscious of the presence of the spectators,
but should a pole foil they can brighten any
one out of the way in record breaking time.
Strange as it may seem, the work of break
ing up the show begins as soon as the per-
Torrance opens. The tent which acts as an
entrance GO the main tent and a menagerie
is taken down first. II wagon-cages con-
tanning the wild animals are closed
and started on their way to the next
show place. The tent poles are placed
in wagons, and the tent is taken apart n
each section is folded and put aboard the
canvas wagons. AS soon as q wagon is
loaded, horses are attached and 1t is sent on
its journey. In the big en- the work is car
rf~d on while the show progresses. The
large circular iron cage, IN which the open
ing performance, an exhibition by trained
lions, leopards, tigers and bears, is given,
is taken apart Immediately after that par
ticuIar part Of the show is concluded. The
animals are led by the trainers into their re-
spective wagon-cages, and the cage, which is
in sections, is taken apart and put on the
wagons. The wagons which are loaded
with the heavy iron sections are pushed out
of the tent by an elephant.
The horizontal bars, trapeze, swinging
rings and other paraphernalia used by
aerial performers are taken down as soon as
the acrobats and gymnasts perform their
respective acts.
In the meantime a large gang of men are
at work outside taking down the tents
with are used as places of habitation by the
horses and other animals. AS all these tents
are small, they are taken out of the way in
a short space of time, and when the people
who lave been watching the performance in
the big tent arrive on the outside, they find
that a great change has taken place.
IT. nvu nrJIr ruTaTr
The work of taking down the mammoth
tent occupies but an hours time. Chief
Canvasman Kelly superintends the work,
and 1t is his duty to see that every stake,
pole and piece Of canvas is placed where it
can be easily fouiA The men are divided
into gangs, and eaea gang is assigned to do
q part of the work. One gang takes the
stakes out of the ground, another
takes down the poles while the remainder
unlace the sections Of the tent, fold
them and place them on the wagons.
Although the stakes are driven in the ground
by sledge hammers they are taken up easily
by a sort of lever built especially for the
purpose. The 4rer is nothing more than
two stout Wheels joined together by an axle
upon which is bolted q heavy beam. On the
end of the beam nearest the axle a heavy
chain is fastened. In taking up a stake the
c~ontrivance is pushed close to it, and the
beam is raised so that the short end at the
axle Is close 10 Lne gfounu- me cnain IS bueu
passed around the stake, and while one man
holds it taut the other men push down the
beam and up comes the stakes. The little
poles at the edge of the tent are first taken
up, then the quarter poles are taken down,
and finally the five Fifty foot poles in the
centre are lowered and the tent falls a con-
fused mass ON the ground. The canvas is
then unlaced and folded, the poles are
stowed and the wagons move away.
In the outfit of the tent department there
are three stsAe wagons, thyee property
wagons, five canvas wagons, three stringer
and four plank wagons for the ordinary
seats. four reserved seat wagons, three pole
wagons and two jack wagons.
At one o'clock this morning the last wagon
left the scene and started on its way to Ho-
boken, where q performance will be given
this afternoon and evening.
IN HoBOKEN TODAY.
Barnum-& Bailey's circus pitched tents at
Eighth and Clinton streets, Hoboken, this
morning. The street parade was giveni in
the morning, starting at nine o'clock. Per-
formances will be given this afternoon and
o ening, and the elephants will be glad to
+ eceive peanuts of ell sorts, roasted on ther-
wise. The clowns will furnish amusement
and all the other features of the ssGreatest
-, Il. ,+lsJ ,x,iI In ,1ysocas,tod 81