Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-17
THE CIRCUS IN TOWN.
Barnum & BaiIey's Greatest Show on
Earth and It's Performance.

Barnum & BaiIey's Greatest Show on
Earth and It's Performance.
Barnum Bailey kept faith with the
| small boy today, and the circus parade was
large as life and twice as natural" as
dear old Dan Rice used to say. The show
struck the town at2:30 this morning over the
Baltimore and Ohio, in four special trains
containing seventy-eight cars, one train
being given up to the 900 employees and per-
formers At 10 o'clock the parade was
formed at the circus grounds and set out
along street to 10th, to K, to It'll, to
Pennsylvania avenue, to Washington circle
and thence back along K and o streets to
the grounds. The display of animals was
up to anything ever seen here before. The
twenty-four elephants, the numerous ami
NAL cages, the fine horses, the pomp and
circumstance of the gilded wagons, the
multi-colored riders and the oriental mag
nificence of the chronological congress, rep
resenting all nations, made a pageant that
mere than satisfied the most extravagant
expectations
What They Saw.
The crowds around the grounds from
daylight on through the day had feast of
novelties to give them continual delight
They saw the elephants march up New
Jersey avenue in the dim dawn. They saw
the huge, billowy tent rise mountain-like
and cover its multitude of attractions.
They saw the dining tent rise like magic
and the marvels of a circus breakfast
emerge from the penetration of an timer
ant Kitchen capable of cooking for $50
mouths at single whack. They saw the
tWenty-four clowns in their everyday
clothes, and the equestriennes clad in
common mundane habiliments They saw
the camels humping their humps, and the
Zig black bears bearing their share of the
performance. They saw all they could see
all day, and yet when this afternoon they
paid their shot and experienced that de-
licfous feeling that goes all over US wher
We pass the Tapping portals of the great,
est show on earth, and go forward ovef
the tented green sward to the gigantic un.
folding ecstasies of a three-ring perfor
not the half or the third had been seen oil
guessed at on the outside.
All Promises Kept.
Everything promised was done. The
chronological congress was new and most
successful feature. None of its people
were with the show last year, except the
Arabs. Over one hundred people are in
this part of the circus. The silver dancers
of Handy. the capital of Ceylon, made a
hit of their performance. Their dance is a
religious one, performed when at home
in Buddhist temples, and 1t is quaint and
picturesque. The Hindoo juggler, Ishmaei,
was marvel in magic. The South Sea
picture Of life in Fiji and Samoa. Cingha-
lese. with their richly ornamented Co.'S
tunes and interesting ceremonials, attract
ed much attention. The dwarf tribe of
Cottas from southern India, the first that
ever left their native land, were delight
all the afternoon to little folks. They are
about two feet and a half tall and we'll
formed. The various American Indiana
shown were good specimens of their re-
spective tribes. There were Sioux, Mo-
javes, Navajoes. Apaches and Supais from
the Grand Canyon.
The Ring Performance.
The ring performance, by William
Showles, the Meers sisters, Josie Ashton,
the Dillons Dunbars and others, was ex-
cellent, Astounding in wonderful feats of
skill and strength. The water carnival was
a new thing that was awaited with great
interest and proved to be good thing
Richard Golden made grand dive from
the dome of the tent-over forty feet-into
tank containing five feet of water. The
attendance was simply a crush. showing
that no matter how large circus tent
may be made it will always be filled. There
were thousands of the Small Boy there
with his Little Sister. his Peanuts and his
endless Scream of Delight.