The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-26
"BLACK AMERICA"
A Negro show Patterned After Some
of the wild West Indian shows.
From the New York Tribune

of the wild West Indian shows
From the New York Tribune.
Another attempt to amuse the public on
large scale will be made this summer
at Ambrose Park. which will open for the
season tomorrow afternoon. The enter
tainment is called BLACK America" ana
800 southern colored people are announced
to take part in H. The managers an
nounce that It will afford more music,
mirth, merrlment for the Masses more
fun, jollity, humor and character. pre-
scented In marvelously massive lyric mag
nitude for the millions, than since the
days of Cleopatra" IL is well understood
OF course that Cleopatra. who was also
an African, provided almost boundless
mirth and merriment for the masses, and
that, too, In massive lyric magnitude; but
IL might require some special research in p
the history Of public amusements to ie-
termine whether any OF her fellow man.
ayers since her time have reached the
standard OF BLACK America" Wheth-
er its equal can be found
this side of Egypt and since The
beginning OF the Christian era, or not.
BLACK America" has. no doubt. many
interesting and entertaining and some in
structive features.
The attempt is 70 picture the negro life
of the southern plantations in much this
lineated Indian and cowboy life. The COL
ored people who have been brought from
the south for the exhibition all live on
the grounds, and their cabins naturally
form part of the show They are actual
log cabins, and all their exterior arrange
ments accord with their models. There is
a good-sized cotton field. and there Is a
cotton gin, OF the style of 1912, which 9in
be shown in operation. The work Of
picking cotton and tobacco. and prepar-
ing them for market, will both be illus
trated. In one corner of the grounds-fs
an encampment of the Ninth Cavalry.
Two entertainments each day will be
given In the space inclosed by the big am
phitheater. This is TO be largely musical
II would be impossible to say from the
rehearsal that was given yesterday wheth-
er the 800 people advertised were actually
present but there were certainly a great
many of them. They made long process
sions when they marched around the
field, and they made a large crowd when
they all stood together. The chorus sing
ing had fine volume, and showed the
quality of voice that Is characteristic OF
negro music. The selections are also sun
posed to represent negro music, but This
they do to only limited extent. Among
those which we're sung yesterday were
MY Old Cabin Home" John Browns
Body Marching Through Georgia"
my Old Kentucky Home and
America" II will be observed that not
one of these is a genuine negro song and
that the most of them make no pretence
whatever of being so. A few of the real
camp-meeting and plantation airs were
sung, but there ought to be far more of
them, and they should form a much lar
ger proportion Of the whole programme
1t was said that only small part of the
whole entertainment was given at the re-
hearsal yesterday. 1t is to be hoped that
when the music is heard as a whole, It will
have more character and will better repre-
sent the marked and interesting peculiari-
ties of this musical race. 1t Is also to be
hoped that threatened amazonian march
will be abandoned. 1t is hard to see how
II can have any place in truthful exhibi-
ton Of the negro life of the south
The buck and wing dancing was an en-
PERTAINING feature of the programme yes
terday. The dancers were numerous and
many of them skIllful. The eayalrymen
also performed creditable evolutions. con-
sidering that their horses were Compare
lively unframed. When the exhibition ia
fully In order 1t will have much to conn
mend it.