The Washington times., 1895-05-18
One of the Greatest Sights in
the Greatest Show.
MANY THOUSANDS SAW 1T
Barnum & BaiIey's Circus and Me-
nagerie the Finest Ever Seen in
On-EthnOIOgicalCO
Most Interesting Feature-Un-
surpassed Arenic Acts.

Great Scott and Jovei Greater Barnum
& Bailey Greatest show on earthi Great
est day in the year was yesterday when the
peoples of the globe and the wonders Of
the animal kingdom passed in magnificent
review before a hundred thousand people.
And, true enough, it is the greatest show
on earth. And, true enough, the earth is
not big enough for it. A great and inter
esting part OF it is up in the air and the
latest added wonder is dive into the sea.
No wonder that tSreTe was a sleepless night
in every home in Washington in which there
are boys and girls and grown people who be-
lieve in a day off for peanuts, lemonade and
the street parade.
AT about 10 O'Clock, the hour for the
start OF the magnificent pageant, the whole
route from P street and Third to K, to
Seventh, to Pennsylvania avenue, to Wash
1ngtOn Circle, TO o, and back again 10
the tented field, was invested with enthu-
Eiastic humanity ten deep and two stories
high.
The great heart OF the big and little
public was in a tremendous flutter, OF
course, and especially when the 400 600
pounds of two dozen elephants shook the
solid earth as they took their tremendous
strides over the asphalt. And after them
there was no end of the gorgeous and Won
0erful spectacIes in the line.
And there were exactly as many clowns
as elephants, who entertained the immense
audience on the fly as they went by in
their triumphal tour OF the greatest city
on earth.
1T SET THE CHILDREN WILD.
The children fairly screamed with delight
as the Gotta pigmies, father, nother, and
daughter, went by just as big as anything in
the show. No wonder, after the great vans
had rolled by aud the lions roared and the
hyenas laughed, and the monkeys cut up,
eud the tigers glared, that there was
maddening impulse TO get in or under the
immense white city out III the park.
At the grounds there was a tremendous
lam. People pulled and hauled each
other about until the aggregate humanity
was as limp as an Unwrung rag from the
wash tub The circus about O'Clock was
Eoing on inside and outside. The two
bay merchants and peddlers had taken pos
Session of the whole earth, except little
tGtbmus on which people picked their way
Into the ten-acre, canvas covered field,
where the whole world of animals and arts
was on exhibition.
Thousands of children dragged their an
peelOb along IN bDe rusn 10 get IN, ana
when they got IN the first thing they saw,
OF course, was the menagerie. But the
grand menagerie only served as a frame for
the picture of the congress OF nations. The
funniest and most savage people on both
sides OF the Pacific aud Atlantic were
ranged inside the ropes, just like the other
animals, only the human animals were not in
cages.
q MIDWAY PLAISANCE AGAIN.
1t was the Midway Plaisance over again
sure enough. Only il was better than that.
Barnum and Bailey don't tolerate frauds
of any kind. People looked at genuine
Arabs, Cipgalese, Hindoo coolies, Hindoo
5ugglers, the famous Fiji Islanders, Caribs,
Ratmahatmas, Gotta dwarfs, Samoans,
and all the other strange people that it is
Interesting even to read about. They
were all there in the flesh and the flesh
Was particularly observable.
These people entertained the spectators
by the dance of their own countries and
very strange dances they were, especially
the stick dance OF the Samoans. The East
indian falir was there and the bowling,
whirliug Dervish and the Syrian girl, who
did the lndescribable Syrian dance This
was great feature, the only thing that
could possibly make people forget the