The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-08-04

Lament Of the Aged Citizen for the
Days of the -One-Ring Show.

Providence Journal.
That piece about the sale of the old
Baker brewery, on the corner of Pine and
richmond streets. made me think Of the
gays when / was boy. and went to Full.
said the aged citizen, refiectively as he
smiled at the recollections the incident had
think. all the winter of issS think It was
80. In fact, I'm sure 1t was. Fuller had
with him the two Turner's, Tim and Napo-
leon, sons Of old Turner. famous circus
performers. and the show they gave was
great .a,... -.
used TO be, by long shot. Nowadays they
nave three rings and a stage, and don't
know what all. man can't watch them
all at once, and what he sees amt any good
compared with what 1t used to be. These
pareDack performers are all right, may be-.
but give me the old show, where the coun-
try greenhorn from the audience tackled the
trick horse. and shed 'steen suits of clothes
on horseback, until finally he came out all
pink and gold and did feats that make your
days, tell you.''
The old man laid back in his chair and
said nothing for several minutes, while his
memory carried him back TO his boyhood
days; Finally he commenced again:
That circus was a great show. They
spent the whole winter here. but it didn't
pay. Circuses didn't often pay in those
days, not even to the proprietors. They left
town one Sunday morning, and pretty near
ly everybody was up to see them off. They
left a lot of bills behind them. Circuses
never paid bills then, and everybody let
ting them have anything took big chances
and usually whistled for their money. OF
course. the stablemen and the rest that
they owed couldn't serve any writs on them
headed ths c I playing the RogSes
March, They were drummed out of town.
and they never came here again. But that
was good circus, great circus. have
never seen the beat of it yet
why. pretty nearly everybody went to
see that CIRCUS. and why they couldn't pay
drawing power of circus in those days.
and especially Fuller's circus, which was
the best there was, I'll tell you of what
day, where they calculated they'd have a
certain number Of people. They knew the
tricts around it. and figured that they'd
have about people enough to fill three
Jfourths of the seats Maine wasn't much
good to go or something-and they expected
to come out little more than even on the
show.
'welI, sir, when the doors opened the
his breath away. He couldn't sell tickets
fast enough. and they had to start another
man at Il TO relieve swer the crush a Inc peop nS
there wasn't corner left where any one
could stand up. Old Fuller was tickled to
death at the returns from the box ONCE.
people had come from. There were more
in there than the whole population OF the
towns. and he wondered and wondered
where the rest of them belonged.
He had the crowd fast enough. and he
gave up wondering after awhile and start
over the things were packed up and the
wagons started for the next town. Then old
Fuller found out where all those extra
they passed a large graveyard, and as it
was moonlight they could see in every
part of the yard men and women going
down into graves. That explained 1t all.
The show was so good that even the dead
wanted to see 1t and rose up from their
graves to go.
Those were great old days." concluded
the old citizen. he lay back in his chair.
ref1ectively.