The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-06-10

What the Champion OF the World, Re-
Gently Deceased, Had to Say Of His Call
ing Away Back In IssO-The Value OF q
Good Horse Dangers OF the "rwister."
Charles w. Fish tho bareback rider, was
probably the best known rider In the world
and held the championship for years, do
ing many remarkable feats which the
younger men In the profession never ex-
colled. He was born In Philadelphia In
1889. He came Of good old stock. The
following interview with him, published
In Philadelphia in 1880, will be interest
Ing, especially TO circus men and lovers of
| tho tent show:
What is necessary, Mr.. Fish, to become
a first class Performer
| well, there are a good many things nec-
essary. To climb TO the top OF the trce-
or on the back OF tho horse, properly-a
child's training boy or girl, should begin
at the ago of or g, not kater than or
years anyhow. The flIst steps arc TO give
the body that elasticity so essential, and
this Is done by practicIA, all kinds of tum-
bling on tho ground. Somersaults back
ward aud forward handspYln9s or flip1aps
in fact, all that tumblers do in a circus
| When boy becomes thoroughly proficient
In this sort OF thing, the next step is TO put
him on the back of q horse and teach him
how TO keep his balance There are two
ways OF doing this TO keep a ju >,nilo from
mastering it at the risk Of brt \ on neck.
One is by the mechanic, q modern inyen-
tion, by which the rider Is held suspended
In the air IL he leaves tho horses back
while going around the ring Tho other is
TO have a rope attached TO the boys waist,
which passes through a ring on the side Of
tho pad, the end being held by the teacher
AS soon as the boy begins to topple and is
seen going q strong pull on the rope brings
him up against the side of tho horse and
Keeps him there until he can Chamber back
again.
II began riding when was years old
at Spaulding & Rogers old circus in Gin
cinnati, in lS46, but I've been all over tho
world since that. No. my family were not
professional people. / yearned TO become
rider tho first time / ever saw circus,
like ninety-nine out Of every hundred boys
in America.
American male riders are the best IN
tho world, but we look for the best lady
riders in Europe. In Europe, / have
known frenchmen, Englishmcn and Span
iards to be billed as tho Great American
Horseman.' Some Of these mea never saw
this side OF the AtlaStic. There Is no rea-
son why tho riders there sSauld not be bet
ter than American riders from tho fact
that they arc six months in q place at q
time, and learn to know their ring thor
oughly. That Is more important matter
than 1t seems ut first sight. A foot s differ
ence makes very serious matter The
ring is usually AZ feet in diameter, and q
rider counts on that A single foot larger
or smaller makes IL necessary for the per-
formers 10 strike n differ,Ast angle, inefin--
Ing moro inward rs the ring gets smaller
and more perpendicularly If Its dimensions
arc increased. Yes, bareback riding Is tho
most difficult of course. A pad rider gen.
elally requires four or five years hard
practice bareback before he can be trusted
for clean, finished performance. You
see, on pad riding man doesn't have to
take into account the horses backbone or
the curve of tho back. 1t is perfectly level
on pad, and just so much easier. A great
deal depends on the horse
'Valuef Well, a first class horse Is not
for sale at any price. You've got TO use a
horse three or four years before yeu can de-
pend upon him with absolute certainty
Reputation, living - life itself depend
upon bareback rider having under him n
horse on which he can positively depend TO
be just at the right place at the right time
The sworving of an inch, the quickening
or slowing of the pace TO the half length OF |
a hoof, may mean a broken arm, perhaps a |
broken neck. Realize the danger? Why, |
OF course we do. I've had horse stumble |
on mo when was half way up In somer- |
sault and before got down / could real |
lie that was in danger of never getting |
up alive. IL only cost me q fractured arm, |
however, which Is all right now.
1I, al,
was while was doing 'twister' in 1875.
james Robinson and myself were with
Montgomery Queens circus on our way
overland from San FVincisco. We were
billed as the rival champions, and at Mus
kegon, Mich, on the 10th of August, I
first did the 'twister' Now, I'll tell you
what 1t is There are three banners held
very close together. AS ride, with my face
to tho first jump pirouette and come
down again face forward, instantly up !
again-for IL must be done in an instant
and half pirouetto over the second, thus
my back to the horses head, when
l again alight, then, quick as a flash, up
and turning somersault twist my body
around when In tho air, so as TO reverse
my position, and when / alight on my feet
having my head in front, as the horse goes.
had practiced it on tho ground for ten
years but on bareback horse it's very
different affair. We were In Detroit, and
among the audience were J. Nj. French
and number OF other prominent circus
men. All were anxious TO see the twist
or' The ring was wet and in bad condi-
ion, and had only about one.third Of the
,irclo TO work in. Thrco, four, five times
tried it and failed. The sixth time, with
very nerve styung TO its utmost tension,
With my teeth firmly set and my hands
,linched, l was determined to succeed.
The audience rose almost en- masse with
and cries of We'll done, any
howl Don't try 1t againp maddcncd mo.
Tho first step was all right, SO was tho
loxt, but rs left for the lnal spring the
iorse stumbled slightly. IL was too late.
was up in tho air and came down with a
orrinc crash, head and shoulders, just dis
coating my elbow. l didn't do the twist
r. just then"
trx, 4 af,g