The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1895-09-05
BAREBACK RIDING.
AN OLD INTERVIEW WITH FISH
WHICH is INTERESTING.

What the Champion Of the World, Ro.
Gently Deceased, Had to Say of His Call
ing Away Back In Iss0-Tbe Value Of a
Good Horse-Dangers Of the ''Twister."
Charles W. Fish, the 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-
eelled. 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 10 circus men and lovers Of
the tent show:
what Is necessary, Mr.. Fish, to become
o first class performerP"
"Well, there area good many things nec-
essary To climb to the top Of the tree
or on the back Of the horse, properly--a
child's training, boy or girl, should begin
at the age Of 8 or 6, not later than or 8
years anyhow. Tho first steps are TO give
the body that elasticity so essential, and
this Is done by practicing all kinds Of tum-
bling on the ground. Somersaults, back.
ward and forward, handsprings or fliphaps
in fact, all that tumblers do In circus.
When boy becomes thoroughly proficient
In this sort of thing the next step Is to put
him on the back Of horse and teach him
how to keep his balance There are two
ways of doing this to keep juvenile from
mastering 1t at the risk of broken neck.
One Is by the mechanic, q modern inven-
tion, by which the rider is held suspended
In the air IL he leaves the horses back
while going around the ring The other is
N att I'D AN
| which passes through q ring on the side of
the pad, the end being held by the teacher
As soon as the boy begins to topple and Is
seen going strong pull on the rope brings
him up against the side of the horse and
keeps him there until he can Chamber back
again.
II began riding when was years old
at Spaulding g. Rogers old circus in Gin
cinnati, in 184s, but I've been all over the
world since that No, my family were not
professional people. / yearned to become
rider the first time l ever saw a circus,
like ninety-nine out of every hundred boys
In America
American male riders are the best In
the world, but we look for the best lady
riders In Europe. In Europe, 1 have
known Frenchmen, Englishmen and Span
iards to be billed as the Great American
Horseman.' Some of these men never saw
this side of the Atlantic. There is no rea-
son why the riders there should not be bet
ter than American riders from the fact
that they are six months In place at O
time, and learn to know their ring thor
oughly. That is more important matter
than 1t seems at first sight A foot's differ
ence makes very serious matter. The
ring Is usually AZ feet In diameter, and a
rider counts on that. A single foot larger
or smaller makes 1t necessary for the per-
formers to strike different angle, inclin.
Ing more inward rs the ring gets smaller
and more perpendicularly If its Dimensions
are increased. Yes, bareback riding is the
most difficult, of course. A pad rider gen.
orally 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 the back. 1t Is perfectly level
on pad, and just so much easier. A great
deal depends on the horse.
"ValueP Well, first class horse is not
for sale at any price. You've got to use a
horse three or four years before you can de-
pend upon him with absolute certainty.
Reputation, living - life itself - depend
upon bareback rider having under him
horse on which he can positively depend to
be just at the right place at the right time.
The swerving of an inch the quickening
or slowing Of the pace to the half length of
hoof, may mean broken arm, perhaps
broken neck. Realize the dangerP Why,
of course we do I've had horse stumble
on me when was half way up In a somer.
sault, and before I got down / could real
lie that was In danger of never getting
up alive. 1t only cost me a fractured arm,
however, which is all right now.
"The most critical moment in my life
was while I was doing 'twister' in 1876
James Robinson and myself were with
Montgomery Queens circus on our way
overland from San Francisco. We were
billed as the rival champions, and at Mus
kegon, Mich, on the 10Th Of August,
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 the first, l jump pirouette and come
down again face forward, instantly up
again--for it must be done In an instant
and half pirouette over the second, thus
bringing my back to the horses head, when
again alight, then, quick as a flash, up
and turning somersault, twist my body
around when In the air, SO as to reverse
having my head In 'front.' as the horse goes
had practiced it on the ground for ten
years, but on bareback horse it's very
different affair. We were In Detroit, and
among the audience were j. M. French
and a number of other prominent circus
men. All were anxious to see the twist
er. The ring was wet and in bad condi.
ton, and 1 had only about one-third of the
circle to work in. Three, four, five times
tried 1t and failed. The sixth time, with
every nerve strung to It's utmost tension,
with my teeth firmly set and my hands
clinched, l was determined to succeed
The audience rose almost en- masse with
excitement, and cries of Well done, any
howl Don't try 1t againl' maddened me
The first step was all right, so was the
next, but as left for the final spring the
horse stumbled slightly. 1t was too late.
I was up in the air and came down with
terrific crash, head and shoulders, lust dis
locating my elbow. didn't do the twist
err just then"
Ever try 1t againP"
"Oh, yes" was the winding up sentence
Of the interview, II do 1t nowih
What He Wanted.