The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-09-24

hing. peTspiring. but hapry cro.rd. The
men were vociferous. the women broad.
~ smiling. Girls siggled ana blushe5
when the clown tossed kisses AZ them
ana their escorts bought what they
called refreshments and tried with
prodigality to purchase popularity.
There was bareback riding-and. he
ing old, will say these later days have
taught Us nothing in that. There was
the leaping through balloons which
seems to have come with the first cir
Gus and trapeze performance which
was doubtless good There was triel,
riding and performers on a horizontal
bar. And then there was a bout AZ hoy.
ing.
Nothing could have been more timely
No doubt amusement purveyors are the
same yesterday, to-day and forever.
ana even before rural audiences. which
they hold in contempt, delight in max
Ing applause. Well, this sparring ex-
hibiton was no frost" Very likely
that undertone combadyeness, which.
appealed to by drum and fife, set a ma.
tion at war. was just sufficiently assert
I've to respond to this matching OF man
against man. For there was nothing of
the hippodrome about the affair. The
men were fearfully, exhaustively in
earnest. But to me, who got even In
war time my first sight Of human blood
drawn in anger, there was something so
horrible, so Notwithstanding, so impos-
sible, that | appealed with tears to
the man at my right to stop them. He
was a powerful fellow, but he laughed
at me.
Ihe circus was almost over when
loud voices to the right announced the
beginning OF quarrel. There were Mt
least ten years, beginning In 1851. when
circus men counted themselves fortu-
nate II they got out of town without
a battle. They hired canvas men who
We're as good at fighting as at work.
The whole corps of workers was organ
lied and constantly prepared. And the
towns In which they showed were sure
to have ''hard men," Fighting was the
order Of the day. The circus simply
provided the occasion.
Sitting up there In our lofty place. we
could hear that premonltory speech in
an ominous lull of other sounds, could
feel, as sentient humans always do, the
gathering Of human muscle and the
hardening Of human hearts And then
we could see little rush, for the words
had ceased, and the fight was on. II
don't remember the "Hey, Rubev ex-
clamation, which later years have told
me is the showman's slogan; but |
know that great wave of horror rolled
over the hearts of those who did not
love fight, and the soul of slaughter
leaped up In those who scented battle i
afar off, and FASTENED to join in it.
Who began 1t, what 1t was about
how many were hurt, and who finally |
trlumphed are matters of small con-
Germ. | have an idea none of the COM
batants is still living, so 1t does not
matter. But l do know the seats were
law officers were defied.
bleeding men surged across the ring
chasing other bleeding men before
them, and were chased back In turn.
And ut last it was all over. Someone
said the combatants had transferred
the field Of their activities up town."
and we avoided that quarter OIL our
way home
There were many nelghbors from be-
yond our farm, but the battle separ-
ated us from them, and we walked back
to the farm. Just as we came to our
meadow gate the first wagon Of that
show came along, driving already for
the next town, thirty miles away. The
driver was asleep, his horses taking the
way Of their own free WILL A man
ahead on horseback seemed, although
half mile away, to mark out the line
Of march. The great golden chariot,
housed in dull trappings to keep off the
dust and the rain and the sun, rolled
heavily past, and the gaudy men who
rode so proudly by day slept in it mis-
erably by night and blessed their stars
they could find the solace of even so