The St. Johns herald., 1896-11-21

ming, perspiring. but happy crowd. The
 men were vociferous, the women broad
 ly smiling. Girls giggled and blushed when the clown tossed kisses at them
 and their escorts bought what they
 called refreshments and tried with
 prodigality to purchase popularity.
 There was bareback riding-and. be-
 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 trick
 riding and performers on a horizontal
 bar. And then there was bout at box
 ing.
 Nothing could have been more timely.
 No doubt amusement purveyors are the same yesterday, to-day and forever, and even before rural audiences, which they hold in contempt, delight in mak- ing applause. Well, this sparring ex- hibition was no "frost." Very likely that undertone combativeness, which, appealed to by drum and fife, set a na- 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 heart-sickenlng, so impos- sible, that I appealed with tears to the man at my right to stop them. He was a powerful fellow, but he laughed at me.
 The circus was almost over when loud voices to the right announced the beginning of quarre. There were at least ten years, beginning in 1861, when circus men counted themselves fortu- nate if they got out of town without a battle. They hired canvas men who were as good at fighting as at work. The whole corps of workers was organ iZed and constantly prepared. And the towns in which they showed were sure to have 'shard 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 premonitOry speech in an ominous Hull 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 a little rush, for the words had ceased, and the fight was on. don't remember the Hey, Rube! ex- clamat ation, 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 afar off, and hastened to join in it.
 Who began 1t, what 1t was about, how many were hurt, and who finally triumphed are matters of small con- cern. have an idea none of the con- batants Is still living, so 1t does not matter. But do know the seats were overturned, law officers were deied, bleeding men surged across the ring l chasing other bleeding men before | them, and were chased back in turn. And at last it was all over. Someone said the combatants had transferred | the field of their activities up town" and we avoided that quarter on our | way home.
 There were many neighbors 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 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 meager a repOSe,-ChicagO Chronicle,