The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-26
THE CIRCUS HORSE.
uow HE is TRAINED TO PERFORM
WONDERFUL TRICKS.

v~Nf.n faEDlOn II lIlC AliJOlAtS u PNbAAN
.--,,,esments the theater and the music
I'll more especially, has undergone a vast
,,soee during the last fifteen or twenty
mrs the circus, although greatly i'm
moved in certain respects, still retains its
"a famaliar features. There are two rea-
,,s Tor this conservatism in the circus.
:, the first place, children, and the more
s,silv pleased class of adults, for whom
ttiy kind of entertainment chiefly exists,
are happily, of the same disposition as
t,rrerlv. being still capable of laughing
aver a harmless quip and enjoying excel
Isrr Craftsmanship. Again, the circus bus
mess is generally a family affair The
,erformers are connected with each other
t1roilgh marriage, and it is ten to one
,bst the ringmaster is the husband of the
d,sbjng lady rider and that the Infant
to,kev'' is the offspring of the union. The
oir,ns performer is born in the sawdust
ond educated in the ring. Even, now, de-
snite the modern boom in education, he
travels in a caravan in much the same
nav as did his parents before him. He
,ftc,es his tent in a different place al
most day by day, and, even when his show
&c located for a heightened period in a
large town, he has no time to mix with
outsiders. for he is constantly occupied
eitber with new tricks for himself or in
exercising and training his horses. Inc
tr,7itions of the circus are handed down
ram generation to generation, and as
concurrence there is little change in the
,,orformance itself. The scene of action
and the surroundings have been improved
-. that Is all The time-honored
,p-beezes" of the clown still retain their
laugbter-provoking element, and tne glory
If the circus still remains in the lazy VINO
Jumps through paper-covered hoops' Ia
yoi1iar]v known as balloons Inc eX-
1arirnent of giving elaborate equestrian
and spectacular displays in the circus ring
has often been tried but the success mas
not been invariable, and experience mas
moved that the old-fashioned circus is, in
he long run, the most attractive TO the
general public.
There could not be a better authority on
this subject than the Oldest circus propr!e-
TOR in the world, Mr.. George Sanger VINO
has been before the public, as performer
and Snowman for close upon sixty years,
and is deserving of a diamond jubilee
an TO himself. In a black velvet tunlc
and big hat with enormous ostrich piumes,
he travelled the country as youth, taklnS
part in all the village fairs and acquiring
much celebrity as a eonjurer. He was the
first to introduce performing birds and
white mice to the wondering yokels, and
he invented the three-ring performance
three entertainments going at the same
time-Uhich afterwards became the feat
ure of the Barnum & Bailey circus. lie
has trained everything appeartaining to
circus life, from a child to an elephant.
When he produced THE Congress of Mon
archs" at the Agricultural hal, lnsling-
ton in the late Cos, the paraphernalia in
cluded thirteen gorgeous carved and gilt
emblazoned chariots, 1872 horses and over
LOO suits of armor" A replica of this
show. excepting the horses, was subse-
ouently sold by him for $4,000 to p. L.
Barnum. When, a few years later, he
made his first continental tour, he paid
f1,600 for the shipment of his show from
Pep6ord to Havre. There were no less
than forty-six carriages, 100 horses, eleven
elephants, twelve camels, 230 people, and
an enormous amount of luggage. Moth
ing at EarlS court this year has been
more successful than Sanger'S circus,
where the Judgment of the old Snowman
has been demonstrated by giving the hol-
iday public an entertainment from when
wild animals are excluded. Good horses
and good riders combine to revive the
more than one magnificent specimen of
equine strength and grace to be seen here,
and more than one rider of skill and dar-
ing to amuse the young and compel admir-
alton from the grown-up visitor
With the actual training Of the horses
employed in a circus the proprietor has
nowadays little to do, for the modern rid
er provides his own animals; but know
ledge on the subject is essential, and, as
in Mr.. Sanger's case, has been obtained
by experience. In connection with a pro-
duction of Mazeppa, Or the Wild Horse
Of Tartary Mr.. Sanger relates that the
fiery, untamed steed' was a decent
looking spotted horse which, L should say,
had been twenty summers and winters. 1
had bought him from an Irishman near
Liverpool, and had broken him to the
business of rearing, kicking, bucking and
the indispensable exhaustion and lying
down" In regard to what Mr.. Sanger
describes as a good kicking horse for
Mazeppa business, or a buck-jumping
horse for Buffalo Bill business the meth
Cd Of manufacture is thus detailed by
him.
Take a common pin, or any other
sharp instrument, and when you approach
the horse put your hand against the POM
mel Of the saddle, near the horses with
ers, and stick the pin into that portion;
the horse, of course, rears, and directly
ne shows these symptoms you caress him.
1hs may be repeated time after time. If
you want to show terrible vice in the
morse, use the pin in the same manner
at the back part of the saddle, where the
cfupper will be attached. This will make
nm Hing up from behind, just the re-
verse of rearing. In order to train horse
10 he down, you should strap up the
oll lore leg, and then, with a light hand
"Hlp or bit of cane, keep touching him
below the knee upon the fore leg upon
which he stands. To avoid this treatment
Ihe horse will in very short time go
uoWh upon his knees, and while he is
mere You will naturally caress him, to
convey to him the idea that he is doing
what you want while you are doing no
Harm to him. After that has been done a
lew times you go to the off side and pull
,ne prldle toward you; the horse will then
isdh on the near side and lie down. Per-
lals he may jump up in a fright at first,
pul upon the performance being frequent
~ repeated he will enter into your wishes
a,io become efficient in the business. Above
an Things, however do not play the fool
iu lose your temper. L know it is the
tngIel Oh the general public that all train
Jug IS carried on by the treatment of the
mn aIgl age, when torture reigned supreme.
, riis' however, is a complete mistake.
,, .''re may be isolated cases, but the peo-
m 7