The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-05-26
Moving the Circus.

Order is the dlety OF the circus
camp.
There is no more perfectly organic.
ed army in the world than the com.
munities living under circus regula.
tions. The Ringing circus, which
visited this city with pecuniary re.
suits satisfactory to itself and a varied
sum of pleasures to its patrons, exem'
pli6ed this.
An hour after the special train on
which the Ringing Bros. travel with
their show had arrived in this city,
the village of 745 souls was thorough.
ly at home on its tented field of II
acres on Grand and Laclede avenues.
The bestowal of all the human and
animal and chattel freight is one of
the high arts in the circus world and
requires the services Of 100 canvas
men, to say nothing Of the small army
of drivers and keepers of animals.
The Scriptural prediction that the
first should be last and the last first
has been fulfilled by the present day
circus in its manner Of loading and
unloading its bulky freight. The last
wagons driven upon tho circus fat cars
at the last show place were the cook
wagons. This was in accordance with
the far.seeing plans of the leading
spirits of the circus, who, being men,
are fond Of the creature comforts and
wanted to be able to command the re-
sources and facilities of the cook wag-
ons as soon after arrival at the next
town as possible. The kitchen wag-
ons unload, their immediate neighbors,
the draught horses, are hitched to the
wagons and the provender installment
of the big outdoor show goes merrily
on its way.
How does it find it's way, especially
as the drivers are making probably
their first visit to the city? If the
arrival is at night their way to the
tenting grounds has been marked by a
man sent in advance for that purpose.
This is known as the light man, as he
has a corps of workers with him to
arrange the setting up Of beacons at
regular intervals along the way. These
torches are small and of a color that
will not conflict with any set Of street
signals that might be established.
They are low, flaming signals that the
accustomed eye of the circus drivers
never fails to distinguish. Their in
structions are to pay 10 attention to
sign posts or verbal instructions, but
to follow those lights without devia-
ton. If the driver comes to a point
where the streets divide he is to be
governed by the side upon which the
torch is placed. If it is set on the
right the driver guides his team in
that direction, no matter if an army
stands in the way commanding him to
go to the left. Arriving at the circus
grounds the canvas men have an op.
portunity to show their nimbleness.
The stakes are driven four to each
side pole, and every man is RESPONSE
BILE for keeping the number of stakes
intact. If it be diminished by so
much as n he must pay a fine of at
least 60 cents, so he boards those
stakes religiously and rarely loses one.
Each man has in charge a certain num-
Der of side poles. These are the spe-
cial property Of which he is custodian,
as much as the elephants are the par
ticular care of Perl Souder, the other
animals of William Winner and the
canvas work in general of John SMELL
ing, ''the boss canvas man." The
stakes driven, the side poles set up,
the canvas is unrolled and stretched
upon the skeleton-like frame, which
looks all the more spectral when the
moonlight falls upon it. While this
work Of the culinary department is
going on other wagons have been ar
irving. These later arrivals are the
animal wagons with the canvas and
tent poles. The process Of setting up
side and center poles, driving stakes.
unrolling, stretching and lacing the
canvas is gone through on a larger
scale in the animal tent. And last Of
all comes the "big top" 436 feet long
and 225 wide. Here it is that the
performances are given and not the
smallest task is the putting up Of the
frame and laying the painted boards
which serve as seats for the thousands
who will watch the antics of mar and
woman and horse and elephant from
those seats within a few hours. The
performers have been arriving mean
while with their wardrobes, and, as
soon as they arrive, file into the cook
tents, where an appetizing mess more
luxurious than is to be found in most
army quarters, meets their gaze.
The proprietors and heads of de-
partments dine in one tent, the per-
formers in another, the other attaches
in a third. An hour has seen this
transformation from the dust Of the
railroad journey to the comparative
comfort Of the camp ground. 1t is q
latter day miracle Of rapidity and sys-
tenn.
The weeks work over, the process
Of taking down began after the with
drawal Of the pageant Saturday night.
It was 8:15 o'clock precisely when
Boss Canvasman Snelling's army Of
100 fell quietly to work at preparing
for departure. The animal tent was
no more in demand, and the men be-
gan uuloosening those sections Of the
large tent allotted to them. Stimuli
~taneously with the dropping Of the
canves of the tent, wood-like covers
were drawn over the cages Of the ami
NAL wagons. The poles were tied up,
the stakes collected and carefully
counted. The tongues had been put
into the wagons earlier in the evening,
and while the poles were being loaded
upon wagons standing at the rear, .hor-
ses were being brought in and hitched
to the animal wagons. The same
work has been going on at the cook
tents, and when the first animal wagon
draws out upon Laclede avenue, it is
in the wake of the cook wagons, which
lead the van
When the attendants at the circus
left the "big top tent that night they
we're b~ewildered by the unexpected
change that had taken place. Where
the animals had prowled restlessly and
growled o~minonsly in the big tent at
the entrance there was silence, and
instead of a canvas canopy the sky
llama NTH It's silver nrascnnt and