The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-11

there we set to work-that is, my brother,
myself and two other men. We had an
immense water-wheel and several lathes
and complete kit of tools. We worked
hard. but we finally succeeded in getting
five other horns made and they were even
better than the first and in July, 1919 1
sent word to Barnum that my work was
done and that the horns were ready to be
played upon.
The wind chest into which the horns
entered was made of sheet brass, and the
harp ornaments were originally made for
the sheet iron stoves so much in vogue
fifty years ago. The horns were common
cattle and COW horns scraped thin and
highly polished, and were from three
inches to about eighteen inches long.
These were inserted into brass tubes
which entered the wind chest. Each horn
had a reed inserted in the end entering the
brass tube and this was controlled by
round key on the principle of the German
concertina. The wind was furnished by
the Druid, who blew through a flexible
tube which entered the top of the wind
chest
Il had been given the job of training
the band, now that the horns were done,
and 1 wish you could have seen the ma
terial he sent me. They were three Ger
mans-Herr Sebastin Miller, George Ri
bault and a gawky fellow named Kothe
Miller couldn't speak a word of English,
but he was good musician and the others
were nearly ignorant of the language
1 had a great time training those chaps
My instructions were drilled into solid
rock and the questions the men asked me
could only be conveyed to me by signs
but Bamum had secured men that were
well able to keep his secret guarded. We
made the Bristol hotel place of prac-
tce, and from morning to night we played,
behind thick walls with muffied tones
The Dutchmen did exceedingly well, and
before the fall was half over we could
play several tunes without a break, all the
music we used being the production of
Herr Miller.
The first of August Barnum sent up
the Druid costumes we were to wear. They
consisted of fesh-colored tights and vel
vet tunics trimmed with silver and gold
unsel. There were sandals for each man
and an acorn-shaped gray cap. Long gray
hair hanging TO the shoulders and Whis-
kers falling down over the breast also
added to the effect and bracelets of black
velvet and tinsel were to be worn.
1--WE were billed to arrive in New York
in the middle of December by ship from
Great Britain. and all this time we had
private rooms in the Irving house and
were rehearsing daily. Barnum visited us
just before Christmas week to see that
all was in readiness and then he adver-
tsed that the first appearance of a Druid
Druids, would be made on his stage
Christmas day and that we would arrive
on a certain ship that day The night
before we were rowed out of New York
harbor and the old Snowman had made
arrangements to get us on board a ship
well, everything went all right and the
next day christmas day. our ship weigh
ed anchor about noon in New York har-
Dor. The announcement of our arrival
had spread like wildhre and caused the
greatest excitement and there was a gen
uine mob ready to greet us when we went
on shore. We went to the Irving house
followed by the crowd, and ate dinner
after which we donned our costumes, pre-
pared the instruments and about o'clock
we started to march down Broadway to
Barnums museum.
The crowd was simply sitting and a
big squad of police marched ahead of us
and we followed, clad in full dress with
Botsford at the head dressed in white to
represent an arch Druid. We didn't play
any, but the curious horns were hung
across our shoulders and were the cause
of an inexcusable amount of talk.
when we arrived at the museum there
was such a crowd at the doors that it
took over an hour for the police to get
US through and then we had completed
one of the hardest marches the world has
ever seen. At the afternoon performance
went tolerably well, but the demand for
admittance was so great that the doors
had to be closed and great crowds turned
away without seeing the show We kept
up this afternoons and evenings for three
months. Rival shows tried to hire us,
newspapers lauded us and the Druid band
was one of the leading attractions of
America.
There is no telling how long this would
have lasted had not Barnum become
crazed over Jenny Lind; he secured her as
a musical attraction, tired of the band and
sold out to me and a man named Farms
worth, who came from some where out
west We Travelled and gave concerts IN
til 1853. when my partner sold out to a
theatrical man named Brown.
I'VE Travelled principally in the west and
went through Ohio three times and finally
revisited New York. We got to Columbus
O., and met a man who had an engage
ment with Wise, the balloonist, and we
hired him at 500 week to make weekly
ascensions. We gradually collected about
us a circus of 100 horses. eighty people
and a large convas. We were making
money hand over fist, but my time was all
taken uD with business and I decided to
sell out the band and so It eventually
went out under the Dutchman's manage
ment.
"Since then Barnum. Botsford and Mil
Ter have passed away; the great bass horn
that Miller used was destroyed I'm Woods
museum at Chicago when that building
was burned to the ground. Weber left all
the horns in Cipcinnati. and they came
into the possession of a relative, John
Shelter Of Columbus. but he too, is dead
to-day, and the whereabouts of the in
struments IS unknown.
And as for mel had bills and pic
lures of the Druid band in my possession,
but l have knocked about the world too
much to keep anything. and l have been
burned out Of house and home five times,
and all these bills have been DESTROYED.
The only reminder of the band that /
have left Is this time-stained envelope.
and this old head OF mine furnishes ali the
data OF the most wonderful, perhaps, Of
all my experiences"
GAMES OF ALL NATIONS.