The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-06-25
A RIDING BEAR.
"BrunO" Does Grand Bareback Act
With the Ringing Bros. Big Shows.

"Bruno" Does a Grand Bareback Act
With the Ringing Bros. Big Shows.
One of the novel features presented
by the Ringing Bros. Worlds Great
est Shows, and afforded by no other
circus in this country, is an equestrian
bear. The bear is big black fellow
weighing about 300 pounds and is a
good burden of himself, for any horse
to carry. That he is good rider
will be seen by every patron of the
big show; that he is positive nov
city every one admits.
Charles Roach, who performs
Bruno" was asked the other day how
the idea came into his head to train
bear to ride horse, and especially
how he was ever enabled to teach
Bruno all the tricks of d modern high
class bare back rider. Mr. Roach
didn't know how he happened to
think of it, he said. but as he had
been training various sorts of animals
throughout his circus career, he
simply started in to train bear to
ride.
At the outset he had more trouble
in educating the horse than the bear.
The bear knew that he was muZzled
and couldn't bite, but the horse
seemed to have doubts upon that
subject. Bruno knew he couldn't get
hold of the horses neck with his
claws, because his claws had been
filed squarely on the ends and also be-
cause of heavy shield of sole leather
between his foot and the horses skin.
But the horse had to take all these
things for granted and it was more
than difficult to persuade him that a
big, growing, full grown bear perched
upon his shoulders, with his hot
breath wheeling in his ear, WASH t at
all dangerous. sit was hard task"
said Mr.. Roach, to reconcile the two
animals. The horse was afraid of the
bear, and the bear was actually
afraid of the horse-that is he was
frightened the minute the horse
started, probably because he didn't
want to get nasty fall. and he knew
he couldn't save himself, because his
claws were blunt.
"Well, at the outset, we got short
step ladder, such as are used in Pull
man cars 60 give access to upper
tial pad for the bear to ride upon, and
then fixed up leather screen to pro-
tect the horse. We forced the bear
to walk up the steps and then we
started the horse. The fact is, the
horse was more than willing to start,
and he went out from under poor
Bruno like a shot out of a gun. Bruno
hit the ground with bump and made
bee line for the menagerie. We
caught him and tried it again Bruno
was foxy this time and he squatted
down as close to the pad as he could
get and held to the leather neck
shield with his teeth. The horse
plunged for minute, but Bruno
stuck and from that time on we had
less and less trouble with him every
day. By working him an hour every
morning and afternoon through the
winter season in quarters, we per-
fected the act. The horse and bear
appear 20 be great friends now. l i'm
agine the horse is tickled to death
that the bear doesn't kill him. and the
bear is delighted to know that the
horse won't jump out frOmunder hi no
and give him a nasty fall. 1t is a
happy combination now, and the act
works perfectly.
Bruno leaps banners and objects,
turns sOmersaults over banners of
colored bunting, stands up like man,
| stands upon his fore feet, makes
vaults and leaps, and initiates every
act of finished principal bare back
rider. OF course it took great pa
thence and lot of time to accomplish
all these things, but once mastered
Bruno never forgets them, and his
riding act today is as nearly perfect
as any animal can ever be taught to
do it. Yes, l give the horse fully as
much credit as the bear"
Ringing Bros. come to Mankato
July 3. Seats and admission tickets
will be on sale on show day at Grie-
| bells shoe store.