The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1898-03-19

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(ANCN III pings and the
NV IN W ~ cheap appoint
Wy1| } MM. * ments of the
f%WfZ famous Signor
N ,h#SSs7 Salyiatoria as
Ak;X KSIASE% single handed
Mk|KnSHSMA2IT~. and alone he
ASlgMV|yH1e prepared t h c
nLzSgiHNXWhz[ZI paraphernalia
w. Ez8AYM44E1 for his tigh t.
aM&SS@ rope perform
ance which had brought him his glory
would have ever imagined that there
was time or space i'll his busy life for
romance. The Signor was a peri
patetic perambulator Of the rope, and
his field Of performance lay in coun-
try towns, where it was his wont to
stretch his narrow pathway across a
street from roof to roof of houses
whose owners were willing 10 extend
that privilege to him in exchange for
tickets to "the Great and Only Megath-
erian Concert" which followed the
outdoor exhibition. Yet he had q
romance, and there were in it those
elements which one greater than the
Signor Salviatoria might easily have
crystaliized into melodrama that
would have stirred the applause of q
thousand galleries.
"The greatest act I ever DONE" he
said with natural and easy disregard
Of accent and syntax, II done in
m Ohio town about ten years ago. I
was doing my turn there for week,
as it was the county fair season, and
was following their trail like sleuth,
for they brought people to town and
helped my business, never none too
good. The third night Of my perform
ance, which was half-hour exhibition
in midair before the concert had be-
gun, I had gone up on the roof to git
things ready, and while was potter
ing around snuggin' up the rope and
seeing that there wasn't any loose cogs
to be dropping, I heard a screech up
through the scuttle hole leading to the
roof and the next second out popped o
woman like one of these here jumping
jacks. Itgive me hard pull on my
nerves, but flew over to see what the
matter was. 1t was my landlady-and
here l want to say that when I stop
for any time in a town 60 to board
ing house where I can get q rate that
won't break me. Got to do it in this
line. Can't give it all to railroads and
hotels.
"In this case not only stopped at
this boarding house, but the landlady
let me stretch my rope from her roof
to the roof of the house across the
way, and as it was the main street of
the town, it was convenient all the
way round for me. The only draw
back was that the lady had half
crazy husband that never had done
anything for her when he had his
senses, and now she had to support
him and take his abuse of her every
time he got jealous fit, which was
every time she had a new boarder
that was anything for looks and style.
''She had only been polite to me
because had been polite to her. as
any gent should be when there is
pretty woman around, and the land
lady was the prettiest little woman,
about as big as piece Of soap, had
met.
"As I was saying, when I got to
her she had slung the cover 20 the
scuttle hole over it and was sitting on
it with her jaw set and trying to stick
her toes into the roof to help hold it
down. In mighty few words she
told me her husband was on the chase
after her with a Ratchet to kill her and
he would be up from below in min
ute. She wasn't as bad scared as I
was, for I didn't have much exper-
fence in that kind of business and didn't
know what to do. I didn't have any
thing to defend myself or her with,
either, and the more / thought of the
situation the more I began to think
how many things there were that was
more dangerous than walking a tight
rope fifty feet above the earth, and
me as innocent as babe. The little
woman told me to bring barrel half
full Of sand there was over in one
corner Of the roof and we'd set it over
the cover of the scuttle to hold it
down. I done it as fast as could,
and when we had the barrel there and
about fixed, the crazy husband come
up with his Ratchet. As luck
would have it the sand fell on him
and knocked him off the ladder below
and the barrel got stuck in the hole,
so the little woman aud me had a
minute or two to think, and she done
the thinking.
- III A1GrI=,.,,-.seS 81 ~