Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-04-15
THE OLD CIRCUS MAN.
HIS TALK ABOUT THE FIRST SOUV--
MRS GIVEN BY SHOW PEOPLE.

they Were Distributed by the Great Gil
raffe "A Thrilling Incident Which a =
tended One Pcrformance-How the Eco
pie Stood on the Giraffe's Shadow.
"Tho first souvenirs | ever knew OF
icing given out in the show business,
raid the old circus man, eve gave away
in our show at the time we had tho big
IS foot giraffe. We never bad an at
traction that beat the big giraffe The
people were just carried away with
him. There wasn't anything about him
but what interested them, even the
slightest little things. On clear days,
when we were where we could do it and
tho sun was right for US, we used to get
| the giraffe out in front of the entrance
OF the main tent and have him stand
there like great sentry. People used to
stop and look up at him, and then the
first thing you know somebody'd dis
cover his shadder Anybody'd cast
long shadder at that hour of the day, Of
course, but the giraffe s shaddcr reached
as far as you could sec. And as soon as
one man begun to look at it 10 others
did and then you'd see 'on. I've seen
|, 600 people at a tilnolino up long that
shadder and just stand along the edge
Of it down past the main tent and tho
sideshow tents, just standing there
loohin at it, The giralT~was great, but
his shadder fairly staggered 'cm. And
there they'd stand till the sun dropped |
down under the edge of the earth, and |
the first thing they knew there WASH t
any shadder. Then they'd stare at each
other for minute, and then all bunch
up together again and look at the giraffe
till we took him in.
"We used to have q line on tho pro
gramme saying that at clock and at
8 o'clock the great giraffe would hand
around ice water. That where the sou
venirs come in. We used to give away
the glasses the water was in. The glasses
were marked, Souvenir Of the Great
Giraffe, and whoever got 'em could
Keep en-. The seats in our circus were
divided into four sections. We used to
1--WE away four dozen tumblcrs at every
performance, one in each section, When
he time come, Wod march the giraffe
round the edge Of tho ring, and in
ront Of each section his keeper would
and him wire holder holding a dozen
laaSes, which he would take BY The
andle i'll his mouth, Tall as he was, he
ould reach easy to the highest back
eats It's astonishing how people used
} grab for those glasses. 1t seems as
louSh the whole section would stand
p ca the seats and all grab for the
older Whe,! it come near 'cnl. THEY'D '
III the water and Get wet and have :
10 greatest time you ever heard Of, but
1b9dy got hart, and SO we just let her
lGa along. But finally something did ?
sppcn.
at one evening entertainment when u
was serving cut the souvenirs, whom p
come to one Of the sections, there was
man sitting Oh the fourth tier from q
G top who picked up his boy, a bright u
'A!nS youngarer about 10 years old,
10 was sitting alongside Of hia. and W
him up OIL his shoulder. The giraffe II
ted the holder up and swept it along Is
seats with the A9pla. grabbing, and &c
len 1t come near this man with the al
on bis shoulder the man just lifted Dt
II up so that the boy could stand On I'll
shoulders lie was going to get one U
way, and when the holder ca,no pc
ng tho boy made grab for it. There n
only one glass left III it then, but
boy got it. IIoupset it liltingit cut ,
he holder and scattered the water tn
over everybody, but that didn't Oh
ut. lie got the glass and was COM III
down with it when his father, in.
d OF feeling him jounco down on his WI
alder, felt his weight growing light 'o
and the next miuuto he and every
else saw the boy suspended in the .n'
"len the giraffe SAW the last glass III
he lifted the holder, the way he al COZ
$ old, to clear the people before ga
aging 1t around and down to the vi
'er. This time when ho lifted it TIC
ons on the outside Of the cuff of tn, -,
$ jacket got caught in the wire. w
were soWed On the way mothers nc
on buttons, and they Leld the spl
lgstor's weight easily, and whom
giraffe lifted tho holder up he lifted the
boy with it. ten
Then there WAS q sca,o yvo l.,,,,-, wa
giraffe wouldn't hurt a fly, but it
Ell to the people as though he Lad ne
Joy III his teeth AID was going to OF
MN through tie other end of no. PM
re. The whole audience rose M and
! leaning forrard watchin and
sayln boo, but the giraffe swung ro,I'
'ecK around as gentle and easy as ;,n;
arm CT crane and lowered tl,o H.
Ell and the boy hanging to it safe - ="
the arms of the keeper in tie ring. s'
boy hadn't even dropped the tum- u;n,
hen the people did hollcr and The up I.
10 walked off as stately as Won a w.
e, the boy climbed back IN to his apo'
ana the show went on. Nobodv r Tni
bat when we run out OF the tnu. . LINZ
we had OH hand we adotled an. '"o
+'o" oIh have
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