The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-10
TOLD eY THE OLD CIRCUS MAN
Last OF n Great Giraffe, the Growing
Attraction of the show.

Attraction OF the show.
Finally" said the old circus man,
we lost the great 1s-foot giraffe, the
greatest single attraction the show ever
had. I've told you something of the
wonderful things the giraffe used to do.
He had the intelligence of a human be-
Ing. and his great size made every
thing he did seem more strange and
wonderful stiH. He lost his life finally
In an act that was one of the most
striking things we ever did, and that
used to make US all stand around our
selves when IL was on.
w had at that time an 1S-foot ana
COMA mat was a great snake i don't
mean Tor size SO much, though, of
course, an lo-foot serpent is STABLE, but
for what he could do and what he'd let
us do with him. The great act i'm which
the giraffe finally lost his life was an
act with this anaconda. made possible
by the snakes intelligence, though still
more by the power over him of our
snake man, who could make him do
wonderful things, but who, as IL turned
out, could not control him absolutely,
MOI change his nature.
The act consisted in tying the giraffe
TO the anaconda placed in the ground
as a post. Our snake man had got the
anaconda so that he would hold HIM
self perfectly rigid and permit himself
to be carried about in that way like a
pole, n we used TO make a hole in the
ground about three feet deep n set
the tail OF the snake in that, and there
he'd stand, a post Is feet high. What
we set out to do and what We did. after
we'd got ready, at every show, was
to have the giraffe seem standing in
the ring tied to a post, to have him
pull up the post TO which he was tied,
have the post coil itself around the gil
RATES. neck. and then have the giraffe
walk on out of the ring with him hat
way.
w tried the snake first on the GEN.
ter pole. burying him near 1t. and hoist
ing him out by a little boom rugged out
from 1t, n letting him coil himself
around that. He couldn't crush the
center pole and We gradually trained
him in that way not TO construct after
being pulled up, and during this train
ing Of the snake we got the giraffe sort
of accustomed to what was expected
of him, and we had some actual trials,
of course, before we produced the act
I'm the ring. The giraffe never liked IL:
never. He'd had an experience with an
anaconda ~before-perhaps you remem-
Der my telling you about it-but he did
has part like a man.
I'VE used to sink the snake, as 1 told
you, about three feet, which brought
's~ ~ Wv Va mn Alt " VI Allt
post. about three feet lower than the top
of the CRANES head. We had a head
stall on the giraffe, and a halter rope
from the throatlatch made fast around
the post. with slack enough between the
giraffe and the post so that IL would
hang with a little loop.
We'll. now, you know, IL used 10
please the people very much when they
came i'm, TO see the great giraffe hitched
to a post like that, and we never had
any u In keeping their attention
fixed on him. They couldn't take their
eyes of him. and pretty soon, when the
time came for opening the show, band
booming away all the time. tent full,
excitement sort of growing and people
kind of petting on edge and all ready,
all of a sudden the band would stop
short. the clown and the ringmaster
would halt right where they stood, the
talking would all stop in a second. and
you could just feel the quiet. Then
something seemed TO make everybody
look harder'n ever toward the giraffe.
And then they'd see the giraffe settle
his feet a little bit. and incline his head
and AXE the ROPE in his teeth close
down by the post and lift. He'd lift il
out. clear OF the ground so hat you
could see under the point OF II. between
IL and the earth, and there he'd hold 1t
Tor a minute, swaying just a little but
not much anu hanging JUST a nttle OF
from the perpendicular because the loop
OF the halter rope was a little way down
from the top.
Then the people would see something
different that they wouldn't laugh at.
They'd see the point of the post curl
up and slide over the CRATES Shout
der and around his neck Then they'd
realize what II was. and IL was tire
mendous to see him turn the coils until
there was left at last nothing but his
own neck and head alongside of the gil
ranes head and pointing up above IL.
Then. at the word Of command. the
great giraffe would march OF. carrying
the anaconda so, as proud and brave
and strong as "A Hon. but with his life
at stake every minute. as he knew.
Then everybody under the canvas would
draw a long breath. the longest breath
you ever heard. and I used to breathe
a little freer myself then. OF some
where behind the canvas, where I could
look on, because there was a good many
thousand dollars locked up in the gil
rane, 10 say nothing OF the love we all
had FOR him. and then the ban would
come In with a grand rash. and the
clown would crack a joke. and the ring
master would crack his whip. and the
show would 20 on.
But one day the end came. The
giraffe always marched OF with a slow. |
stately. measured tread. head pretty
Well up. one day, as he was moving I
along In hat way toward the entrance.
We saw him shorten step with his nigh
toreieg not more than an inch or two. |