Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1898-03-11
THEOLD CIRCUS MAN.
HIS TALK ABOUT THE FIRST SOUV1-
MRS GIVEN BY SHOW PEOPLE.


tended One Performance How the Peo-
ple Stood on the Girafic's Shadow.
"The first souvenirs ever know Of
being given out in tho show business, !"
said the old circus man, 1--WE gave away
in our show at the time wo had the big
10 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
the 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 n
long shadder at that hour of tho day, of
course, but the girafle's shadder reached
as far as you could see. And as soon as
one man begun to look at it 40 others
did, and then you'd see 'em. Two seen
1000 people at time limo up long that
shadder and just stand along the edge
of it down past the main tent and tho
sideshow tents, just standing there
lookin at it. The giraffe was great, but
his shadder fairly staggered 'em. And
there they'd stand till the sun dropped
down under the edge Of the Garth, and
the first thing they knew there wasn't
any shadder. Then they'd stare ut cach
other for minute, and then all bunch
up together again and look at the giraffe
till we took him in.
1--WE used to have 10 line on thi pro-
gramme saying that at o'clnck and mt
8 O'Clock the great giraffe would hand
around ice water. That's whore the SOU
venirs come in We used to give away
the glasses the water WAS in Tic glasses
were Marked Souvenir Of the Great
Giraffe, and whoever got em could
keep em. Tho seats in our circus were
divided into four sections. We used to
give away four dozen tumhlers ut every
performance, one in each section. When
the time come, we'd march the giraffe
around the edge of the ring. and in
front of each section his keeper would
hand him wire holder holding dozen
glasses, which he would take by tho
handle in his mouth. Tall rs he was, he
could reach easy to the highest back
seats. It's astonishing how people used
to grab for those glasses. 1t seems as
though the whole section would stand
up ON the seats and all grab for the
holder when it come near 'em. They'd
spill the water and get wet and have
the greatest time you ever heard Of but
nobody got hurt, and so we just let her
buzz along. But finally something did
happen.
"At one evening entertainment when
he was serving out the souvenirs, when
we come to one of the Sections there was
q man sitting OH the fourth tier from
the top who picked up his boy, bright
looking youngster about 10 years old,
who was sitting alongside Of him, and
sat him up on his shoulder. The giraffe
lifted the holder up and swept it along
the seats with the people grabbing, and
when it come near this man with the
boy on his shoulder the man just lifted
him up SO that the boy could stand on
his shoulders. He was going to get one
and when the holder came
along the boy made grab for it, There
was only one glass left in it then but
the boy got it. He upset it lifting it out
of tho holder and scattered the water
all over everybody, but that didn't
count. He got the glass and WAS COM
ing down with it when his father, in
stead of feeling him jounce down on his
felt his weight growing light
or, and the next minute he and every
body else saw the boy suspended in tho
air. When the giraffe saw the last glass
go, he lifted tho holder, the way ho al
ways did, to clear the people before
swinging it around and down to tic
keeper. This time when he lifted it the
buttons on the outside of the cuff Of tho
boys jacket got caught in the wires.
They were sewed ON the WY mothers
sew ON buttons. and they held tho
youngsters weight easily, and when
the giraffe lifted the holder up he lifted
the boy with it.
"Then there was scene. We knew
the giraffe wouldn't hurt fly, but it
looked to the people as though lie had
the boy in his teeth and was going to
sling him through the other end Ct no
where. The whole audience rose up and
stood leaning forrard, wntchin and
never sayin boo, but tho giraffe swung
his neck around as gentle and easy as
the arm of crane and lowered tho
holder and the boy hanging to it safe
into the arms of the keeper in tho ring.
The boy hadn't even dropped the tum'
bier.
'Then the people did holler, and the
giraffe walked off as stately is you
please, the hoy climbed back up to his
pop, and the show went on. &0bCdy
hurt, but when we run out Of The ianl.
blers we had Oh hand we adopted an
other style of souvenir. "--Aew YCl.i
Sun.
Unapprceiative.