The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-27
Green R@som Talk.

(trickery and ingratitude of politicians
while, at the same time. making tn,
thumps seem vastly funny. The yeir
is n quite to the popular taste, ane
not without relish. The immediate ant
great success attained by the play ant
company on Its first visit to this city
was well attested by the great pleasure
AFFORDED the large audiences then, and
by the crowded houses during Their
last seasons engagement.
Even the same authors widest bur-
lesque absurdities did not contain as
many laughs as there are in his thor
oughly rational piece. No comedy in
years has had more effect upon an au-
dience than "A Texas Steer
Katie putnam has been specially en-
gagged for the par of Bossy. Maurice
Freeman Is the honest Texan Maverick
Brander Will H.. Bray still appears I'm
his original creation. The Minister to
Dahomey.' and the cast numbers over
20 people. including the Bison City
quartette, William F.. Walcott. Ben II.
| Cook. Lester l.. Pike, Harry c. West.
Frank A. Girard, ii. b. Emery. Nadine
Winston. Louise Sydmeth. Julia Graves,
Gustave Neville and w. II. Stevens.
The appearance of a minstrel organi-
eaton Is now so rare a theatrical event
that, by striking contrast with the past,
IL forcibly recalls to the minds of all
old theater-goers the time when similar
troupes were counted by the tens where
they now only figure I'm the units. The
burnt cork artist Is distinctly an
American product. and with more or
less prominence he has been in evidence
on the stage for over three-quarters
Of a century. AS early as 1915 negro
representations were given i'm N
ton with meiodrama, but il was not
until 1888 that special minstrel troupes
were organized, the first consisting of
the famous quartette-Dan Emmett.
Frank Brewer. Billy Whitlock and
DICK Pelham-who gave their initial
performance. the first of its kind ever
given anywhere. on the 18th of Febru-
airy, 1s43. Since that date the passage
of years has witnessed hundreds. IL not
thousands, Of similar organizations,
and this arm of the dramatic art has
raised into national, and i'm some in
stances. international renown such
familiar names al Dan Emmett. Char
ley White. George Christy. Eph Horn.
Nelse Seymour. Billy Birch. Billy
Backus, Ben Cotton. Bob Hart. Ben
Gardner, Luke Schoolcraft. Gus How
ard. Billy Gray, Robert Slavin, Tony
Hart, Lew Benedict, William Arling-
ton, Cal Wagner and Billy Kersands.
The last named mas outlived all other
performers of note. and to-day is as
popular as ever. and is the star of
Richards & Pringle's famous Georgias
in union with russo IL Hollands oper-
attic minstrels. who appear at the
Union Family theater for one week
Monday, March 2Sth. They
make a daily street parade. introducing
two bands.
There seem To be no truth in the re-
port that Anna Held. who soon comes
TO Butte, contemplates embarking i'm
the live stock business. IL probably
grew out of the fact that she has quite
"A neat little collection OF four-footed
cufios. First. there's her lion. which
she calls Mckinley; then Sandow. "A
great Dane, weighing POS pounds: two
Italian greyhounds, Fam and Nellie: "A
bull terrier. Tiger. hat she AYERS can
lick his weight i'm wild cats: and. lastly, |
but not least. a 16-pound canine called
Chico A few weeks ago Miss Held con-
cluded To give variety to her collection
by Incorporating in IL the thoroughbred
saddle horse Kentucky. Evidently "A
case OF beauty and several beasts. She
seems to set most store by her lion. Her
first care after getting into a new city
is to see that Mckinley is well provided
for at the theater. The shaggy beast is
and secured in some nice warm
place under the stage; at first the stage
hands were inclined To poke fun at the
but he displayed "a capacity i'm the
noble art of self-defense that engender-
ed respect. n the frolicsome meddiers
began to let him alone. One night Man
ager Ziegfeld took down a dudish friend,
who desired a seance with Mckinley. |
claiming that he had a peculiar mag
netic power in handling animals. He |
made a few passes at Mckinley, hut the
lion, instead of going into a trance, |