Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-01-04
OLD CIRCUS DAYS.
STORIES OF THE sAWDuST KNIGHTS
OF THE SOUTH.

The Huni>ey Boys and How Their
Feast Was Turned Into Mourning.
Lowiow, the CIown, and an UnIucky
Texan-Am ateur Perch Performers.
Occasionally there comes back an echo
Of old circus days i'll the south. 1t is
usually when Colonel Johnny Wilson is
in a pleasant mood that memories Of
the times when John Lowlow was in
his prime are stirred up. Lowlow was
the Robinson clown and used to yell,
Fetch Oh another boss p Aside from
General jackson himself John Robinson
was probably the most popular man be-
low Mason and Dixon's line. Wilson
was a kid, but a timber article at that,
and was used to good advantage occa-
sionally as a "fll in, " when some high
priced performer left the circus abrupt
ly. He could do about everything from
a bareback ride to the trapeze turn and
was indispensable.
An organization was formed among
the circus men who followed the for
tunes of old John Robinson. The name
of the combine was the "Hunkey Boys
1t got to be very popular, and its num-
bers swelled from a few to a consider
able number. The Hunkey Boys even
went SO far as to buy gold badges, with
the insignia of their lodge upon it, On
one trip down the "Massassippy" it
was decided to have a banquet after the
night performance on a little island
about 800 yards from the tents. 1t was
purely a Hunkey Boy affair, and two
large caldrons were taken over to the
scene Of the festiyity, in which were
made a gigantic stew. Wilson and an
other boy procured a large bag of asafe-
tida, swan the river, dumped the stuff
into the caldrons and swan back while
the Hunkey Boys were still at work. 1t
wasn't long after the show before a
chorus of curses came drifting from the
direction of the h%anqueters, and the
next day Wilson aud his ~accomplice
were tried by court martial, but evil
denee was lacking to convict.
Johnny Lowlow, the clown, was rid
luS n lI1Ch IUlSG lOlId WV tid6 oliC
day, getting off a few antics, when a
rawboned Texan began rousting his
part of the show. He became abusive,
and Lowlow concluded to get even. The
horse was trained to stop suddenly when
ever he was given the office. In stop
ping he would come TO his knees. Low
low galloped the horse at full tilt
around the circle, and just as he came
near the Texan gave the horse the sign
to stop He did SO, sinking down as he
stopped. Lowlow went straight on, head
first, right into the chest of the fellow
who wasrousting him, and half an hour
afterward a crowd of doctors were gath
cred around that Texan in the cook tent,
wondering whether he would live or die.
1t was away down in Alabama that
the perch trick couple deserted the show.
The perch trick is the name Of the per-
Torrance where one man holds up a
long pole and balances it while a second
performs upon it-certainly a difficult
thing to do, whether you are upon the
pole performing or holding it up. John
ny Wilson, being young, active and
light, was called upon to do the perch
trick and Board Robinson undertook to
balance him. They had no time for re-
hearsing the act, for the perch people
mutinied at the last moment, as they
always do; SO out came Wilson and
Robinson on the sawdust. The end OF
the pole is supported by a belt, but a
fellow who is not used to it will let ii
slip and, of course, the weight of the
fellow up in the air causes it to make a
bad impression on his stomach. Wilson
had hardly reached the top Of the pole
when he heard an agonized voice, and
looking down saw Robinson with the
pole in his stomach.
Come down. yelled Robinson i'll
pain, but just as John turned to do SO
he got the pole back III the belt and
cried out, "Stay up!'' Then Wilson be-
gan to do a few tricks, when again
came a gasping voice, Come down.
He saw that the pole was burrowing
into Boards stomach again, and hasten
ed to obey, but before he could get down
Robinson lost his balance and over went
the pole, throwing Wilson over into the
audience. He fell with such force that
he went clear through the seats, and a
select party of social favorites accom-
panied him to the ground below. Gin.
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