The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1899-05-20
THE OLD CIRCUS MAN.
Of All Giants Amused Himself
by Playing BALL.

Zone thing that we used to let the
great giant do, when there was oppor-
tunity," said the old circus man, was
to swing a kxt in a baseball game when
there happened to be one going the
same day in the town where we were
showing; and, as matter of fact, when
local teams discovered that we were
willing to do this, they always made
their dates to suit and called on US for
the giant. At first we used to let him
play for nothing; of course it was a
good ad. for the show, but it was tre-
mendous card for the ball team always;
they made barrels of money out of it,
but the old man saw this as early as
anybody did, and after that he called
for large, a very large, share of the
box Office receipts himself, and he
never'd let the giant play except on
such an arrangement. / do not, on cas-
ual reflection, recall any man 1 have
known who was more alive to oppor-
tunity and more certain to take adj
vantage of it than the old man. But
though we got a lot of money out of it
there never was show with so many
deadheads, because there was no in
closed field with fence around it high
enough--and it would have been costly
and difficult, too, to build one high
enough-but what people outside could
see the upper part of the giants body
when he stood up to play and see him
swat the ball. I've never told you the
great GIANTS exact size, and I amt
a-going b now; but the club he played
with was as long as nledium-sized tel
egraph pole and considerably bigger
round at the butt.
"When the giant went to the plate
and stood there with his bat raised
the crowd howled; they always did;
and when he hit the ball, which he never
failed to do when they gave him good
one, they'd howl louder'n ever. And the
ball-outside the fence? Um-m-m-yes-
yes; and outside the state; and some
times, don't doubt, outside the earth's
atmosphere. Some
times, days afterward, when I'd hear
the old man chuckling as he was read
ing the newspaper, I'd know that he
was reading paragraph telegraphed
from somewhere about the falling of
a mysterious meteor at that distant
point. Some of the balls might be ac-
for in some such way as that,
but in no case when the giant had once
hit ball square was the ball heard Of
in that neighborhood again.
swell, it was great attraction and
1t made a lot of money, but, like every
thing else, it sort of petercd out after
awhile, and at last we drew the giant
out of the game entirely. Now and
then, when they'd got little used to
him and got over their awe of him,
some pitcher would try to make little
fun with the giant by striking him out,
which, of course, he could do if he
wanted to, though the giant could find
a ball that came within rod of him;
but for that matter the pitcher could
pitch the other way. When anything of
that sort happened, anything like strik-
ing him out, the giant was apt to lose
his temper. Once, on an occasion like
that, when he reached out and made
vicious swing at the ball, he swung
clean around, with tho bat out hori-
zontal, and just raked out all the pill
lars of the grand stand, except, by the
grandest good fortune, the two end
ones, which, fortunately, were stout
enough to hold up the roof. We had
always looked out for just that thing,
everywhere, and in case the diamond
was too near the stand we had it
moved, for that game, anyhow. But it
seems we hadn't realized ourselves
what he could do when he really
reached out. There was the most ire
mendous excitement when he knocked
put those pillars, but fortunately mo-
body was hurt.
"Once, when he went to the bench,
the bench being in this case, as in fact
It often was, the roof of the grand
stand, the giant sitting with his legs
over the gable end, so as not to OBJ
struct anybody's view, the roof broke
down under him. He was always very
cautious about just this thing, and
suppose this must have been a very
flimsy roof. Nobody hurt here, either
lin fact, we always had the greatest
kind of luck with the giant---but peo-
pie scared most to death, and that was
about as bad from business point of
REV as though they'd been hurt Final
" when the show had lost some of its
novelty it didn't draw so well, anyhow;
md then people seemed to get an idea
that it was dangerous to have the giant
sloshing around in that manner with
! club like that, even in his gentlest
moods; and the time came when there
vas no money in it; and then we drew
lin out. But in his palmy days it was
4 sight to see our giant at the bat."-N.
Z. Sun.
Mamma Paid the Freight.
Papa was anxious to impress upon
he children the ueceSsifv of hearffalf