The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-31
All Eyes Turned To
ward Grove Street
Grounds Today.
PARADE COMES THIS MORNING.
Big Treat Expected From
Combined Forepaugh &
Sells Brothers Shows.

It's circus day! The day when all
small boys and boys who are not so
small delight in taking a day off for
the purpose of viewing the wonders
that are grouped beneath the mystic
rious covering of d circus tent.
The first section of three trains bear
ing the paraphernalia that goes to
make up the combined Forepaugh and
Sells Brothers shows arrived in Wor-
| cester at an early hour this morning
| over the Boston and Albany railroad
from Springfield, and before majority
of Spy readers had seated themselves
at the breakfast table the thousands
of feet of canvas included in the tent
capacity of this mammoth production
was in place, and the routine of the
| day well under way
The street parade, which is one of
the most elaborate in the history of
| tented shows, is scheduled to leave the
circus lot, on the old Grove street ball
ground, at 9 o'clock this morning, and
will pass over the usual route through
| the principal business streets of the
city.
! A noticeable feature in the parade and
| one that appeals to the senses of the
ordinary individual on circus day is the
| number of bands, most noticeable
among which is one drawn in a large
chariot to which are attached 20 horses,
| four abreast, requiring three drivers to
| handle the animals In addition there
are the usual herds of elephants, cam
els and dens of animals. The parade is,
| however, but bait to the show proper,
which is spoken of by the press gen
orally in the highest terms.
| James D. De Wolfe. one of the adj
vance agents for the show, arrived in
| Worcester last night, and will have
| charge of arrangements preliminary to
| the exhibition proper.
| Chief of Police James NJ. brennan
| also has a word to say to residents of
! Worcester regarding the passage of the
circus The police have information to
| the effect that a gang of pickpockets
| and house burglars are following the
| circus, and with this point in view, it
would be well for householders to look
| we'll to the fastenings of the respective
| dwellings before venturing out to gaze
on the wonders displayed in the pa
rade. The following officers have been
| detailed in citizens clothes to do duty
| today: Darling, Burbank, Brown, Moy-
nihan, Midgley, Fairbanks, Laviolette
and Cody.
The elephant forms no inconsiderable
point of interest in the Forepaugh and
Sells Brothers circus. c. Davis, spe-
| cial agent of the combined shows, in
| this connection says:
This line of thought brings to mind
the old elephant feuds, of which there
| were two. Wher Jumbo was brought
from England by the Barnum and Bal
ley management in 1882, Adam Fore
paugh had an elephant called Bolivar,
which he eventually presented to the
| geological garden in Philadelphia,
| where he still remains. Mr.. Cole had
an elephant called Samson, who is
now one of the Sells Brothers herd.
Jumbo was undoubtedly the tallest ele-
plant ever in captivity, but it is still
| doubted if he were actually the heaVi-
est. Both Mr. FOrepaugh and Mr.. Cole
thought that their elephants were quite
as heavy as Mr.. Baileys, and offers of
wagers of many thousand dollars hat
they had the heaviest elephants flew
back and forth with great rapidity be-
tween them. 1t is needless to add that
the three big elephants were never
brought together, although the contest
did not end with the death of Jumbo.
I'm 1884 the white elephant war be-
| tween the Barnum and Bailey and the
Adam Forepaugh shows attracted the
attention of the country Both man
agements spent thousands Of dollars
more than their profits on the season
in advertising the genuineness of their
respective sacred white elephants.
| Testimonials of eminent naturalists
| were secured, some of the greatest sci
entists of the country being employed
| al enormous fees to examine the AMI
mails and give them their endorsement
as being genuinely white-skinned
pachyderms The question was never
settled satisfactorily in the minds OF
the public.
THE Forepaugh elephant, according
to press kilograms sent broadcast
throughout tie country, succumbed to
pneumonia Immediately after the re-
turn of the show to the winter quar-
ters in Philadelphia. AS a matter of
fact, however, the Albino pachyderm
cid not actually die; it has been Whis-
pered by skeptics that all the dying he
experienced was a cessation OF dyelnS.
After he had finished his engagement
as an object Of worship, he became a
| pugilist and was widely known to the
public as the famous, original Fore
paugh boxing elephant, John L. Sulll-
van. He took quite as kindly to the
role of puglist as he had taken to ms
former role as a Siamese diety. Time
grew on apace and John L. grew on
several tons, until he finally became so
large and powerful that his lghtest
taps with the boxing glove were more
than his human contestant could with
Il stand And so his career as a pugllst
1yas ended He is now called
| 'Othello. and is one of the world-Ia :
nous Shakesperian-name Forepaugh
dancing elephants"