The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-08-31
LARGEST EVER KNOWN
Wallace Shows Draw Twenty
Two Thousand People
FOR TWO PERFORMANCES
Greatest Audience Ever Under
Tent in Wichita.

Everybody waited for Wallaces' circus
that came to Wichita yesterday and to-
day everybody is glad they did wait
that ie, everybody except the thousand
who were a little late and found them
selves unable to get into the big tent.
WalIaces' circus is the biggest, cleanest,
most original show that has come to
Wichita in recent years. And it had the
biggest crowd. The successful circus
grows every year, but Wallace shows
surpasses The moment the great pa
rade appeared on the street yesterday
the hand of a new genius Of the show
word was apparent. Other shows may
have had parades Of quite equal length
but never in this country has the Wal
lace parade been approached in point Of
immaculate trappings, polished cars and
unique features. Not a second rate horse
or pony in the pageant not wagon
that did not shine with a splendor Of
recent polish. There are new wagons IN
other parades and large crowds have
seen other shows here, but there were
lace's parade and a crowd larger than
ever seen here before. Other shows may
not sappoint, but Wallaces show sur
prises. Other shows may please, but
Wallace's delights. Other shows have
courteous people, but the Wallace peo-
pie are olliging When the seats in the
big pavilion were ell gone yesterday,
Mr.. Knupp, the genial press agent, told
the crowd that he could not accommo-
date them. Still the people pressed in
and sat on the ground from the lowest
tier of seats right up TO the ringside
Two thousand people squatted on the
ground after the seats were all filled
until the program was over, and hot as
it was, they seemed anxious to stay
even after the two hours program
WalIace's show lacked only one thing. 1t
needed a bigger tent. The tent is seven
times as large as Wichita's big Audito-
rum ard had yesterday the biggest
crowd ever under canvass in wichita, but
Fl wasn't large enough. A laugh that
started in ripple at the ringside grew
into a storm of applause at is swept out
and up to the edge of the great pavil-
lion.
What time the audience was not gasp
ing in wonderment at the maze Of aero
hattie feaIs, rem arkable bareback riding
tumbling and trapeze work, they were
roaring at the comedy acts of the team
OF real clowns and their clean comedy
work The average circus clown INDUCES
in the coaTseSt kind of horse play,
but Wallace's clowns never failed to do
new turns and score universal hits.
From the time Professor Bronson with
his excellent concert band. struck UP the
the afternoons entertainment with
WEARY Raggles' Troubles" till the close
with the whirring chariot races. it was
excitement, fun, education. Wide eyed
wonder, waves of laughter and round
after round of applause. The audiences
first surprise was in. Professor Herchen-
rath's part with the performing ele-
plants, pony. boar hound. elephant and
monkey, in this act giving remarkable
exhibitions of animal intelligence, the
big crowd caught long breath for fut-
ure gasping after it was evident that the
Wallace show was chuck full of 1S-carat
surprises. When the Stirk family of hi
cyclists came into view the audience
cheered. and when their remarkable per-
Torrance was over the yall was doubled
and then plastered down with four tones
of applause. Then Miss Sallie Hughes
did ten minutes of high school menage
trick riding and ring turns that surpassed
anything Of the kind ever attempted in
a circus here before. The audience was
satisfied TO consider the climax passed
before display 16, which brought out the
famous Nelson family, but after that
they were prepared for anything. Old
circus goers. men whose hearts are still
adre with the memory OF their first peep
into the wonderland Of a big tent with
y bands and dast and crowds and roaring
lions and elephants that always look to
the small boy for the time higher than
the moon and bigger than the world
these old circus fnveterates say that moth
ing they have ever seen from those lurid
exciting early DAYS equals OF. approaches
the acrobatic work of the Nelson family.
There are nine of them and they are
all Nelson's. Mr.. Nelson, his sons. three
daughters and four young children They
turn sommersaults and double sommer-
saults singly and altogether as fast as
the spin Of whirligig the small hoy
makes Of two pine sticks and holds on
an axle against the wind They built
pyramids Of themselves. few into a whirl-
Ing chaos. fell fat on the floor. APPARENT
~ without touching the boards. then
sprung back into a column all in such
a short time and IN such rapidly vary
ing dangers as made the audience dizzy
The audience first held its breath as the
little tots whirled and spun and few.
then mouths came open. then people GOT
up and rubbed ;heir eyes to see II 1t all
were truly real. then their hats and
handkerchiefs and fans and parssols
waving and Tapping. a great cheer bulee5
the top Of the tent The Nelson's par-
form Ike the man eats who IS hungry
The Ike II and they know how % excel in
the work
The Fortuni brothers IN their comedy
Nar act mde the crowd laugh until tbs
temperature in the tent rose % sixteen
degrees. They are directly from Paris
and have never Travelled with a ciro,s
before. They fell on each other and
bounded each other around in such a
way that You expect 10 see trase4v
and physician called before you finish
Fou- laugh.
The program is rammed fun. packed
down and heaped W with Z dazzle Of
h-sa-eieSs performances that surprise
aad educate, that delight and anuse
an mystify. There We're eleven thous-
a2d PeoPle AZ The afternoon performance
sd about The same in the evening.
ne discipline. the order. AID accuracy
rat caaracterizes the great show are
wonderful exhibitions o. reducing human
e7esgy 10 the regularity Of cock work
81 hundred people and NOBODY minute
2e-.nd with a slngla nart OF -. -