Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-07-29
AMERICAN CIRCUS IN
PUERTO RICO.
The Friendly Elephant and the Gem
iai Clown Arc Amusing the Ma

=
iai Clown Arc Amusing the Ma
tiyes.
Puerto Rico has an American cir
Gus. genuine show with an American
elephant, a Yankee clown and piebald
horses that understand the trick Of
bowling to the ladies. The circus has
a ring-master. too. and a tiny acrobatic
fellow who performs tricks while the
ring-master snaps his whip. And oh.
the ladies, Such beautiful short
skirted, betinselled creatures, such
delicously pink and white being. such
llght-footed fairies-surely the ike
wa snever. seen before in Puerto Rico.
The man who gathered together the
caravan for the islands that lie off In
the warm waters south Of North
America must be nameless but it is
enough to say that he visited ali tie
standard circus companies OF this part
of the country and purchased OF them
such animals as they could spare.
If an elephant showed a disposition
to be ugly the new Snowman offered a
price for him: if lion had grown so
cid and feeble that he could no longer
be used for the great show trick ~
putting your head in the lions mouth,
he purchased him just the same. and
trotted him out to be fed on beef tea
and built up again.
All sorts of an mails, though a little
shop worn and out OF date, for the work
OF the big cities, were bought and
loaded into the little circus train; and
pretty soon there was car load Of
trained beasts, off for Puerto Rico.
A Tropical Surprise.
The good people of the island had
heard Of that American institution,
the circus, and they had had trained
shows of various kinds, but such a
thing as real American circus had
never visited the island, nor had they
dreamede of all its glorles. African ele-
plants had visited their shores, stupid
big slate-colored animals, with fiabby
sides. but the trained elephant was a
novelty. Surely this was an American
elephant. for none other could have
learned to do so many clever things.
In the Puerto Rlcan circus there is
a trained dog that rides horseback and
performs many clever tricks, but the
cleverest thing of all is a feat per-
formed when the dog is off duty. for
then it is that he does his real work
The duty OF this dog Is to guard the
elephant. He makes it mis- business TO
sit alongside the huge beast and watch
it. Once the elephant was nearly
stolen, and then tie dog gave the
alarm. Just how far anyone could get
with stolen eggplant is a question,
but ii is a f1ct that it would have
been a serioys matter to have lost the
plant for 9'single day
Bounce the dog, barked and then
the tra1er knew that there must be
sometnng wrong. He anne running
out Just in time to see the elephant
stslding with his chain broken. the
Lose links hanging 10 one foot
Bounce. meanwhile, was barking ter
ribly and leaping against me renee,
and this told the trainer that the
would-be elephant thieves had escap-
ed and were probably running for
their lives. The people Of Puerto Rico
are honest and am.able, far above the
the average, but a trained elephant. in
land where he Is novelty, is enongh
to tempt an man.
This cireas Is OF tne old-fashioned
variety that was In vogue when most
or Us. we're children. and before the
days of three rings. One ring well
covered with sawdust was enough TO
Interest the spectators, and here the
tinsel lady performed nightly with the
paper hoop; and here the clown roll
Cd over ana the ring-magter cracked
his whip.
On. It was different In those days.
Or Is it that the circus, ike other
childish joys. becomes more life-like
and less msgnifed in point Of rapture
as the years roll by?
The Puerto Rico CIRCUS Is coming
money. If you do not believe it, just
take a trip to the island journey IN
ward Take the military road along
which. General Niles travelled in bis