Evening star., 1900-10-01
THE WALLACE SHOWS. :
Street Parade Witnessed by ThOus-
ands of People.

Although of semi yearly recurrence, the
coming to town of the circus always brings
a thrill to the small boy and his sister and
arouses keen interest in their elder rela-
tives. 1t matters not what circus tt is, for
to the average show-goer the tented per-
formances given by the aggregations of the
premier class are much alike in their saw
dust, tinsel and glamor. The circus is here
today; it will be here tomorrow.
In the present instance there is more in
terest perhaps in the name and proprietor
ship of the show than ever before, for the
reason that last autumn the Great Wallace
Shows made q distinct hit by their per-
formances in this city. and won for them
selves the enviable reputation of giving to
the people all that was advertised. The
show is remembered as one of exceptional
refinement, of attractive acts in the rings
and in the air and remarkable animal dis
play. The advance posters and notices of
the circus are wonderfully free from the
employment of the superlative adjective,
considering it is circus, and remembering
the overtime Part such adjectives usually
play. The Wallace shows have an excellent
reputation, and, 1t is stated, are this year
living up to their standard.
The first performance of the aggregation
is being given this afternoon The doors
were thrown open in the main tent at
o'clock. and from that time up to 2 o'clock
the hour of performance, crowds OF people
found their way into the arena. The
threatening weather deferred but few, for
with waterproof canopy and sawdust floor
coy as any building. A long, varied and
attractive program is offered The other
performances of the circus will be given
this evening at 6 o'clock, tomorrow after
noon at and tomorrow evening at 8.
The parade this morning through the
principal streets down town was witnessed
by thousands Of people. From advance
pand wagon to the inevitable steam cal
fhn -
typical of the show. 1t contained many
mover features and was one of the longest
seen mere for many years A children's 8
menagerie, with small wagon cages filled
with interesting little animals, was an add
ed feature, while a regulation farmer hay
seed''-with a real mower direct from the
1arm-attracted attention. The calliope
performer was something of a wiz" and
his rag-time toots found hearty welcome
from the crowds lining the streets.
The Wallace circus is most generous in its
parade. and all of the animal wagons were
open to public view The healthy we'll
groomed tigers. lions, bears, etc. were
highly complimented. The equestrian dis
play in the parade also won much admira-
ton, even the draught horses claiming a
goodly share of attention. The great hip
popotamus, said to be the largest in cap
tivity created something of sensation
along the line of march. Taken alto
gether the parade was an earnest of q
good performance.
1t would be impossible, practically, to
enumerate the many acts and turns that
go to make up the Wallace performance
The wonderful Nelson family of nine aero
bats have been seen in Washington before
and their act is far famed The Hagen
back troup of performing animals, nclud-
ing elephant, pony, boar hound and
a monkey, working together is another
novelty. 1t is seldom animals distantly
related will perform together. The races
are given especial attention There are
contests on the fiat, over the jumps, In
\, rsa $or, nIn r1an a u
and camel races. AS a whole the Wallace
circus promises much that is good.