The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-03-01
THE OLD CIRCUS MAN.
Tells How the Greatest of All Giants
Entered in the Farmers'
Moving Matches.

~1f anything" said the old circus
man, "the great giant used to come
out strongest in competitive contests.
You SEQ, there he showed not only for
what he was, but even greater, by the
contrast. OF course, he was always
in contrast, but here the contrast was
made more striking; and we never
failed to enter him in any sort of a
competitive contest that we could get
him into. Moving contests, for in
stance, the giant was very strong in;
and we never used to miss an oppor-
tunity to put him into one of these
when we could. The old man was al
ways on the outlook, sharp, for this
sort of thing, in any form, and if
he ran up against moving match
coming off. say the. day the circus
struck the town, he'd get the giant
into it somehow, sure; not, of course,
entering him as giant or big man.
or anything of that sort, but Just
simply as an unknown. We used to
go equipped for this moving busi-
ness.
, I suppose that the average scythe-
blade would be three feet or there
abouts in length, and the snath may
be four feet and a half long. Well.
now the giants scythe had blade
about ten feet long, and a handle
about Is. Those farmers would get
together in a grass lot to see what
man could do, say, in half an hour,
everything TO count; wide of swath.
forward cut, cleanness and evenness
of the moving, and so on. I suppose
that a man might cut swath five
feet wide, possibly more, but more
likely less, and his cut as he stepped
forward with even swing Of the scythe
might be a foot to IS inches. The
young farmers, and some fine old ones
too, for that matter would try, one
after another, in this competition,
every man swinging along in fine
style, till pretty much all of them had
had their chance at it, and then they'd
begin calling for the unknown, and
then we'd bring up the giant
"And he never failed to make a
sensation when he appeared; but when
he stepped into the field, and took
off his coat and tossed it into the
wagon in the road alongside the lot.
and took his scythe out of the wagon,
with its ten-foot blade and 15-foot
snath. and rolled up his sleeves and
grasped the scythe and set to now
ing, then there was a sensation. Talk
about cutting wide swathl' Why,
you ought to seen the giant. The
farmers cut maybe five feet, the giant
l5 They'd step forward foot or
3 foot and half with every sweep,
The giant four or five feet. And he
was good mower, too; cutting close
and even, and clear from side to side
lust think of it, will youl--a man cut
Ting a path Is feet wide and going
forward five feet at every stroleI
pretty soon the giant would stop
md pull scythe stone out of his
oootleg,-this stone was three feet
ong, as long as an ordinary scythe
sharpen his scythe with
t; and then he'd drop the stone in his /
bootleg and go to moving again. And
pretty soon he'd get dry and want
iome cider; AMI that's where we used
o come in again with business. We
lad jug that was as big around as
barrel in the biggest part of it. and
hat was pretty near as tall, but a reg
liar Jug in shape. and we used to get
his. over the fence to him wherever he
vas. and he'd lift that up as easy as
.ould be. and turn it up, looking like
balloon up there, turned up in that
way. and take a good long drink and
hen set it down and go to moving |
gain.
well, when the giant had got
through moving there wasn't likely to
,e much grass left in Fhat lot to NOW,
nd there never was any doubt about
Tho'd won theprize. And heused to cut
S wide a swath among the farmers as
e did in the grass There wasn't a
armer for miles around but used to
ONE tc the show and bring his fam
". Maybe they'd ha' come any
'av but the giants Rowing hi. 'em
ard. and as for the rest Of the com
lunity. why. Il just simniv got EN-
n.
my. my; but it makes me sigh to
hink Of the great old giant--N. Y
un.
]
Extra raraUce.
Doroihx lnas.ing aereral steers with