The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-05-15
IT'S A GREAT Big SHOW,
Ringling Brothers Circus Exhibited
in This City to Audiences That
Tested Capacity of Tents.

The Rinelng Brothers circus, the
| first Of the big shows with which
| Scranton is to be inundated during
| the next few weeks. exhibited in this
city for the first time yesterday and
proved to be just as large and Just as
| fine q show as the press agent, with
| the ineXhaustible supply of descriptive
| adiectves. had pictured it in the ad-
vance notices.
1t is questionable if there has ever
| been seen in this city such q really big
show as the Ringlings present. The
main tent was of enormous size. and
contained three large rings and two
stages in and upon all of which per-
formanceS went on simultaneously.
The parade in the morning, which
was witnessed by especially large
| crowds, was very long and was char
| acteriZed by newness and a bright
ness seldom seen in circus parades.
The wagons We're all newly painted and
| decorated. and the drivers and those of
the performers who rode on horseback
We're attired. not in the slouchy and
worn-Out regalia usually seen, but in
spick and span new and brilliant cos
tunes.
The tent was crowded at both the
afternoon and night performances; in
fact. so crowded that one would fancy
the half of the city's population had
gone circus mad and had gone to see
the show.
The performance was high grade. if
1t did not TEEN with startling novelties.
There were traDeZe artists. bar per-
formers, Japanese jugglers women
with iron jaws. ladder performers. ac-
robats of all kinds, equestrians, male
and female, etc, and all We're good.
The one real novelty of the show was
what the gentleman who sings the ad-
jectives around with such recklessness
has so aptly described as John
O'Brien's great creation--the wonder
fully successful. original arenic fea-
ture, sixteen beautiful specimens OF
the perfect horse. gaily caprisoned
with costly trappinss. obedent to the
trainers call, moving in harmony in
the most complicated, intricate and
difficult manoeuvres."
There We're siXty-one horses in this
act, ranging in size from the full
blooded thoroughbred. which Mr..
O'Brien himself rode, to the smallest
and daintiest pony ever seen. There
was pyramid arrangement in the
ring, on the top of which Mr.. O'Brien
sat on his horse. On the lower terraces
of this pyramid We're other rows of
horses, another row on the ground and
finally a row of the ponies on the bar
rer which marked out the ring. At a
signal from Mr.. O'Brien every animal
started in motion. and the picture pre-
scented as they all moved in concentric
circles was wonderful one.
Another clever animal act was the
exhibition given by l.ockhart's trained
elephants, who We're seen in this city
before, some years ago. They went
through a series of surprising feats,
ending with the stimulation of intoNi-
cation by one and his arrest by an
other attired in policeman's earb.
The Holloway trio gave a clever en-
hibition on tight wire, including a
cake walk, and another interesting fea-
tule was the wonderful Japanese top
spinning and juggling of Hagahara and
son. Japanese,
There We're clowns galore. Tall clowns
on twelve-foot stills, short and fat
clowns, and every other kind. There
was one attired as Carrie Nation, who
did a burlesque saloon smashing act
and there were four who appeared as
the giant negro cake walkers. There
was the usual burlesque on Sousa's
band, with the trombone solo, "Say Au
ReVoir," though the gentleman who
played this wasn't half as funny as the
originator of the act, who appeared
here last year with the Forepaugh
shows.
The menagerie contained a large col
lection of animals, including three rare
black tigers, said TO be the only ones
in captivity. IA herd of over thirty ele-
plants, and the only giraffe now on
exhibition.
The tent. which will accommodate
$1,000 spectators, was thronsed after |
noon and night.