Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-05-03

the Open Air-Several Ladies
tainted, But No Serious Accidents
Were Reported.
Shortly after 10 O'Clock last evening
the performance Of the Ringing Broth
ers' circus was brought to an abrupt
close by the wind, which getting under
the main tent caused it to raise slight
ly, throwing the audience of fifteen
thousand people into panic, but fortu-
nately no one was seriously injured
The Sousa band had just completed
account for the unusual action of the
element, and the two families of aerial
lists had just taken their positions on
1 their apparatuses when the wind be-
gan to flap the canvass of the main top
slightly, causing some of the poles to
jump out of the ground. This fright
ened the people to some extent, but as
the wind quieted down the performance
J proceeded.
| A few moments later, however. the
! wind again struck the tent with in
! creased violence, causing the tent to
sway and the poles to again rise. The
audience had now become thoroughly
frightened, and although the manage
ment and number of persons in the
audience did their utmost to quiet the
people, they began a wild rush to get
down through the seats and out into
the open.
All was confusion, hats were lost,
umbrellas dropped and capes and jack
cts forgotten, women screamed and
some even took advantage of the occa-
sion to faint and had to be carried to
the dressing room, where they were re-
vived. Other persons, not satisfied with
the progress made in the scramble down
from the seats, fell through, and as a
result received sundry scratches and
bruises, which they bore away, as they
scrambled under the canvass, as SOU
venirs.
The performers up near the top of
the tent found it impossible to retain
their position, and as they could
not do their act, made descent some
what more rapid and less graceful than
the ascent The band had also become
lost in the shuttle, and the management,
seeing it was useless to try to finish the
performance, announced that the show
would have, to be called off A wagon
was stationed at the exit of the main
tent, as the menagerie tent, had been
removed, and the money was refunded
to the several thousand persons that
had purchased concert tickets.
When order had again been restored,
the management being informed of the
loss of several articles of more or less
value, Immediately detailed corps Of
men to look for the missing property
though their own property was in dan
ger of being damaged at any moment
There was great scramble resulting
as the many thousand people piled out
into the open ground, and the west end
of Zane street was soon filled with
mass of people, all anxious to get home,
clamoring for street cars, hunting lost
relatives and friends, bewailing the loss
of hats and bonnets, and so on. The
scene for time was an animated one
but finally the trouble was all straight
ened out. and in half an hour the ma
jority of the amusement seekers were
the city, going through a drizzling rain,
to the very considerable damage to
sometimes elaborate costumes.
The big tent, as was stated by rep
resentative of the management last
night, seats $4,000 people, and it was
we'll filled when the storm broke, the at
tendance being in the neighborhood of
$4,000, or larger than at the afternoon
performance. That no one was serious
ly hurt, under the circumstances, is
rather remarkable, and is a matter for
sincere congratulation. The evening S
amusement was sadly marred, but that
was the worst of it. The people took
the unexpected visit of the elements
and the result good naturedly, and there
was many picturesque recital late in
the night, of how they escaped from
what was popularity supposed to be i'm
minent danger. The fact is, it would
require a much harder blow" than that
of last night to collapse such a tent as
the Ringlings possess. 1t is stoutly
made, and equal to almost any emer-
gency short of a cyclone. The mere
fact that some of the poles lifted out of
the ground did not mean that there
would be a collapse, but it is extremely
difficult to reassure an audience of
dozen or more thousand people under
such circumstances. and therefore the
observation repeated above that it is
extremely fortunate that there was no
| casualty of a serious nature. Tents
have blown down in Wheeling before,
as in other cities, there being one occa-
sion here a dozen or so years ago,
| when Barnum tent was struck by an