The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-03-10
MINISTRIES OF TIE PAST
EMINENT TRAGEDIANS BEGAN
THEIR CAREERS AS BURNT
CORK ARTISTS
EDWIN FORREST ONE OF THEM
Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth and
p. Il. Barnum Among NOtabIes
Who Have Done Black
Face Stunts.

There is probably no better authority
on old time minstrelsy than William H
West. He talks from an experience OF
nearly thirty years, during all of which
time he has been most prominently iden-
tined with that branch of the amuse-
ment business. 1t has been largely Que
to his ideas and innovations conceived
by him that minstrelsy has been kept
abreast with the times, and this is said
to be the best season he has ever had
H. financial sense.
How did I become a MINSTREL re-
Gently remarked Mr.. West. "Well, I'll
tell you.
my home was in Auburn, N. Y, and
to that place there once came minstrel
show called Cool Burgess Minstreis
Was then about twelve years old and
managed to save up enough pennies for
gallery ticket. / saw Adkins and Fox
dance, and heard them sing Charming
Nancy Brown" That settled my fate.
I left the theater determined to be a
dancer or nothing. went home and at
odd times and on the sly, whitfield out
a pair of clumsy wooden soles, found q
few straps and pieces Of leather and
laboriously made myself pair of dane
ing clogs. Then I practiced dancing In
mothers woodshed, and many were the
chaSes she gave me and many were the
escapes / had from her terrible broom.
When was fifteen years old I went to
Buffalo, where I managed to hire out my
dancing abilities at S. a week and board,
which seemed to ne princely sum.
It was in Oil City, Pa, however, that
I first started out as a real minstrel
The company / enga ged with was headed
by Skiff and Gaylord, and consisted OF
from twelve to fourteen people. Coal
on jennie, the famous petroleum mag
nate, was their hacker, and he INDUCED
in all kinds of extrava gancies-dress
the minstrel boys in black velvet suits
and provided each member of the coin
papy with a real diamond for his shirt
front, I'll never forget those days, l
tell YOU. George Primrose and I Joined
forces in 1871 and our partnership last
ed twenty-seven years and twenty lone
days. During a portion of this time we
were in the famous Haverly MINISTRIES,
then with Barlow. Wilson, Primrose and
West, and in 1882 we were associated
with George Thatcher as Thatcher,
Primrose & West. After a few years
Thatcher dropped 6ut and for many
years it was Primrose & West
Answering the question as to who was
the first American minstrel, Mr. West
said:
''You would naturally suppose it would
be an easy question to answer, but as
matter of fact there Is not in existence
any complete record or history Of negro
minstrels, although 1t had it's birth in
this country and is but little over half a
century old. 1t is claimed on good au-
thority that Edwin Forrest. the eminent
tragedian, sang the first negro song ever
heard upon the American stage and was
the first to depict all the peculiarities of
dress manners and dialect of the South
ern plantation negro This was when
Forrest was a strolling player in the far
West Sol Smith was also one of the
earliest to do negro stunts. Barney Viii
liams who will always be associated,
however, with Irish characters, was an
other of the pioneers P. T. Barnum
did Ethiopian breakdowns in his day. al
though he does not confess it in his auto
biography Joe Jefferson made his first
stage appearance at the age of four in
black face This was in Washington in
1888, If 1 am correct. Jefferson was in a
bag, being brought in on the shoulders
of Thomas D. Rice, the original Jim