The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-06-26
MISS JORDAN
IN JAVA
Attended a Tiger.
Killing and
tainted.


makes the difference.
She is that little acrobat, one of the
Flying Jordans, now in Honolulu, who
has travelled the wide world around,
and her travels have taken her to as
strange lands as any little girl ever saw.
Java was the strangest of these.
She was only eleven years old when
she attended the tiger killing. Now she
is thirteen, and a story that is two
years old becomes Renaissance of the
dark past when one is thirteen-she
just remembers it.
With her parents she has toured
many foreign lands. 1t was in June.
1889, that the party arrived at Kediri
which is town on the Island of Java.
There the tiger killing took place, and
there happened all the incident adven-
lures that stamped it on her mind.
She is going to make another worlds
tour but it is pretty certain that moth
ing will happen TO supplant the Java
adventure in her memory. This is her
own story of it:
place we don't waste time in looking
about. We have to go to work at once,
you know. On our tours in strange
lands where there are no theaters we
have to hold our performances in a tent,
so the first thing is always to put up
the tent. This our men began to do
promptly upon our arrival at Kediri.
The town is a pretty place-beautiful
In Re,
number of Dutch and English live there.
as in several Javanese towns. Kediri
is surrounded by picturesque groves
and beautiful tropical plants grow in
abundance. There are signs a-plenty of
wealth and industry.
Our tent is huge one. and we chose
for it a spot made lovely by trees
and plants. Near by we stationed a
gamelang or a band of ten musicians,
who played upon gongs of various sizes
and were led by the biola or one-string
violin.
We gave the musicians instructions
and we thought they were ready for
their part of the performance. So they
no doubt were, and there wouldn't have
been any hitch If we hadn't upset them
with our antics. They had never before
seen such feats as ours. Rings, trapeze
bar, We're new to them, and our doings
thereon they thought were doings of
some evil power. The gongs crashed in
wild discord, the biola forgot to lead
and the frightened musicians fled. while
/ was somewhere between earth and air
standing on my head.
Some of the aun4ence who knew more
of the world went after them and ex-.
planned matters, and in the end they re-
turned and watched the acrobatic feats
with fascinated gaze. l have never In
my life performed before so charmed
an audience. 1t was inspiring.
a short free performance before the
big show" served to advertise the
thing, and when the doors of the tent
were finally opened there We're crowds
standing waiting to get in. Our boxes,
which were raised platforms, surround
ed by bamboo ratings and arches, were
sold for five and ten gulden of Dutch
money, which is as good as IS or $40 In
ours.
The boxes near the stage were occu-
pied by the native Regent or Cover
nor. together with his party. They cen
sisted of his dusky relatives, the wal
donos and mantris, who are high court
officials. and several members of the
Dutch Presidents Cor elder brother's)
family. <
The body of the house was filled with
q mixture of Europeans and natives,
most of whom wore the gay sarong or
petiticoat. These were of colors as
gorgeous as those of a Roman scarf.
The kibaya or loose jacket was worn
IF no
pleted their costumes with GOLDEN
broidered slippers.
When I assembled the rope ladder to
my wire I heard the confused murmur
of the excited spectators; and from my
aerial platform looked down upon this
strange assembly.
l saw that they We're gazing upon me
in great wonder. L didn't know then
that this was prompted by anything
but my performance, but 1 learned af-
terward that, strange as that seemed
to them, stranger still were my rose
pink legs. The natives had never be-
fore seen tights.
AS the show advanced the spectators
watched quietly and with close atten-
ton Not until I came to kneeling upon
the wire and picking up my handker-
chlei dlu they give way to their Won
der and admiration. Then they let
themselves loose all at once, and I was
greeted with such shouts and yells
that l was seriously ratified for the mo
ment and it was all I could do to stand
erect on the wire once more
This feat seemed to be the secret of
my hit. 1t was so great a novelty that
all kediri was delighted. And this is
what came of it: At the door of my
dressing room l was met by one Of the
mantris with an interpreter. The man
tri held aloft a roll of parchment. and
the interpreter begged permission to
read It's contents to me-. consented.
should have had to do SO for curiosity
If for nothing else
Then with pompous gestures and
loud voice he read to me the wordy
document. 1t made known that it was
the wish of the Regent to have fete
and tiger-killng exhibition while we
were in the country. The Regent. ow-
ing TO his deep affection for his neigh
oors in the province of Surabaya,
would hold the festival there, and fur
thermore, 1t was his especial desire to