The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-08-09
A Story of a Wrecked Circus.

TF'rom the Cleveland Plain Dealer.1
Its queer how animals will act in a
railroad wreck said the boss canvas
man. Nov, there was tn Saberlee
wreck in 81. Six cars WuS in tn ditch
an half O. tn shows dens was under
EN-. There was one cage O monkeys
mashed fiat that we knOWed OF, an a
lot O. tn other animals had took t. tn
woods, little animals, zebras an wolves
an deer an such like. Nothin L do
any harm exceptin' the big lion, Mon
arch. He died only last season while
Saberlee was in Vinton, Ind. Guess most
in 80. His den wuS bottom up in a lit
tie puddle O. ditch water, with a hole
stove in it big enough t let out a cow,
an Monarch himself was gone with the
little animals. Bout as sensible a thing
as he could a done. anyhow, SEEM tn
shakin' up he must a got.
Well, 1t wus all on with maxim tn
stand that day, SO we put in tn runs,
got the cook house outfit down on tn
ground, had breakfast an started in
[ dig tn stuff out o the ditch. TIL rail-
road companys wreckin' crew come
along t help US an we'd got purity well
under way when tall, black, buck
darlkey come out o tn woods an stood
round rubberin'.
for awhile, but by n by Mack, tn chan
delier man, spoke L him, kind O. kidded
him about bein' handsome, er some
such CUFF. 1t was Missouri an he was
t say back-didn't say anything at ALL
in fact, fer awhile. Jes' shuffied round
in his cowhide boots from one foot L
tn other an grinned baShful like
ESy'n by when he saw we didn't roast
him hard he kind O. took courage.
Did any of you gemmen losed a
giraffe?" he says.
. 'Giraffe?' Mack says. No, we never
owned no such thing with this trick.
wen, boss all done foun' somethin'
L
all lowed as maybe hit 'longed to you
all
Mack got interested. 'wot does it
look like?'
Never did see no sech OF thing befoh,
sab. Big cat vahmint with yaller eyes,
an hit done come a-snarlin' an a
spittin' at me soon an ah got out O.
bald
=. Where is it?' says Mack.
oh, all cawt hit all rightey. Done
put rope 'roun hits neck an tied hit
to nah CABIN
:. Go an git it an fetch it down
here says Mack. Then tn wreckin'
crew got a tackle round another den
an We forgot all about tn darkey-
Maybe it wus twenty minutes an
maybe it wus half an hour when we
heard a noise kinder like a niger
drivin' a muIe-or like somethin' bein'
driven. It come nearer an louder an
louder an nearer. Everybody stopped
work an listened, an tn old man him
self come out O. his car with his napkin
hangin' round his neck
.. What is that2' he pipes up in his
snappy way. Who is that out there
Go an see what that racket is, some
of you boys. Hurry up, now.
Nobody paid any attention to him,
an tn noise got nearer an nearer. In
a couple O. minutes a cloud O. dust
sailed out from behind the trees. When
it got within a hundred yards O. tn
track it cleared up a bit, an there wus
hat h rr11- nix rrrf+t In
one mitt an a piece O. fencerail in tn
other. On tn other end O tn rope was
Monarch.
s'Some O. you probably remember wot
Jimmy Rourke's face looked like after
Monarch faxed him in Frisco. OF all
tn mean, snealkin, undetermined cat
animals that ever Travelled with a cir
Gus Monarch WuS tn worst, an a pow
erfuI fighter when he had any sort o
show. Sometimes we'd put our hands
on tn canvas cover of his cage when
we had t run over tn train. an there
never WuS a time, day or night, that
he hadn't a slap ready fer you.
well, that darkey wuO a-lammin'
him with his chunk of fence an talkin'
mule talk to him wuss Than anythin'
you ever saw in tn south.
Come on along heah, you yaller-
eyed devil he WuS Sayin'. 'Ah don
know what you is but you amt gon'
snahI nor spit at me, nohow. en- on
long, them y big sassy vahmint,' an
with that he'd lam him with his piece
of fence ana let drive with his cowhide
boots.
s'An' Y kin bet yer life Monarch wus
a-comin I never saw a critter so cow
ed as he wus. Why, when that niger
brought him right in among us there
wus nobody that took tn trouble t.
open up a gangway, an I reckon any
young one could a. took him by tn
scruff of tn neck an turned him over
on his back He wus a great, over
grown pet Tom cat, with all tn fight
an meanness walloped out O. him.
WED yanked his den up on to tn
roadbed with tn hole in tn end butted
against a wagon. TIL door wus open.
an when Monarch saw his happy little
home waitin' there for him he jerlxed
tn rope out o te darlzey's and an bolt
ed inside it. He couldn't get fur enough
inside, either-went away up in tn fur
corner an, tried I, hide Sa harlea shut