The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-24

II
- ~ George Edgar LoCkiin WIFI
r-E = 6g,1re of S1O0. 900 tackled there
p. .---,arI,ed a washington newspa-
who. among some other i'm
FI.jes Of his coltish days, went
E.gb memorable season as TICKET
1aDd rfngmaster Of western one
81 one-night stand circus.
- George a whole Tot. He was
mel player and leader of the
# that massive. mammoth. mas
h-,rf~ marvellous. monolithtc snow
had me chartered also as one OF
ornamental features.
NV-s called him Lazy Locklin, be
..s although he was the leader. ne
IN loaf on his band in way
,e scandaious Half the time
"a bs only pretending TO play on ms
ritbout pulling a note out of
Ne had this blufferino scheme
so nat. did Lazy LOcklin. that
-.bar baudsmen used to swear to
~, ba could get away with cork
good nap during the progress of a
an the time holding the wind
w. IN his lips and making out as
&c were pumping musical atmos-
- into the same. ] don't have
,se mn any pencils or pads to reck-
ont that Locklinl remain in pos
on o., NJ his 500. 900 for all of four
s-,-s after he hits the United States
N Lays as indolently sood-hu-
ID and easy as he used to be. the
tiers waiting for the arrival of the
str.sts boat will about swing him for
q 5un5Ia or a considerable portion
.hs-aof before he has a chance TO
s,sta himself 70 a shore shave. Lazy
Ic-Eli0 was about as chile con carne
,roposition in the way of pal as ever
! strung along with, but to him dol
,sr mr. a thousand of them. for that
r,atter. looked only about as big as the
Termiform appendix of a gnat. May
bs however. Lazy LOcklin has learned
some things 7 hope he has.
when I hitched up with the show
took a quick cotton to- Locklin. He
r-ss a Wkable man. He had zephyred
an over the western country. and had
done every old thing from serving as
r,ok for surveying outfits TO pounding
wind into a trumpet in the regular
army. He had been broke in every
direction from the Big Divide without
ever passing up any slumber over II.
Besides being a natural musician, he
was a giant six feet and a half high.
He could get under almost any wagon
ve had and life il clear off the ground
m his shoulders. He could get away
with more sage brush whisky without
showing il than any six hobo tentmen,
and when he wasn't too tired he could
make the cornet sound like a woman s
voice. He wasn't gabby, and he never
had a chance to prove what hot
proposition he was until we struck
Leaveuworth. Kas., along toward the
approach of the dog day season.
The show got into Leavenworth
from Atchison over the wagon trail,
for the two brothers who owned the
outfit didn't waste any money on rail-
road transportation when dates could
BE- made by wagon moves. The show
had been making money right along
since the beginning of the season, and
vet when we got into LeavenwOrth the
wages of all hands. from performers
10 tentmen-with the solitary eXcep-
tion Of yours to command-were near
Is tws months in arrears. l except
myself for the reason that 1 was the
tioket-seller. i got mine. The pro-
prietoT or the show didn't know it
but got mine"
An the rest. however. were up against
f bad. They had got together in COM
mittees representing the different de-
partments of the show on several occa-
sions from the time the owners, for no
apparent reason except hoggishness'
had begun to skip pay days, and they
had duIy registered their kicks, but
they we're conned to a standstill by the
two brothers. who were smooth people
and notorious in the business as salary
forgetters. They scattered 81 to the
kick committees and paid the rest OF
the outfit in hot air. AS the three
ouarter-acre tent was jammed right
along. at afternoon and night perform
ances with y and so cents and 81
crowds and no comps. except TO the
press. the bunch couldn't see any eX-
cuse for this pay day shyness, and
when it became a sure thing with them
that they were being skinned, they
got pretty ugly.
There had been a big scrap at At
Gibson. several of the main perform
ers refusing TO 20 on at the afternoon
performance without some of the gov
ernment-printed green papers where
with 70 mon the perspiration from their
hands to prevent 'em from slipping.
They growled a heap when the - bill
act was worked off on them by the
proprietors. but they consented 10 go
on when the two brothers solemniy
promised to settle in full when the
show struck LeavenwOrth.
Now. Larry Locklin, the band boss,
seemed 10 be the least bothered OF
the whole layout over the backward
ness of salaries. He had a bad lot in
his band. and the men approached
MN with hefty howls TWO or three
times a day. but he told EN- that he
wasn't the brakeman on the pay car
and that he'd like to have the price
or paper Of punk tobacco himself
which hs hadn't. Altogether there
was pretty furious lot of saw-dusters
IN the morning parade in Lesvenworth,
and as soon as the parade turned IN
there was a quick Assem- bla &c of all
hands under the main tent that looked
Ike trouble. and plenty of it. for the
pair of oily members who owned the
play
For fifteen minutes there was al
Kinds nj a chaw-bacOn time under that
canvas The two brothers. each of
whom was known TO be worth close on
t' 100000 put on the poor mouth
SAID they neither of EN- had the price
or paper collar. swore that the show
ha9 been dropping $500 a day since
me beginning of the seasOn-this was
me one for me. standing on the out
skirts of the bunch. 10 laugh. but
oIa0 t-and a lot more like that. The
"ln7up was that they put their heads
''setnar disappeared for couple OF
minutes. and when they returned with
nand SatChel lugged between them
lney declared a s. dividend until after
inc night performance. when they
S"ofe there'd he a proper settlement
Tor All hands.
When Lazy 7 orlyliD rot his g hill
u- walked outside the tent. looked al
!. TOT q minute reflectively. and then
turning TO one of the bsndsmen.. ne
said.
-, d like 70 knock off working for
lil7Se two con men. But l can't make
anE place that's worth living in or
'nlS tWo-spot. can To-
81, The bandsman derisiveiy replied
---L ------u --,i-EL -,aar,n % . n liz !