Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-05-06
LOST AWHOLECIRCUS
j. Fl. LaPearl, Well Known in OF
tumwa, Tells of Experience.
A SEASON OF THE HARDEST LUCK

ottumwa with Show at the orphe.
UNI Says Circus Life is Strenuous
and Proves it.
J. H. LaPearl, who was in Ottumwa
two years ago managing a troupe of
acrobats performing at the Orpheum,
is one OF the oldest managers Of cir
cuses in the United States, and a
story he tells about losing circus of
which he thought himself possessed
Is entertaining, laughable and will be
read with interest by Ottumwa people
who know Mr.. La Pearl.
Il had LaPearl's show on the road
eight years. We started in five farm
wagons in 1891 and ended in sixteen
Z cars in 1898, thanks to Mr. Donaldson
of Cincinnati, Ohio, of the Donaldson
Lithographing Co., for our untimely
finish. The worst of it was didn't even
get to see that finish.
! Circus Business Strenuous.
Circus business is always strenuous
but it was never more SO for me than
that '9S season. We'd been playing
the Great Lakes region and expecting
big things, but they didn't show up.
When we hit the lakes chartered two
big steamers and loaded the whole
show on them and started for a lake
tour. We were heading for the copper
country, but the season was late and
our troubles didn't come singly. Sew
eral bad storms hit us late in August
and the lake We were on, Superior, is
a treacherous body of water at best.
The storms knocked us out all around
and we missed out on the towns we
were billed for, SO that of fifteen towns
billed we only hit four. That lost us
lots OF money, but we plugged along.
Then we hit the copper country, and
were the first canvas show that ever
landed in Red Jacket, Mich, up in the
upper part of the upper peninsular of
Michigan. We did a great business
there, took in $4,000 in one perform
ance, at 81 seat.
But when we finally got off the
lakes we were $4,000 to the bad. We
worked down through Michigan and
struck more storms and trouble; we
had three blow downs in one week, in
one of them fifteen people were injur-
| ed That was at Gaylord, Mich.
well, We kept on working south,
losing money all the time, till we got
to LeMar, Mo. That was on October
81, 1898; and the cold wave hit us
there good and hard. 1t extended, you
remember, from the lakes to the gulf,
and it caught us good and plenty. The
water in the troughs was frozen solid,
we had to chop it with an axe; there
was no business in consequence; for
ten days we never unloaded and our
expenses We're $1,000 a day; SO there
was another loss of $4,000 on top OF
the lake trip. We kept on, however,
| and for eight weeks pegged along.
When we hit Memphis, Tenn, as if we
hadn't a strenuous enough time, we
We're quarantined for yellow fever. OF
COZ Sc, all our show paper was dated
and printed and we were billed ahead,
but the quarantine and the heavy
losses put a decided crimp in me, and
we headed home for Danville, H., for
winter quarters; jump of $50 miles.
When we arrived there l was short
$500 of having enough to pay out;
and was compelled to give mortgage
to the Donaldson Lithographing Co.,
of Cincinnati.
The expense of wintering the show
with other expenses and debts made
me start the spring of 1899 about $16,-
600 behind; but l could have made
that UP if they'd let me alone. start
ed out, but it wasn't two weeks until
| Donaldson was down on us; you see
Wallace, of the Wallace shows. is in
Iterested in the Donaldson company,
which furnishes the show paper, and
they work that scheme to break up
and shut up competitors. Well, the
Donaldsons insisted on taking charge
of our advance workings on account
of the mortgage, and instead of letting
me work the territory where | was
known, and the circus would draw be-
cause it was known, they shipped us
east and made us take altogether new
territory. But we showed to paying
business despite this. They tried to
get the animals away from us q had
the biggest hippopotamus in captivity
and two splendid elephants), but we
chung on to them and did good paying
business.
Talks of His Career.
Along came one Friday night, how
ever, when Donaldson swooped down
on us again and insisted on shipping
the show to Buffalo. / refused and we
went on to the next stand. which was
Mapleville, N. Y, where we showed
Saturday, September 1, 1899. Then
Donaldson swooped down on us there
with forty constables and deputies with
him and stole the show away, overmas
tering our force. He had no show
whatever of any legal papers, didn't
make any such pretense, but they had
more force and got the show and be
gan packing it up. 1t was seventy-five
miles from Mapleville to the county
seat, Geneva, but l set off there fol
papers, but | couldn't get back before
Monday morning and Sunday they
shipped the whole show out of the
state beyond the reach of courts, anG
nv circus was gone | fought then