The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-22
HORSE TRAINING FOR SHOW.
A Veteran Circus Man Tells of His
Methods of Teaching Animals
Tricks for Ring Performances.

A Veteran Ctrcus Man Tells OF His
Methods of Teaching Animals
Tricks for Ring Performances.
From the Denver (Col) Post.
Uncle" Dan Costello-the king of
horse trainers. old time clown, show
man, rider, athletic, and general cir
Gus performers wintering in Denver
and was persuaded to come and sit
before my CRATE fire on a wintery af-
ternoon and tell me something of his
days under the tent and in the saw
dust ring.
you know" said the old man,
Charles Dickens wrote a pamphlet
about me. Fle said: Costello is a
marvel: he doesn't jump, he doesn't
somersault. he Just flies That pleased
me. He also said that I was the only
clown he had ever seen who was not
a buffoon.' / had a copy of that PAM
phlet a long time, but finally lost it,
and later. when in London, 1 went to
every bookstore in the city and tried
to get a copy offering $1,000 for one,
but l was not successful. 1t was a
small affair, but l would give a great
deal to have one now"
Il should think so. You knew Dick
ems, then?'
"Oh, yes; 1 met him three or four
times, and he was very much interest
ed in my vaulting. l was then cham
pion of the world. and made a jump
straight from the ground, without
springboard or run. over the backs of
sixteen horses, turning two sOmer-
saults at the same time. Dickens came
to see me. and it was his story that
led her Majesty the late Queen VA
toria, to command a special perform
ance, which we gave at the Alhambra
Place, London, before her Majesty and
the court, on the afternoon of March
3. 1858.
Performers in those days had to do
everything. For instance, I was a
clown, but 1 had also to ride, vault,
take anybody's place who happened to
be sick or incapacitated, no matter
what their line-in fact, every one had
to be ready for anything, when called
upon. OF course we all had our
specialties; mine, as I've said, was
Vaulting, and / always ended my per-
Torrance with a leap for life,' when
l drove straight over the backs of six
teen horses until just, at the last one,
when / made my double turn. Well,
when 1 did that at the special per-
Torrance, their majesties rose right up
out of their seats. And later the Queen
ordered that l be brought before her,
and she complimented my performance.
''In the winter of 1865 1 went with
Barnum and for many years ran his
shows. He was the greatest Snowman
who ever lived. Soon after going with
him / bought a horse called Senator.
He was one of the greatest beauties I
ever saw. A fine blood Circassian,
brought over from the south of Rus
STA. He was jet black. not single
white hair on him. He had wonder
full main and tail of fine, silky, straight
black hair, which swept the ground.
The ladies used to rave over him.
II lost that horse in New Jersey. He
was too sick to travel and I left him
behind. You know, it is one of their
peculiarities, no matter how sick a
show horse is, if you leave him behind
he'll get out and try to follow the show.
Well, Senator got away and was trail
ing after US, and, like a sick horse the
green marsh grass looked cooling to
him; he tried to get at it, got mired
and that was the end of poor Senator.
The Governor of New Jersey had his
truly wonderful name.
"One time Henry Bergh brought
some ladies to see me train Senator,
and after that they came often to
watch the horses. One of them had
been out to Helena, Mon, and she
wanted to know why didn't get wild
horses off the ranches, educate them,
and bring them into the market. Well,
it struck me rather favorable. / went
out to Montana, bought horses of
Salisbury and some of the Indians
twenty-one in all; took them down to
Chicago, and then my troubles began.
They were wild as hawks, never had a
halter on them, and afraid of every
thing.
1T was the 9th day of November
when / landed them in New York, and
on the Sd day of April we opened at
the Garden, and they went through
their performance without a break
and it was a wonderful performance
| q school scene, marching, drilling, a
rescue, from a burning building, when
| one of them ran up stairs and, res
| cued a child, firing pistols, playing
| dead--in fact, in five months they had
| learned all that any horse had ever
been taught up to that time, and went
through their tricks with splendid
dash. 1t was the hardest Winters
work 1 ever put in, and the first lot of
wild horses i ever broke.
"Ive read everything I could get
hold of about horses and I've owned
and broken and trained horses from all
points of the globe-Tartar, Arabian,
| Circassian every kind, including
| our own wild horses, which, it is said
strayed up here from Mexico and are
| descendants of the horses brought over
| by COrteS ana MS Dand, anu Whlcn hdd
a wild strain of their own from their
| Barbary ancestors.
"Oh-as to his intelligence. A man
sometimes tells you he has a. horse that
will do whatever he tells him-lie down,
come to him, go over yonder, turn
around. etc., at order. Don't you be-
leve him. 1t isn't true. No horse in
the world will do anything of the kind
without certain amount of compul-