Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-13
QUEEN OF THE CIRCUS DEAD.
Once Famous Elizabeth Howard Dies
 q Pauper in New Orleans. @

W
 Pauper in New Orleans.
 There recently died in New Orleans the one time queen of the circus" Elizabeth Howard, who forty years ago divided honors with Dan Rice. In the old days Miss Howard was easily the most popular woman performer in the sawdust ring, but the last twenty years of her life were spent selling newspapers in the streets of the south ern city. Time was when Elizabeth Howard received $150 for forty min utes' work each night. And the sue cess of the entire performance depend ed upon her whim as much as the singing of grand opera does upon the humor of a prinaa donna. During her life in New Orleans "Old Miss How ard" as she was known to the news boys and street urchins, earned about 60 cents day, and to do this she was forced to rise at ? o'clock in the morn ing, summer and winter and be at Newspaper row at o'clock, when the morning papers sent>out their city edi- tions.
 It is said that Miss Howard arrived in New Orleans about twenty years ago. One cold winters morning a sweet faced, white haired old woman was seen selling papers at the intersec- tion of Customhouse and Royal Royal streets. She had rude little table with uncertain legs. When 1t was time to close her shop" she asked l permission of nearby storekeeper to 1 allow her table to remain over night l in his establishment Then she trudged home to bare, eheerless little room somewhere down town in the French quarter. After while she re- l turned. passing the corner on her way 1 to the levee for walk. She was fol-. I lowed by six dogs. her friends and companions. This was the history of | each of the last days of the old wo- mans life She never selected any other corner. and she was never absent from her little stand. She always went | for her walk accompanied by half- | dozen dogs.
 E. Sometimes a change was noticed in ] the personnel of her canine bodyguard, 1 some of them failing victoms to age. accident or the dog catcher. But there l were always six of them. There are times when the most cheerful and 1 willing souls will rebel at the idea of 1 going out into the darkness of bleak, morning and standing in the face of 1 stiff. icy wind that blows straight from the gulf, but Miss Howard was alWaIs l pa tients and gentle While She3srarely smiled, she bravely faced life and the | changes it had for her., and when her work was done she folded her arms and went away. Miss Howard is held l by many to have been the most dash l ing the most daring circus woman the world ever knew. She was the first l person, man or woman, to tumble through paper hoops while her horse
 was going at q mad gallop. She could 1sperform on the horizontal bars. too, and as a dancer she rivaled Carmen
 cita. She had a voice of richness and 1 power.
 Miss Howard deserted the circus for a single season when she starred in a l comedy of the sort in which Lotta ] was successful. She achieved tri-
 unph, her singing of Long. Long Ago" being still fresh in the memory
 of many an old man. But the stage l was not to her liking and she soon re-
 turned to her old love, the night on
 which she feanpeared under the big tent being an event to amusement seek l CTS. 1t was in Pittsburg and admirers
 from Cincinnati and Detroit made pill
 grimages to the Pennsy ylvaniat city to l. Il | grand entry'' there was an accident in
 one of the dressing ronns. A candle was overturned and some fiinsy
 gowns were soon ablaze. Dan Rice's l little niece was sleeping on a pile of l canvas trunks. and the flames had
 reached the child when Miss Howard went to the resuce. The queen S left
 hand was badly burned, but the little
 one was uIiharmed.
 Miss Howard bowed to the big audi.
 ence that night, but she could not ride
 her horse or leap in midair. She sang
 Long, Long Ago"
 Miss Howard was once society girl
 of Montgomery. Ala, and just before l the civil war she visited Richmond. where she led the cotillion at the sea l sons most notable affair. It was dur. I ing this visit to Richmond that she met l q circus clown. to whom she lost her
 heart. There is no record of her mar
 riage to him. but at any rate the mem
 bers of her family, one of the oldest in l Alabama. were shocked the following
 year to learn that she had signed a
 contract with a circus manager and
 had begun what was to he most nota-
 ble career She was forbidden ever l to enter her home again Miss How ard sold papers the day she died. The
 last morning she spent on earth was
 bright and warm She left off selling
 papers about 10 o'clock and went to
 Newspaper row to settle her weekly
 bills Then home, dinner for the dogs.
 a two hour map" and her daily walk.
 As she was returning home she had
 coughing spell and swooned. A hem \ orrhage followed. and she was taken | sy,4A I All 1Syns 0& nfr ] where she died 2 few minutes later.
 Miss Howard had been a member of 2 co-operative benevolent association
 which assured its members 2 Christian
 burial upon payments of 10 cents a
 week during life. She had neglected
 tc pay the current weeks dues. and so
 the "queen of the circns" was Ibid to
 rest in potter's feld-@hicago Tribune.