The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-10
EVOLUTION OF THE CIRCUS
AN INTERESTING CHAT WITH AN
OLD-TInIE SNOWMAN
He Recalls the Days of the Old Wagon
ShOws-Dan Rice i'm Heyday
of Success.


The streets are all lined with the holiday crowd.
Are greeted with cheers that ring out long and
loud.
And the umpitty dun
OF the big brassy drum
Announces the fact that the circus has come
There's circus In town!
Hurrah for the tents. by the spring breezes
Hurrah for the peanuts and red lemonade
And the hard, wooden seat which just wouldn't
trade
Hurrah for the glitter and glimmer OF gold
Don't tell me the circus can ever grow old
Hurrah for the horsemen and acrobats bold.
And the rippitty-zip
OF the ringmasters whip,
And the snug silken tights from the toe to the
And the circus in town.
IAN shows are alike and at home we viii stay"
BY Jings. / own up that can't keep away.
So hurrah for the clownl
through
Hurrah for the show, and the dime concert, too
And the clangitty -clang.
And the slappitty-bang,
And the tumult and Gin of the whole circus
And the circus in town!
Louis W. Jones.
Talk about evolution!-just think how
the circus business has evoluted during the
last half century, said an old time show
man who now makes Indianapolis his
home, as he gazed with admiration at an
enormous billboard upon which were dis
played, in all Of their Kaleidoscope glory,
the pictorial advertisements of the first cir
Gus of the season. 81 remember. as If it
had been but few years ago. he con-
tinued, 1.-The time when the greatest circus
ton made up of ten performers, a business
staff of three men, four musicians in the
band, sixteen horses, six wagons and tent
with top to 1.-THE first canvas top ever
known in the circus business. That was
the circus Of Howes & Turner organized at
Salem, N Y, and I travelled with it for
several years, being quite youngster then,
with an uncle who acted as ringmaster.
The members of the band and also the per-
formers had to help put up and take down
the tent and drive and take care of the
horses. We gave no street parade. and If
the days receipts reached 800 everybody
with the show felt as If life was we'll worth
the living.
SMALL ADVERTISING BILLS.
1--WE only had small advertising bills in
those days, with wood cuts on them that
would make you laugh if you could see
them now, and the advertising agent went
ahead of the show on horseback, lacking
up these modest little posters in hotels,
postoffices and blacksmith shops. In the
early days the circuses and menageries did
not exhibit together. / think ii was along
in 1850 that the first circus and animal
show exhibited at single price of admis-
sion and under the same tent. The menag-
erie feature was added for the sole purpose
of attracting church-going people, who
considered 1t wrong to attend the ring per-
formances, and 1t often makes me smile to
myself as I recall the hundreds of WELL
meaning but dreadfully narrow-minded
folks throughout the country who used to
visit the animal tent and then hasten away
from the grounds without so much as
glance at the sawdust ring, where the bare
back riders, tight-rope walkers and aero
bats were giving their performances. 1t
was George F. Bailey who originated the
menagerie feature. he being the first to ex-
hibit wild animals and an eIephant-just
think of 1t. one lonely elephant!. Hackaliah
Bailey. an uncle of George F. Bailey,
brought to this city the very first elephant
that ever set foot on American soil and
turned the big animal over to his nephew.
The greatest care was taken not TO give
anybody a chance to get free peep at the
wonderful monster. In 1853 Seth B. Howes,
one of the early pioneers of the circus bust
ness, and a man who was always keenly
alive to what was valuable as a drawing
card, imported number of carnivorous
animals from the London Hippodrome and
went on tour with the biggest circus
menagerie that the United States had ever
seen. Mr.. Howes died just two years ago
at his home in Brewster, N. Y, having
lived to see his many prophecies concern
ing the American circus fulfilled. He al
ways held In the old days that America
would go ahead Of all the world in its tent
shows.
EARLY CIRCUS PROJECTORS
1.-The early circus proprietors of promi-
nence, besides those mentioned were Lew
Lent, John Robinson, Van Amberg, Dan
Rice, Nathan Howes. DR.. Spaulding, of
New Orleans: Charley Moves. James L..
Thayer, Alexander Robinson, James Con-
ner and, of course. the great p. T. Barnum
DR.. Spaulding was the acknowledged king
of Southern circus men. He ran
his mammoth palace circus up and
along in the sixties he introduced novelty
in the form of the railroad circus, or the
first circus that ever travelled by rail. He
couldn't make his railroad show pay, how
ever, and soon returned to river travel 1t
was an expensive undertaking in those
times to transport a tent show over the
railroads. There never was, and probably
never will be a more popular circus per-
former in this country than Dan Rice. Dan
was known everywhere. and the very name
brought a smile to the lips of the good
country people. Who remembers the name
of a circus clown nowadays? I'll venture to
say that the most ardent of modern circus
goer could not for the life of him call the
name of a single clown with any of the big
shows now touring the United States. Peo-
pie do not know one performer from an
other now; such a thing as a favorite cir
Gus performer is unheard of. In the great
spectacular tent performances each par
ticipant is just like drop in a bucket of
water.
But when Dan Rice was in the heyday
of his success people who cared nothing
for bareback riding, gymnastic exhibitions
or acrobatics would go to the circus to
laugh themselves sick over the clowns
songs and jokes and capers about the ring
II isn't generally known that Rice had with