The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-07-15
DIED IN POVERTY.
AT ONE TINE HER SALARY WAS
"A HUNDRED AND FIFTY
PER NIGHT,
A Circus Queens Melancholy story
Greatest Female Rider of All
Time-Something about
Her Daring Feats on
Barebacked Horse.


Barebacked Horse.
New Orleans, July 11.-There
recently died in New Otleans the
one time queen of the circus. :"
Elizabeth Howard, who 40 years
ago divided honors with Dan Rice.
In the old days Miss Howard was
easily the most popular female per-
former in the sawdust ring, but the
last 20 years of her life were spent
selling newspapers in the streets of
the Southern city.
Time was when Elizabeth How
ard received $3.50 for 40 minutes
work each night. And the success
Of the entire performance depended
upon her whim as much as the sing
ing of a grand opera does upon the
humor of a prima donna.
During her life in New Oflesns
"Old Miss Howard" as she was
known to the news boys and street
urchins, earned about 80 cents a
day, and to do this she was forced
to rise at 2 o'clock in the morning,
summer and winter, and be at
Newspaper row at 3 O'Clock, when
the morning papers sent outN their
city editions.
1t is said that Miss Howard ar
rived in New Orleans about 20 years
ago. One cold winters morning a
sweet-faced, white. haired old wo-
man was seen selling papers at the
intersection Of Customhouse and
Royal streets. She had rude lit
tie table with uncertain legs. When
it was timesto close her1.shopo she
asked permission of a nearby store
keeper to allow her table to remain
over night in his establishment.
Then she trudged home to bare,
cheerless little room somewhere
down town in the French quarter.
After awhile she returned pass
ing the corner on. her way to the
levee for a walk. She was followed
by six dogs, her friends and COM
panions. 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 alb
sent from her little stand. She al
ways went for her walk, accompan-
led by a half dozen dogs.
Sometimes q change was noticed
in the personnel of her canine body
guard, some of them falling victims
10 age, accident or the dogcatcher,
but there were always six of them.
There are times when the most
cheerful and willing of souls will
rebel at the idea of going out into
the darkness of a bleak morning
and standing in the face of a stiff,
icy wind that blows straight from
the Gulf, but Miss Howard was al
ways patient and gentle. While
she rarely smiled, she brayely 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 by many to
have been the most dashing, the
most daring circus woman the world
ever knew She was the first per-
son, man or woman,l to tumble
through paper hoops while her
horse was going at mad gallop.
She could perform on the horizontal
bars, too, and as a dancer she rival
ed Carmencita. She had a voice of
richness and power,
Miss Howard deserted the circus
for single season, when she starred
in comedy of the sort in which
Lotta was successful. She achieved |
4 triumph, her singing of 'Long,
Long Ago" being still fresh in the
memory of many an old man. But
the stage is not to her liking, and
she soon returned to her old love,
The night in which she reappeared
1nder the big tent being an event to
seekers. 1t was in Pitts
ourg, and admirers from Cincinna-
i and Detroit made pilgrimages to
he Pennsylvania city to give her
Welcome.
Before the "grand entry" there
vas an accident in one of the Dress
ng rooms. A candle was overturn-
ID, and some fiimsy gowns were
oon ablaze. Dan Rice's little niece
vas sleeping on a pile of canvass
runks, and the flames had reached !
he child when Miss Howard went
0 the rescue. The queens" left
and was badly burned, but the lit
le one was unharmed. s
Ho-auI hnxr.nI L.. 4