The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-24
PREACHER FOLLOWS CIRCUS
Lectures In the Animal Tent and breaches the Perform
ers and Says He Likes His Job.

| mails he found there, but he never had
opportunity to study wild beasts. When
he first came to Peru and left the
United Brethren church to become d
Methodist he became a regular preach
er, but he never gave up his natural
history studies. A circus which win
ters there gave him some chance of
pursuing his bent, and to these oppor-
tunities he added excursions to the
geological gardens in Chicago and Gin
cinnati.
Then He Joined.
A year ago the managers of John
Robinson's circus heard of the Rev.
Sneak They made him an offer to be-
come lecturer. He accepted it on the
spot. 1t was new idea with the cir
Gus people 1t was new to the preacher.
The circus men knew that the old time
Demosthenes of the animal tent was a
back number. They wanted a novelty.
They got it.
The old-time lecturer. with his plaid
vest and his slang and his villains
mustache was cast aside. When the
circus-goers saw the Rev. Sneak they
knew a change had come over things.
When he began lecturing he did not
spout out a lots sof jawbreaking words.
He told the people plainly all he knew
about the animals. And he knew
great deal. Although he described the
elephant with understanding and gave
a certain Ministerial flavor to his story
of the snakes. the rhinoceros and the
crocodile, he was, nevertheless. intelli-
gible and that was enough to satisfy
the circus people.
When the first Sunday on the road
came around Rev Sneak, who knew he
had no pulpit to fill on that day, sug-
gested to the circus owners that he
be allowed to hold divine services in
the dining tent. They told him to go
ahead.
All Attended the Services.
He did go ahead, and every attache,
and the owners, too, attended the serv-
ices. The routstabouts were there,
skulking away in a far corner. The
ballet girls occupied front seats. The
clowns, as sober as the Sphinx, sat at
tentively in the amen corner. The
bareback riders, the gymnasts, the
aerialists, and the animal tanners, un-
used to this sort of thing, sat open
eyed and mounted listening to
the sermon of the man who had been
telling the country people where the
elephant got his proboscis, and where
the crocodile figured in history
And those circus people sang the song
Kew. SNEAK aSReQ- lHeIn 10 SllS. Ii Hey
bowed their heads deferentially when
he prayed. They listened carefully
when he read from the Bible or when
he preached.
The pastor is rather magnetic ora
tor, but he did not try any flights of
oratory on these people. He talked to
them like he talked to the country
people about the animals. That was
enough. The first Sunday on the road
won him place in the hearts of the
show people. They all began speaking
of him as the chaplain. That name
stuck to him throughout the season.
Rev. Sheak's presence with the cir
Gus had marked effect on the social
life of the large crowd of circus peo
pie. 1t entirely did away with all
rowdyism. The show crowd won the
name of ladies' and gentlemen wher
ever they went. He seemed to be a
sort of balance wheel, for even the
rough element that always follows a
circus had to leave before long. The
others would not tolerate them.
The minister's prime idea in going
with the circus was to study animal
life. His eyangelistic work was side