The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-12
WONDERFUL SIGHTS
 ALONG HE PIKE Dancing Girls Are Conspicuous
 by Their Absence TRICKS OF THE BAKERS Wild An. aIs ProwI About in Their Lairs in the Mountains of Hagen
 backs Exhibit and Tour
 Ists Climb Alps.
TRICKS OF TIE BAKERS


 While strolling down "the Pike Wnii- ane the odor of frankfurters. hearing the barkers and dreaming of coney lsiano' the Evening Mail correspondent was suo- denly aroused by the cry:
 .Historical tableaux in old St. Louis' Step right in and see the memorapie scenes reproduced! The show will no" begin9
 At last there was a prospect of seeing something new. Fighting flames, papS incubators. deyouring lions, streets oi Cairo, devastating floods, scenic railways merry-go-rounds, shoot-the chutes have all been apased up by the Coney Island CT. but Historical tableaux in old St I,ouisp had a new and distinctly local sound
 Many passed inside as the mighty arm of inc barker swept majestically toward the door. Old St. Louis was alreaay iuiil hut no matter On a stage at the fal end was being enacted the historical transfer by France of the great bouls- jana territory to the United States-the event that the exposition celebrates. The dignified American ambassadors Living ston and Monroe, in powdered wigs and silk knickerbockers, were being enter tained by a gay soubrette. With one last high kick the soubrette retired amid a storm of applause, and the Emperor Napoleon was announced.
 Napoleon walked in slowly, like man who has forgotten something, and, str1k- ing the usual Napoleonic attitude, ex- claimed in a rich Irish brogue:
 This Is the day for the transfer of the territory of Loweesiana to the United States by France
 The audience appiauded, and the Ameri- can ambassadors proceeded to beat Ma poleon down on his price, Livingston re- marking:
 Monroe. we'll show him how the Yan- kees do business"
 This was another sentiment that ap- pealed strongly to the patriotism or the audience The terms having been set tied. Napoleon summoned his grogue to his aid again, and announced the compile tion of the transaction. Instantly 2 back curtain was drawn and three Colum- bians in liberty caps, and with starspan- gled banner draperies, appeared on a pedestal. The band played patriotic airs, and the audience passed cut, thoroughly satisfied with this newest of midway at- fractions that "educates, refines and en- tertains."
 Oriental Dances Barred.
 The visitor on the Pike" need not look for any of the Oriental dances that made the Midway at the Chicago fair notor- ious. They are not here. Many Of the bankers try to coax the coveted dimes by intimating that there are sights inside that mustn't be openly described. One barker has behind him row of dozen girls in short skirts of various colors.
 Now, friends" he shouts, when he has succeeded by painful contortions to get the crowd up close now friends. the lasies are goin' insideSto begin to per form. Hurry up, girls; go in and make it lively"
 The girls dodge out of sight behind a screen while the crowd gives up it's dimes freely, only to find when inside an ordinary trapese performer. By this time the girls are back again on the plat form with the barker, blinking and smirk- ing at another crowd. z
 Look Look Look. you hear the cry. and, turning, see across the way glass blower making a tube three times as long as his arm.
 "Ain't that wonderful?' asks the barker of the gaping throng. "Well, we've got a lot more just like Jim inside. A good many people say that glass blowers don't live long; that they inhale the hot air and it scorches their lungs. 1t ain't so. hurt my lungs more than he does (point- ing at the blower, whose cheeks are bulg- ing) Watch him take his tongue off the end of the tube.'
 The blower removes his tongue, the tube collapses and a shower of silvery shreds falls on the heads below.
 Farther along a tall. thin man is seen standing in lively group of girls in red skirts and red stockings. He is trying to outshout the man across the way who has battle show. The girls gigle and twist as the tall man dwells upon the unique features of their performance. He points proudly to large sign near the entrance reading:
 Endorsed by the Clergy"
 The "Pikers" rush for the door and en- ter with an easy conscience.
 Wonderful Animal Scene.
 Wild animals prowling about among rocks and trees may be seen at Hagen backs. No fair has ever produced such an animal display. A rugged mountain side has been constructed as high as a house, and in and out of the caves and recesses lions, partners and hyenas stealthly tread. Black bears climb tall tree stumps. Cinnamon bears wrestle and slide down the side of the rock. White bears lie curled up on what appears an ice-capped cliff. Goats leap from ledge to ledge. Queer birds fly from the peaks down to the water below and dip in the stream.
 Apparently the only thing that sepa- rates the crowd of spectators from the beasts is a wooden railing waist high that circles the entire exhibit. This is what constitutes the chief charm of the dis play. The visitor believes that he could walk unobstructed directly up to the lairs of the ferocious beasts. Yet the animals never approach too near him. A deep pit that is hidden from the spec tator by the arrangement of the rocks and shrubbery keeps the beasts of prey back on the mountain side.
 A trip through the Tyrolean Alps with a competent guide is one of the new features that the Pike has produced. The Alps as here represented. are lofty peaks of staff with sufficient sprinkling of dirt and stones to make them realistic. Pine and spruce trees grow profusely on the sides. and water gusnes in ziggag courses down the sIone