Arizona republican., 1905-10-03
ALL FEAT IT COULD BE
Big Show Pleased the People; People
 Pleased the Management.

Wouldn't that jar you?' as the fun ny paper says.
 There was man in Phoenix yester- day who said he couldn't find the cir GUS grounds, but there was only one such, and he spoke early in the day, so he had another try for his money in the evening-if he had any money left. But there was somewhere in the neighbOrhood of ten thousand people present at the afternoon performance, and the crowd was very large at night. Though that aggregates more than the population of Phoenix, the
 figures do not lie. for the population Of Phoenix yesterday included mighty delegations from all pOpulous centers in central Arizona. Beside there were many Phoenix people who exercised the blessed American privilege of at tending both performances, and the ticket sellers had been specially in
 structed not to turn away any good money that might be offered.
 And the show made good in every sense of the word It was the same Banum & Bailey amusement aggre- gatiOn that has won fame the world over, and was easily the largest and best show that ever visited these parts It was the largest tent ever pitched in Phoenix, and 1t was also the best filled tent. The tent is supposed to hold in the neighborhoJd of fifteen thousand people, and though there were per haps a few empty seats, the tent looked l crowded. But there is more than size to recommend the circus. In point of quality it easily retains it's position at
 the head of the column, all of which is no dlsparagement to other similar en- terprises of a worthy nature. The management was perfect, and the big crowd was handled without trouble There was only one untowaTd incl dent and that was by q couple of men in the menagerie tent who came to see the sights and made it necessary for an officer to jail them-an incident the show people had nothing to do with At the evening performance there was mix-up in a hurdle race and the tally-ho turned over. There was a consequent spillinG of performers, but no one was seriously hurt
 Tn the main the nature of every cir GUS performance is similar. But it is not idle compliment to say that yester- days performance exceHed in good
 things. There was more of the marvel ous more of the hair-raising, more of
 he graceful and accomplished and al
 so more of the humorous. Only a few years ago it was considered almost an impOssibiity for a rider to run and jump on a horse, GHghting on his feet and there were but a few of the best riders who could accomplish this feat. Yesterday. in one act. eight persons dd this little trick, and during the performance there was probably a score of men and women who did it at one time or another. In one in stance there were two men and two
 women on the same horse. and they all mounted in that manner It is sus- pected that one of these accomplished lad.es could even get off a street car without turning backward, and that for a woman, Is the supreme test. In the dancing and time stepping ac- compIishments of the educated horses .Eere could be no more perfect work and the hippodrome races at the con | cIusiOn were wild and inspiring. show ing 10th the cleverness of the riders and 1 drivers and the real earnestness of the ! horses that participated.
 The performance opened of course, with the big spectacular event, the Dunbar at Delhi. T. wss all that was advertised and was a very impressive | ceremony. Though many of the Hin dOos. East Indians and others who for the moment, occupied positions Of dig
 rity and importance, wore store boards and faces as solemn as though they
 were really in earnest, both were en- tirely suitable to the occasion, and one man was heard 10 remark that he did not believe the real Dunbar could hold q, candle to it. The moral is that the Parnum SS Bailey circus makes Ori- entaI sTlendor ashamed of itself The tumbling and athletic work was incomparable, and there were men,
 women and children who could turn ali kinds of somersaults, front back and sidewise, and seemingly as many or them as they wanted to- while the acrobats could climb up on top of each other to the height of four persons and jump down again via the somersault route.
 The aerialists were easily the best seen here, and no doubt the best i'll the world. With innun.erable flying leaps and plunges from the top of the canvas to the net below the visitors were sometimes at a loss to know whether an act was intentional or an accident, but they soon fond out when nobody appeared to be hurt.
 The performances of the acrobats. the aerialists and the marvellous feats of horsemanship were delightfully."- al- ternating all through the exhibition, so that one was never permitted to tire Of any particular sort of thrilling exhibition. Variety and the ever-mOv- ing kaleidoscopic change, is the secret of the Barnum & Bailey perform ances. so that two hours of wonder ment pass more quickly than fifteen minutes in a barber chair.
 These three lines of amusement form the basis of the performance, but there is interspersed a dazzling array of specialties and feature events. Many 1 Of them form a large part of the ac- tivity of Q small army of clowns, re- | presenting all sorts of people, and 1 some who represent nothing but themselves. But that, perhaps, is | sufficient, for the average clown Is [ strong on Individuality.
 Some of the most wonderful but ri | dicuIous incidents Of the show are the | rooster trained to pull cart, two |