River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-12-14

heaven. used to hope for the time
when ! would get nerve enough te
run away, and go with a circus, anC
wea- a dirty shirt, and be around 9
tent and wash off the legs of a spotted
horse with CASTLE soap, and when peo-
pie gathered about me to watch the
proceedings, to look tough and tel
them in hoarse voice way down my
throat, sort of husky from sleeping in
the wet straw with the spotted horse
that they must go on about their
business, and not disturb the horse
had thought if should run away
and go with circus, some day, when
| got far enough away from ma, that
| would up and swear, and be tough
and when l came home in the fall, and
the neighbor boys would come around
me, I would chew tobacco and tell
them of the joys of circus life. Well
maybe I will some day, but at present
/ am sleepy all the time.
We have showed six times the last
week, and travelled thousand miles,
and it seems as though there is moth
ing doing but putting UP and taking
down tents, and going to and from
the cars, and you can't be tough, cause
there is always some boss around to
tell you to look pleasant if you are
cross, and to tell you to change your
shirt or get out of the show, and if
you swear at anything you are called
down.
Pa and 1 put in a good deal of time
during the afternoon and evening per-
formances, in the dressing room, near
the door leading to the main tent.
That is the nearest to being in an
insane asylum of any place l was ever
in. The performers get ready for their
several acts, in punches or families,
all in one spot, and they act serious.
and jaw each other, and each bunch
acts as though their act was all there
was to the show, and if it was cut out
for any reason, the show would have
to lay up for the season, when in fact
each one is only a cog in the great
wheel, and if one cog should slip, the
wheel would turn just the same. These
people never smile before they go in
the ring, but just act as though too
much depended on them to crack a
smile. When bunch is called to go
in the ring, they all look at each other
as though it was the parting of the
ways, and they clasp hands and go out
of the dressing room as though walk
ing on eggs. When they get in the
ring they look around to see if all
eyes are upon them, and bow to peo-
pie who are looking at something go
ing on in another ring, and who don't
see them, and then they go through
their performance with everybody
looking somewhere else.
When the act is over the audience
seems glad, and clap hands because
they are polite, and it don't cost any
thing to clap hands, and the perform
ers turn some more flip flaps, and go
running out to the dressing room, and
take a peek back into the big tent as
though expecting an encore, but the
audience has forgotten them and is
looking for the next mess OF perform
ers. and the ones who have just been
in go and lie down on straw and won
der if they can hit the treasurer for
an advance on their salaries, so they
can go to a beer garden and forget
it all.
An average audience never gets its
moneys worth unless some one is hurt
doing some daring act. Pa suggested
that they have some one pretend to be
hurt in every act, and have them
picked up and carried out on stretchers
with doctors wearing red crosses on
their arms, in attendance, giving medi-
cine and restoratives. The show tried
it at Bucyrus, O., and had seven men
and two women injured so they had
to be carried out, and the audience
went wild, and almost mobbed the
dressing room, to see the doctors oper-
ate on the injured. 1t was such great
success that next week we are going
to put in an automobile ambulance
and have an operating table in the
dressing room with a gauze screen SO
the audiences can see us cut off legs
like they do in a hospital. Maybe we
shall put in dissecting room If the
neonle seem to demand it.