Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-02
0W"QU|RT" C0TEVEN
incident of a Circus in New
Mexico.
SHOW MAN CHEATED
so WEsTERNER STOLE THE BIG,
BAD ELEPHANT.
Beast Tore Up Bar Room and Circus
Manager Had to Pay the
Damages.
SHOW MAN CHEATED

Damages.
II notice that there was a big 'hey-R ube'
riot at circus showing out in Colorado
the other day." observed the sun-dried
man from New Mexico II don't know
how I managed not to figure in that one
Been in lot Of these hey-Rube things
down my way. and they're some too excit
ing and enlivening for peace-loving man
like me. Never did enjoy meeting up real
sudden with a blue tent stake in the paws
Of a canvas man who knew the heft Of 1t
and how to swing 1t.
I've been the Patsy to go shy q few
teeth on several occasions when the hey
RUDE holler was sprung. Never so much
as got chance to get a gun working be-
fore some circus bum with a baton
weighing about eighty pounds drove 1t
through me and pulled it out on the other
side. I kind O. thought for a while. last
time I took in a circus, that was sched
uled to get beaten down another couple Of
inches in the muss that looked unavoida-
BILE. but / came through all right without
losing SO much as an eye.
That happened some years ago, in Las
Vegas. l was over there looking after
some repairs to the railroad when circus
day at Las Vegas zephyred along. Now,
I didn't have the circus bug very strong.
having, as l say, previously lost out quite
a lot at circuses in the way of a bent head
and a pendulum ear and a floating rib, and
such like. in these all-hands-around hey
RUDE things.
But on circus evening 1 met up with
Quirt Mccain. who'd been with me as
construction boss when l was throwing
together q section Of the Santa Fe, and for
Quirt there was nothing to it but the cir
Gus and for me to go along with him. He
insisted blowing to a circus seat
and so I skidded along with him, not feel
ing any too easy in my mind. at that, for
1 knew that Quirt was heap riotous when
anybody stepped on his notion Of what q
square deal ought to be and that he loved
a roughhouse like a ranch dog loves clab-
Der.
sober, and we got by the ticket wagon,
where I figured maybe the first melee
might occur all right. CURT stuffed in
five-dollar gilt piece and got the two tick
et3 and three silver dollars in change, tick
cts being an ace ahead down our way.
That was the most peaceable peek at a
circus that I'd ever had in my life. 1t was
SD calm and placid that had to pinch my
self several times to find out If l was awake
and il 1t was all on the level. Quirt never
let a bleat out of him, even when the pink
lemonade man paraded all over his feet and
1 found myself locking Qurt over out of
thu tail Of my eye to see IL he appeared to
be in poor health or anything of that kind.
dullI " ddlCo DSSSSlL
Then, along toward the close Of the main
show, the fellow selling tickets for the
corcert' came our way. Not wanting Quirt
to give himself too exacting try-out,
urged him to quit at the finish Of the main
show and let the concert for the suck
ers But Quirt was out for a hull evening
under tent, and he couldn't see my quit
ting suggestion. Said that a circus con-
cert was the prune pie dessert after the
jerked beef meal, and he needed dessert.
Two O. them concert tickets, ombrey,
said Quirt to the man was bobbin' over the
seats. selling the pasteboards, and Quirt
pulled out one OF the silver dollars that
he'd got In change for his S. gold piece at
the ticket wagon and passed 1t over.
THE man with the concert tickets looked
at the silver dollar as IL 1t was an iron nut
for a blackboard hub. and tossed it back to
Quirt.
Don't try to ring no 'dobe dough on me-
pail said the concert ticket man to Quirt.
We're shown on this side O. tn Rio
Grande now. Sling me U. S. cart-wheel
II you want tickets
"Quirt looked at the dollar that the ticket
man had so oontemptuously chucked back
at him. It was Mexican dollar. all right.
81 got that 'dobe bone for change at the
ticket wagon. ombrey. said Quirt to the
concert ticket man.
"'You did, hey? said the concert ticket
man. Well, you can slip 1t back to him.
maybe. If you're pretty sudden on the
Draw. But In6 STedSeT OiShS uOn 30 with
me. Want them two tickets for American
metal7'
"Quirt replied that he reckoned he
wouldn't stay for the concert.
THE quiet way with which Quirt took
the CAB of the concert ticket seller had me
guessing. but I was glad 1t happened that
way. Quirt looked at the other two silver
dollars that the man In the ticket wagon
had slid him. and they were United States,
all right.
The man in the ticket wagon had simply
slipped the Mexican bone between the two
on-the-level American dollars-an old gag
down our way by which ticket sellers at
tached to ctrcuses profted a lot until the
bunch got wise to it. They kept a supply
of Mexican dollars on hand to dish out to
the careless-looking folks, and they got by
with good money with the gag as long as 1t
lasted.
when we got outside the big tent
found that 1t was CURTIS consideration for
me that had kept him subdued under his
powerful sense of outrage.
'Pedner, said Quirt to me, I reckon
that you-all had better be eXecutin' a get
away. I remember how you was damaged
UP consid able once at a circus in Albu-
uueruue and they amt use in your
standin' fr no comeback in this II anythin'
happens. l got a little business yeere.
lar, United States. in exchange FIR this
piece O. greaser zinc. I'm a-gofn' { git
that dollar proper COLLATERAL FIR tn same.
Sos you'd better drill. podner. I'm a-tellln'
yOu-dli
We'll, 1 couldn't see the thing of shaking
a man with whom I'd slept under the same
poncho so many times, especially when he
had a little pressing business on hand. and
I told Quirt so. / added that I'd let him
attend to his business In whatever way he
had in mind, while stood by to sort o see
that nobody pulled of anything against
him. I could see that Quirt appreciated
this, even II he deprecated IT as unneces-
sary.
I'VE walked In the darkness to the out
side OF the menagerie tent. The show was
breaking up, and as there were only few
big faring lights left around the menagerie
tent there wasn't any trouble in keeping
under cover of the shadows.
BE Was laundering for an Elephant
"'Podner.' said Quirt to me. hating
when we'd got close to the menagerle, L
want elephant. 1 amt never had no ele-
plant t. play with in all O. my bright an
promsin young life. in spite o. tn way I
been hankerin' FIR elephant playmate
ever since I was knuckle- high { a. taran-