Los Angeles herald., 1905-07-09
SUNDAY
J ULY 9

APRIL 1s.-We are now at the winter
quarters of the show, in little town on
farm just outside, where the tent is put up
and the animals are being cared for in barns,
and the performers are limbering up their
Joints, rring overcoats to turn hiphaps,
and everybody has cold and looks blue and
all are anxious for warm weather
Pa created sensation when we arrived
by his stunning clothes, his jet black chin
whiskers and his watch and chain over his
eheckered vest, and when the proprietors in
troduced pa to the performers and hands as
an old stockholder in the show, who would act
as assistant manager during the season, and
pa smiled on them with frown on his fore
head and said he hoped his relations with
them would be pleasant, ore of the old can
vasmen remarked to girl who rides two
horses at once, with the horses strapped to-
gether so they can't get too far apart and
cause her to break in two, said that old goat
with the silk hat would last just about four
weeks, and that he reminded the canvasman OF
big dog which barked at people as though he
would eat them and at the same time wagged
his tail so people would not think he was SO
confounded dangerous.
Pa Makes Himself at Home
The principal proprietor of the circus told
pa to make himself at home around the tent,
and not be offended at any pleasantly on the
part Of the attaches of the show, for they
were full of fun, and he went off to attend to
some business and left pa with the gang. They
were practicing riding barebacked horses
around the ring, with rope hitched in belt
around the waist of the rider and an arm
swinging around from the center pole, so II
thew fell off the horse the rope would prevent
the rider from falling to the ground prac-
tice that the best riders adopt early in the
season. the same as new beginners, cause they
are all stiffened up by being out OF practice.
One man rode around few times and pa
got up close to the ring and was making some
comments, such as "Why, any condemned
fool could ride horse that way" when the
circus gang quick as you could say scat fas-
tened belt around pas stomach that had
ring in it, and before he knew it they had
h;tched snap in the ring, and pa was hauled
up as high as the horse and his feet rested on
the horses back and the horse started on
gaop.
Well, say, pa was never SO surprised in his
life, but he dug his heels into the horses back
and tried to look pleasant, and the horse went
half way around the ring, and just pa was
getting confidence some one hit the horse on
the ham with piece of board and the horse
went out from under pa and he began to fall
over backwards, and | thought his circus
career would end right there, when the man
who had hold of the rope pulled up, and pa
was suspended in the air by the ring in the
belt, back up and stomach hanging down like
pillow, his watch dangling about foot
down towards the ing and the horse came
around the ring again and as he went under
pa, pa tried to get his feet on the horses back
but he couldn't make it work, and pa said
as cross as could be:
"Lookahere, you fellers, you let me down
or will discharge every mothers son of you"
But they didn't seem to be scared, for one
man caught the horse and let it out of the
ring, and the man who handled the rope tied
it to the centerpole By half hitch, and the
fellows all went into the dressing room to play
cinch on the trunks, leaving pa hanging there