Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-12-14

| heaven. l used to hope for the time
when | would get nerve enough 10
run away, and go with a circus, and
wear a dirty shirt, and be around a
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 tell
them in a 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 a circus, some day, waep
l got far enough away from ma, thai
| would up and swear, and be tough,
and when | came home in the fall, and
the neighbor boys would come around
me, | would chew tobacco and tell
them of the joys of circus life. Well,
maybe / will some day, but at present
l am sleepy all the time.
We have showed six times the last
week, and travelled a 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 | 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 60 in
the ring, but just act as though too
much depended on them to crack a
smile. When a bunch is called to &c
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 Dol 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 dom
see them, ana 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 &c
. running out to the dressing room, ant
take a peek back into the big tent al
though expecting an encore, but thu
= audience has forgotten them and i!
looking for the next mess OF perform
ers, and the ones who have just beer
} in go and lie down on straw and won
der if they can hit the treasurer TO.
an advance on their salaries, SO the.
| can go to a beer garden and forge
I it all.
t An average audience never gets it
4 moneys worth unless some one is hur
< doing some daring act. Pa suggeste'
S that they have some one pretend to b
hurt in every act, and have then
e picked up and carried out on stretcher
with doctors wearing red crosses o.
S their arms, in attendance, giving medi
S cine and restoratives. The show trie
it at Bucyrus, o., and had seven me
and two women injured so they ha
to be carried out, n the audlenc
went wild, and almost mobbed tn
dressing room, to see the doctors opel
ate on the injured. 1t was such a grea
d success that next week we are goin
It to nut in an automobile ambulanc
n and have an operating table In tn
dressing room with a gauze screen S
the audiences can see us cut Off leg
like they do in a hospital. Maybe W
shall put in a dissecting If tn
people seem to demand IT.