The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-04-26

outfit had to be In Forth Worth for
the next week s racing. .-
"sWhere's your money! I de-.
manded. 49,, '~....... .. =. /
"'It's all in the horses he an
week; but the president Of the meet
has the money and [ can It find him.
He just did me for $1,1O0, that s all.
"'Come with me- FRIEND said I.
I, too, have met the president. We
shall journey into Texas together So
we hooked his horse cars onto our train,
and thus we escaped from Wichita.
Travelling Show a ''Mark.' ".-'
''You see, I mention this little ex-
perience in Wichita because it is typ
A travelling show is the mark for every
high-class crook in every community it
visits. Talk about a show taking so
much money out of a town! It's gen
orally case of town taking so much
money out Of show. And the town
knows that it has the show at it's mercy,
because the show has to move and the
every town, no matter how bad, there
are a few in authority who still be-
| lieve in fair play that it is possible
for an honest show to stay out a season.
, CHOW, for instance. From Fort
Worth we went into Dallas, and from
Dallas to San Antoine. We were to stay
some trouble. Somebody tried to shake
us down and we. wouldn't stand for
| it. 1t was the police, think At any
rate, one Of the Boz vs. came down to
! the hote! early Wednesday morning and
said: Trouble Quite the lot; about
twenty of the fellows been locked up
| Of ~
"Inquiry at the lot showed that
along in the night the police had gone
thru the sleeping-tents and hauled out
about twenty of the men and locked
them up, some on the charge of drunk
enness and the others on the charge
OIL OF highway robbery: Now, highway
on the stone pile, and those boys were
the sorriest looking lot you ever saw
! behind the bars
,"That night the San Antoine chief
of police came into the show, and I
spotted him by his cap. Luckily I
had letter to him from my friend,
the Wichita chief, SO I presented it and
my case at the same time.
! " Come down in the morning, when
the cases are called and we will see
what can be done, was all he said; but
/ was on hand. The courtroom was in
the basement and was presided over
by a comic opera character who simply
couldn It help being funny, only my men
were facing twenty-year sentences and
there. is small sympathy for a circus
man in a strange town. -.
A Friend at Court. .~r
"When their cases were called they
The chief said to the Judge: Just pass
those cases a minute. Then he beck.
oned to me-he hadn't noticed I was
on earth beforehand whispered: 'Tell
them all to plead guilty. With that
he took the 'blotter' on his knees and
began working with it. r.: ....-.. IT,
"When the court had sentenced a
manner Of offenses he came to my party
again: And that $ where the surprise
case In. Every man was down on the
book for drunkenness which meant
$40 fne-and the haste with which
they pleaded guilty was good to see
That all it cost us to get out of that
the, $40 per, and box Of cigars fo1
to have friend at court.
"Of course. it ism It all sorrow ani
tribulation with fireworks show. But
we get our share. Everything will be
running smooth, and mortar will ex
plode and kill eight or nine persons
as it did in New York. Or something
; will go wrong with the apparatus, anC
J saucisson will 60 sizzling into the
; crowd and put an eye out or disfgure
girl; a skyrocket stick will come dowr
and fracture q skull, or the supers will
stampede when the bombs 90 off, ant
! hurt themselves on the scenery.
Should Aud Acquaintance Be Forgot
Gin the several summers I hav,
piloted fireworks shows about the coun
try / have seen broken heads ant
burned faces brought to me for tina
money which mendeth many ills.
have seen the canvasmen hang coloret
! men who tried to follow the show. I'v,
seen it rain and / We seen it blow-ant
, I've encountered more kinds Of sharp
, practice lawyers than fall to the lot O.
;; most men, and I've had troubles O.
!, my own.
! pretty good to me. Saying which
: the erstwhile guide and mentor Of TIL
z Last Days of Pompeii, !, $ Sebastopol, ;
Santiago and the like, resumed al
upright position, knocked the ashes on
of his pipe and started down stairs t
: watch the window sale.
But can smell frecrackers, Jus
, the same, Z he sighed, asthe disappeare
:. in the gloom Of the Office passageWay
i ~ cT4DlA