The Cairo bulletin., 1906-12-07
PoLENzo, THE
CONTORTI0NlST

GOWN was tnat you nad UP AT Troy
read Of it in the papers. Did il
tear you up much?"
1t was Harry Gray, veteran circus
man, who asked the question
Boston" was another circus man
who had just got in off the road"
"Well.'' answered Boston" 1T
wasn't much of blowdown. 1t was
more of blessin than not. because
it rid us of pest that had been both
erin us nightly for a spell.
when our show started out on the
road last spring we were so short of
/ performers that we couldn't give "A
whole show, and the old man was
lookin' mighty hard for anyone that
| could do any kind of an old stunt in
| the actin line. One day he got a
| letter from a guy what said he was
! The star coutortionst of the west;
| said he could just lay it all over any
| other contortionst that ever lived
and could make the best Of EN- look
| like thirty cents worth OF dog meat
| Called himself Polenzo, or something
| like that We called him so many
names after he came on that | forget
his real name.
Wei, The old man liked his letter
and wired him to come on, and he
Joined the show the next week, He
hadn't no more apparatus than rah-
bit All he had was a green box
about y inches square, painted green
and with handles on the ends Didn't
have trunk or anything else Talk
about rubes; why. he Fad all the
rubes that ever breathed skinned a
mile He carried all of his wardrobe
in that box, and when he came to do
his act he dumped his buds out on
the ground
His sole act was to double up in
that box. shut down the lid and be
carried into the ring by two property
men Then he would get out make
his little bow, and scrape around a
little while, get back and then get out
several times TO show how easy he
could do II, and finally he'd get in his
little box and be carried out again.
Honest, Harry. it was the rottenest
act | ever saw in all my life aud I've
been around some you know.
But Polenzo, or Pocahontas. or
whatever his name was, would bow
and smirk and smile to the audience
like he was the whole show all by his
ownself. The sassige skin,
And he got ten a week and grub
for ii, and the old man Just had TO
keep him on because, as | said before,
we was short handed. All of the per-
formers was sore on him though. and
we used to sit up at night thinking
how to get rid of him AT last one
of the property men said he'd do the
trick So the next afternoon when
Polenzo. or Pollywog, or whatever his
name was, climbed into his little
green box we all mobbed up inside
the dressing-room entrance TO see lssw
the prop would pull ii off
just as the props entered the ring
one of them pretended to stumble and
course. when the box was dropped
Joan of Arc tried to get ont and the
props acted as If they were trying
to get the box Strengthened up, and
every time Pocahontas stuck his head
up they banged him on the head with
the lid Well. we thought that was
hint sufficient, but the rubc didn't
mind It at all Said he was used to
such things. We was good ana mad
about the way he was staying on the
show and we was talking it over one
afternoon while his nibs was in the
ring Nobody had a good scheme
and we were about to give up when
we heard Big Bill the boss canvas
man, yelling:
Everybody to a guy rope. Won !
en- take care o themselves
Say, there was the worst storm
comm / ever saw. You could sec the
wind Just a-tearin' up everything in
sight, a regular cyclone, Just before it
struck us, though, the twlstcr went
to ono side and we got Just part
of the wind But that was enough
"Thc wind hit the big top and
ripped it straight across. The thing |
was full of people, but Big Bits |
voice could be heard above every.
fhing else telling the people to be
quiet And they just sat thrre.
when | saw that storm comm /
it was me for a guy rope and every |
other man jack of MS done the same. |
/ had just put on a brand new clown |
suit. but it looked like dish rag
when the storm had passed. Every !
time a fresh gust of wind would
come the old top would heave and |
slosh me down in a puddle of water !
When that storm was over | looked !
like | had been pulled through a
sponge.
well. after the storm we all got !
under the dressin' top and counted |
heads. Polenzo was missin'. We all |
started a hunt for him and found him |
about a milo from town, stll in his |
tights and covered with mud Elo /
said he didn't care about circus life |
anv more and VIC couldn't coax him
hack to the show lot. not even to
get hi1 little green box. --ksnsss
City star