The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-05-04

land he said he put 1T on because he
had, bunch that those Zebras would
make for running water if they ever
got beyond control. WE'LL the crowd
followed down to the river, and every
body was rescued, and the rest of the
parade went over the route and in
the afternoon the tent was SO 4 full
there were thousands standing up.
When pa came into the main tent,
with the zebras, in the grand parade
around the ring, the crowd gave him
three cheers, which probably caused
the management, to refrain from dis
charging him on the spot. Pa is like
cat, cause he always falls on his
feet all right, and he thinks the zebra
tally-ho in the parade was the fea-
ture that caused the crowd to visit
the show; but he says he will never
drive zebras again, on account of the
excitement.
The fat woman talks Of having pa
arrested for breaking one of her ribs
when he held her down with his feet;
but pa says his feet did not sink into
her more than foot or so, and he
couldn't have hit rib, nohow. It,.
Well, I am glad to be back in the
show, cause there is more going on
than there was in the hospital, where
l put In week while the doctors were
pulling the cactus pin feathers out Of
pa that grew out on him in Indian
territory. Gee, but if had to leave
the circus business and go back to
| school, l know l should die of lone
someness.
l got chance to talk with pa at
supper, and asked him if he was real
ly crazy. as the hands say he is, and
how he liked zebras, anyway, and he
said: "Hennery, zebras are just PEG.
pie, they stampede just like politi-
clans and bankers, and business men
generally, and never know enough to
let we'll enough alone The mule is
the only draft animal that always
pulls straight, and gets there right
side up"
If I was going to run a circus for
easy money, and picnic, I wouldn't
have any menagerie connected with
it, cause the animals make more trou-
Bile than all the rest of the show.
They are just like lot of children
in reform school, they don't want
to work, and they are just looking for
chance to fight when your back is
turned, or to escape. They don't
know where they would go if they
did escape, but they don't want any
body over them, to teach them morals,
though when meal time comes the re.
form school boys and the menagerie
animals eat like tramps, because the
food is so good, and then kick be-
cause it isn't better. If your perform
ers in the circus proper do not suit
you can discharge them, and if they
are sick you can leave them in a
hospital, and go on with the show,
and forget about them until they
show up in week or two, pale as
ghosts, and weak as cats, and demand
back salary; but your animal has to
be taken along and petted, and when
you give him medicine to- save, his
life, he will try to bite your hand off.
And yet you can't help getting stuck
on the animals, and man gets stuck
on the kind Of animal that is most
like him. The grizzly old granger,
who never buttons the collar of his
shirt, and whose Adams apple looks
like a hens head, will stay by the
camels, hours at time, the pious
church man feels at home among the
sacred cattle, the strong-arm hold.
up man will linger by the grizzly
bear, the prize-fighter will haunt the
lions den, the garroter Will gaze Low.
ingly at the tigers, the sneak thief
seems to love the hyenas, and the Bis
game hunters watch the deer and elk.
Some of us who have brains love the
monkeys, they are so human.