The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-24

Francisco fully $1,000 Cinnamon saw one
circus last season, I'll wager that half
us many passed the door of the big top
In Portland, Ore. They are not mean, and
buy popcorn or lemonade as we'll as tho
best seats. Some of them come In coaches
drawn by handsome horses and sit In
boxes. Rich Chinese merchants give mat
lnee parties. the men wearing richly EN-
broidered gowns, the women clad In cost
ly silks, cut not In the form of dresses,
but as n man wears his broadcloth, At
one matinee given In a California town
there were 5000 Cinnamon and 1000 Japs.
An Odd Conulomeratlon.
THE oldest mixture of people I ever
saw was at Il town In Arizona. Indians,
Mexican greasers, Japs, negroes, China
men and cowboys crowded the tent and
squatted comfortably on the racing track.
The Indians and Cinnamon were quiet,
as usual, but the cowpunchers, greasers
and negroes made the air ring. The cow
boys yelped like q pack Of coyotes when
the Rendini girls jumped from the ground
to the back of their galloping thorough
breds. The Mexicans liked the gymnastic
acts and opened their voices until they
were worn and hoarse. The clowns caught
the negroes and they laughed until the
ground shook. That night the cowboys
and the greasers turned the town into a.
shooting gallery. emptying their revolvers
at the stars and expressing their sorrow
at the going away of the circus by lick
ing up all the refreshments in the town.
when a circus tours the southern
states the cotton fields are deserted.
Every negro within radius of a hundred
miles has to see the performance If lie
sells his shirt to do 1t. White folks
usually go at night time and the negroes
In daytime. In some towns in Louisiana
Mississippi and Alabama the big tent
looks as though 1t were in mourning
Here and there white face looms up
During a show the noise and laughter
OF these good-natured blacks are almost
deafening. The clowns are their favorites
Strange to say. too, in view of the bad
name the negro has for forgetting the
ownership of things he likes, he never
tries to ring in any of his family on
the under twelve clause. If his children
are day over twelve he pays without
murmur, and 1T is often no small drain
on his finances. for he sometimes heads
| a procession of youngsters the length of
a city lot.
1.-THE Mormons are great circus goers.
The band always takes their fancy. They
will line up and stand in the curling hot
sun hour before the door opens. And
every father has a,cluster of children that
would crowd a band chariot. He will buy
popcorn and lemonade for all of them and
show them he likes things by bringing his
hands together until they get red and
swollen. Entire families will travel for a
hundred and two hundred miles to see the.
circus in their country. They come in
wagons over mountain and valley and
camp out until the show comes. Some
times they are a day or even three days
ahead. The hill cabins are empty, so are
the mining boarding houses.
1.-The stores close up in the little places
from which this strange stream of people
empties. When show I was with was
last In Mount Pleasant, Utah, there were
sights that would tickle the heart of the
man who tries to get close to nature with
his brush or pen. Some of the people came
from as far off as st. George, distance
of two hundred miles, coming part of the
way by wagon and the rest of the way
by train. Lots of the people, after they
got to town, didn't have the money to get
into the circus but they saw the grand,
glittering, gorgeous parade and were
happy.
Effects on Canucks.
when a show goes through the Quebec
Province the factories close down. They
might as we'll No matter how poor the
man. or how hard he must work, when
his favorite circus comes along he be-
comes a king in feeling and rounds up
his family for one full day of pleasure.
They like the music ana the dnticS VI
the clown The English side of the audi
ence loiters about the menageries until
the last call, and shows the most salts
faction when the dancing features of the
spectacle of the vaudeville part of the
programme are on.
I'm Middle Pennsylvania, where money
looks like gold and is kept as long as
life, the circus does really good work. 1t
gets these pious, close listed people away
from the hard line of daily routine and
sends their blood racing to parts of their
system that had been numb for moons.
These strong, saving, wholesome Dutch
types are all right when they are wooed
away by clean, outdoor. enjoyment. They
take the whole family and act as If the
money spent was offering without
string or apology. Their fences and houses
are painted, their field filled and the chill
dren go to school, Their pleasures are
simple and the money they hoard. after
all, is apt to come from cutting out the
silly trimmings of life in the big cities