The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-01-12
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Told by the Old Circus Man

"There wasn't anythingschildish or
foolish about the great giant said
the old circus man, like You and me,
but he did have boy streak in him
that stayed in him i'll bis life. same as
it does in all good men, and kept him
young and fresh.
"Now, ! don't mind saying, about
myself, that | havn't forgotten the fun
| used to have flying kites. l don't
mean to say that Id 60 to making
kites and flying them now in my old
age, but if come across lot of boys
flying kites ! like to get hold Of the
string of one for a inmate and feel the
tug of tit brings back touch of
youth to me; and the giant was just
like that.
Zone spring when We were waiting
in winter quarters for the weather to
settle little more, before taking the
road for the summer, the giant saw
some boys out fl. ing kites; he had a
mild attack of kite fever and be
thoue bt he'd build kite and fly it
himself
"Naturally the giant built kite
that was proportioned to his own size,
just as you Or would do, or any boy,
if we were going to build kite; and
that made the giants kite about twelve
feet high, which, if you'll stop to think
about it minute is a good deal of a
kite, and one that an ordinary man
couldn't begin to hold at all. But it
was all right for the giant.
He had for kite string number
of good stout new clothes lines tied to-
gether, end to end, and for tail he
had lot of old horse blankets torn
into thick strips and knotted together,
with q long roll of old canvas that the
old m.n had lent him sandwiched in
to leng then it out, and be had great
fun flying the big kite for one day and
then something happened.
"There was standing at that time
outside of two story brick building
that we had on the grounds there at
our winter quarters, building that
we used for storage, weather beaten
stairway that reached from the ground
to the second story. This location
saved the space that the stairway
would have taken up inside the build
ng, and it was just as gooi, better,
in fact, for the use we put it to, out
side; we could haul wagons right
alongside of it outside and tote the
stuff right up it to the second story.
"Well, on the second morning that
the giant had the big kite out the
wind, being as it was, he was flying it
from around by that storehouse bull. .
ing and on the sarway side. And
wanting to smoke, and findlng that be
was out OF matches. he just tied the
kite string around the outer side piece
of that stairway going up the side OF
the building while he went and got
some. And what with the tremendous
pulling over OF the kit and the fact
| suppose, that some of the spikes had
rctted fl or worked loose in the NOR
tar, the kite pulled the old stairway
away from the building and started
off with il.
"It brought up frs, dragging mo,e
or less on the ground, against the
board fence running around our prop
erty, and for a minute We thought
that was going to hold it, but q gust
of wind struck the big kite just a,
that minute, and smas' went three
panels Of the fence into kindling wood
and splinters, and the kite was off
drag ging the stairway after it across
the country with the whole circus
hump'n ng after it. with the giant in
the lead
He had tied the line about hal
way up on the stairway, where it was
handy for him to reach it, and so the
stat, way was now about evenly ba..
anced on th- string. Oar next door