davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22
Passing Of the BOX Brigade
Peace In the Circus World Now-The Old Time Advertising Warn

Now that even the circus has entered into
trust the BOX Brigade Ia passing out Of
existence.
Go to the dressing tent. the cook or horse
tents, the canvasmen, ar~azorbacks," prop
erty men. chandelier wagon, or even to the
h show and ask for the Box Brigade.
They know 1t not, for it travels ahead Of
tie circus, with the bill posting forces. The
windjammers In the big-top band have
never heard Of it, nor the working crews
that live in the tough cars" .
In times Of profound circus peace the
Box Brigade might not even know itself.
Tor then it was d~isorganized and scattered
among the three or four advertising cara
ahead, In such times Of peace the contrac-
Tor travelled with the first bill posters car,
and was not afraid to enter a town the same
Gay, while the advance press agent often
came after Car No. 1. Matters might run
on thus for half the eeason, and then O
circus war would begin.
Lett Mowers and Ep Jordan, sitting at the
Haaon in some Kansas town on q warm
mght In July, waiting to zee who was on
the up train, would wonder why no circus
mad visited Tysonville that summer.
With wheat at seventy eight cents, a
circus ought to take q lot O. money out Of
'ns tow right now Ep would cay.
Yep Lett comments. 1but ell the shows
eem to go up to Dyersburg nowsdays.'
That night when the up train pulled In It
brought q gang OF men who descended
aiently from the smoker and helped the
aggagemsn unload half q carful Of war i'm
pedimenta. The station agents trucks
we're seized aud his peaceful routine broken
II nlnders. Can after can Of paste was
ated out, with cords Of paper, long brushes
ma paste smeaNd work clothes. Bundles
:" cloth banners and small bills were heaped
sn top OF these while the conductor I'M
paHently held the train, and her the per-
ssyr!lng baggageman was told not to forget
Una telescope. Then one solitary limp
sssteooard boz was kicked out, tbs only
wee OF personal baggage the gang pos
Sssed, In which each man had q clean shirt
."9 or three collars. Is
nus was the Box Brigade. Two days
S.ore Its orders had come to three differ
ny towns In Ohio. Minnesota and Ken
ssoky, where three advertising . r had
sSv,SSived orders to send four or five men
- paper to Tysonville, MAN., and q
LING q toEne wore named In areGistored
III that followed. Theso the. nshhAHer
tne Bog Brigade rsAgn9rissd, tearing
IL
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

except to present a bill to the CIRCUS that
had violated his property rights. Usually
Il was paid when found fair.
Circus war was costly TO big shows that
spent in paper, printing, paste and CON.
tracts there was a lavish dist ribution Of
free tickets. An active Box Brigade would
cook up a ton Of -four weekly Into paste
while consumption Of Autographed posters
was measured In running miles. Circus
proprietors went on the assumption that
such advertising had a permanent effect
on a community, and that In q town where
Q battle wa fought. both shows would al
ways be remembered.
with q bumper cotton crop the Ringing
show headed o Box Brigade for the Lone
Star State In q special car six weeks ahead.
On the way down two weeks Of towns In
Oklahoma and Indian Territory were billed
t t1srs s MSi they he " were re b dlRed tenta.i " sIV SO
that II the worst came to the worst they
might be skipped entirely by the circus
itself.
:. When When t I !,r1 R;I5nsl hagt brigade, 4e% ,b get St to Da1l9s
Immediately Dallas was filled with paper
OF both shows, and then the brigades scat
tered to every show town In Texas, billing
on the same, scale. When the the whole Nnt state dste
ldA bCOh oNOAO NloAS W. INV - -
anywhere. All advertising had the general
proviso coming soon," and both shows
rested, each waiting for the other to announce
q date. A Ringing spy. was sent to Cali
fornia to see L some inkllng q the Fore
The deadlock lasted two weeks. Then
the hinglings made q computation Of the
time IL would take their rivals to cover
remaining towns billed in California and
get into Texas, and ANNOUNCED their dates
III ~.~. 49, lAkkA- GkAkA Tha fN1N BAAlra
billed in the territories were not omitted.
yet when the Forepaugh 4 Sells dates were
set there was not q single town In Texas
where they had the earlier date.
In some Texas towns that season the
~cirouses came a week apart! In others
these places an ingenious scheme was
devised by the manager Of the Ringing
Box Brigade.
Bill posters were sent out along all the
country roads to q distance Of forty miles
They carried only small bills. At every
house q stop was made. To skip none was
considered most important. Every family
received o single complimentary advertising
ticket with the condition that o small bill
ton more businesslike. Each head Of a
family who accepted the ticket was certain
to use II, Of course, n next day h country
wagons streamed into town with children
packed In. To use nj free ticket, several
Texans saw this condition clearly, but took
1t Just the same.
sBoss, $ said a colored preacher, hanging
back, IL I takes dat ere ticket Use o goner,
TO- dey's 'leven in nah fahm1y,' But
take it he did, and came In 70 buy ten more
showed the day following the country side
for miles around was cleaned out Of ready
cash.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

clam shells and with these mark in the sand
the name Of the camp. Such as
Idle Hours. Rest. Camp Comfort. are COM
non One has been named Camp Skiddoo,
and another, Beat I'll
Inside many Of the tents are very cosey.
What serves as the bed at night Is a settee
by day. The interior Of the tent is thrown
into one big room by day, one small part
being screened Off as the kitchen and a
Lack extension being used by the house.
wife, where dishes are washed and the
laundry done. In the front, under another
extension, the mealsar served. When the
dinner is over and the dishes cleared away
the family sits in front of the tent.
Portable houses or bungalows are also
very popular ut Rookaway. There are
about eighty Of these erected In streets
near to the ocean. These are rather more
comfortable than the tents, but they cost
more. They rent for $3.50 or more for the
season, those On corners bringing $3.50
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

each. They are built Of wood and quite
fancifilly decorated. Usually green is
the ground color and the window sashes
and trimmings are Of red or yellow. Pretty
window boxes are set at the windows and
some Of them have displays Of flowers In
the front yard. In most Of these bungalows
there are three rooms. a parlor in the front,
the full width Of the house and back Of that
a bedroom on one side and q small kitchen
on the other.
Another big colony Of tenters Ia to be
found at Timer Park on Gravesend Bay.
The camp there is fenced In and the tents
are crowded together Just as they are at
Rockaway. They rent for from $50 to SIPS
a season and are greatly in demand.
Another camp is at Fort Lee. just at the
lower end OF the Palisades. There the
campers can enjoy country life more than
those at Rookaway or Ulmer Park and have
still water bathing In the Hudson River
II they want IL.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

not 80 often, he was expert at getting II
down again, and gave more attention to tbs
rival shows advertising than that OF his
own.
In the days of heavy opposition between
the big tent shows in this country. Ringing
Bros. circus and the Buffalo Bill Wild West
met in bitter war In Minnesota and the
Dakotas. In a certain small city the Ring.
ling Box Brigade secured a large dead wall
on the main street and covered it from top
to bottom. A week later, however, the
Box Brigade Of Buffalo Bills show came
built a board that ran straight up to roof
level. The Ringing. space was entirely
hidden, and the board covered with Buffalo
Bill paper made this eclipse the more ex-
asperating. The Wild West people ar
ranged with the local police to guard that
board night and day,
Word went on ahead to the Ringing
Box Brigade, and one afternoon half a
dozen men ca me back in charge of an ex-
gambler who was being carried along for
just such emergencies. sold Prof." as
he was called, did not know which end Of a
Of paste, but he was a wonderful talker
with a soft Southern dra wi md the manners
Of a gentleman. Lea ding his gang up to
the Wild West billboard, he halted them
before II authoritatively.
What, eort Of work do you call .this1'
80 oShSu h"S Dh phgtuS ho dttSllttoh W
the policeman. who stood guard. @We
believe in fighting fair, but 1 am sure that
II Mr.. Cody knew Of this he would fire every
one Of you. It's an outrage. Get that
board down right awayLstart in on the
'0B But shs Of the Ys'e oo ,aaaet 81 h his sye .old Prof.
was watching the guard. No suspicion
seemed to be rising in that blue breast, and
presently odd Prof' was talking softly to
the policeman. playing the part Of a Wild
West manager, with rightful Indignation
that 70 low a trick should be worked on a
business competitor where there was surely
enough patronage In 80 live a town for three
or four circuses. In an hour the board
was levelled and laid in a neat pile at the
foot Of the Ringing dead wall.
Tearing down rival advertising was not
always. resorted to. Sometimes the signal
for both shows to tear down would be given
by an overt act, then a town would be
stripped OF advertising as quickly as It
had been decorated. Policemen suddenly
found Themselves In possession Of a hand
the midnight hours while two or three men
with long poles, armed with hooks, stripped
buildings of the rival shows cloth and
paper. Drug clerks and other night work.
era likely to see or hear anything got tickets
to become deaf and blind.
cloth occupying locations that had been
regularly. contracted for another put BAN
ners in forbidden, inaccessible locations.
Had this department store manager indig-
nantly refused to nave any sort Of circus
bill In his windows7 He woke up and found
the posters high over his door, where only
the hre department could get them down.
Had q merchant sold his entire building
front for @ sum & be paid II the advertising
was intact on CIRCUS day2 He might find
that every sheet Of paper and cloth had
disappeared some morning, multiplying his
coutfaot, whilsrths paper Of the rival shop
ascorated his property. ,He had no recourse
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22
QUEER LETTERS THAT
A MINISTER GETS.
All Sorts Of Folk Write About All
Sorts Of Things and Never
Send Stamps.

As the minister finished dumping a pile
Of letters into the waste basket he re-
marked: 'Idon't think a ministers mail can
be beaten for uselessness and ~impudence.
I have read Of the peculiar requests which
a philanthropist receives, but they are not
30 varied as those which a cler & OF
any prominence receives daily. And
never a stamp with one Of them, although
the writer's clearly expect a reply.
u receive business letters which touch
upon things which do not come within my
experience or interests. For instance, not
long ago a writer wished to know the price
Of black walnut lumber. / should think
he would rather address a milliner than q
minister for such information, but I sup
rose he was going on the popular theory
that a minister should be able to answer
every question that Is asked him.
"One correspondent asked me to give
him the names of all the people in my con-
gregation who were afflicted with asthma.
l suppose that meant he had q cure-all
nostrum to sell. I have been asked to
invest in everything Of the gold-from-sea-
water variety, including a proposition
that I take part In the buying Of Palestine.
OF course I have numerous requests for
loans, the letters always showing a firm
faith that I cannot be a minister and refuse
such requests.
"A minister wrote to ask me II I would
not get him the degree Of d. D. He seemed
to think that 1t was not the reward
Of scholarly attainment, but wa gained
by q pull. He gave as his reason for such
q request that It would be valuable to him
and 4 think I could wear 1t humbly.'
From the South I had q letter from q young
man asking for the addresses Of several
young women, as he wished to engage In
matrimony. He gave the color Of bis
eyes and hair and a general description Of
himself, and concluded with 4 am six
feet two, veal a seven and q half boot
and q six and a half hat
Il have numbers Of letters from prisoners
asking me to interoede for them and ex-
planning that they are victims OF persecu-
ton. OF oourse, I place little trust in such
communications.
Love letters? Yes, I must confess I
have had sentimental letters from foolish
One Of them implored mo to fly
to Utah with her. She knew ! was married,
but che thought Il would make little diff
ference u We snos reached Tho land Of
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

up the list. To trust them % the telegraph
would have been folly: Bill those towns
for oppesition,, was the order. Coming
Neither Lett nor Ep had seen the preal
agent conn into T~ysonville that afternoon
The hotel man suspected that he wa
schioaso.sN 'H Had Old Man Simpson sN bssS
still publisher Of the Clarion 'ha might
Bill Ditson, who bought the paper two
years before, had still to take his first
lesson In oirous advertising.
.d The pf Ssd agent ssn came cam 70 . sfss sn The Es1 li,
q conversation dealing entirely With gen.
Il am in your town looking over posi-
bilities,' he remark ed casually. What
do you think are the opportunities here
for me to get a good house,. ! have Q lttk
moral exhibition that seems to please people
In other places
The publisher talked e~noouragingly Of
Tysonville as a community that loved good
entertainment at q moderate prioe, and
endeavored TO demonstrate how chsaply
advertising might Be done in tho Clarion,
He quoted rates and showed the differences
and to encourage him Ditson shaved his
lowest rate q trife. Tho principal cost
Is for setting up tho advertisement In type,
10 1t not.' asked the visitor. Ditson ex-
planned that 1t was, and made . sill lower
rate when the visitor thought he might,as
well prepare for adyertislng BY having
Nov, let me understand this thing fully.
You say that q hundred inches win cost mo
90 wuohf'
But ] might want moro than q hundred
aur>u Tm x~el> r1, -. s>yn> n~4Co ON
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

10 going to cost. There are no extras.
Gas 10 FREQ. Bathing is free. Garbage
and refuse arc carried away by the camp
authorities who also take care that the camp
70 kept clean. It is policed and watched
carefully night and day, and the extras that
Q man with . family may have are just
what be win spend for food and entertain
ing and pleasure.
Seashore Camp was established in IaD
with four tents. and this small colony has
grown each year until It has reached the
proportions Of q village. Fifteen hundred
arc nov camped In the white city by the
sea.
There are stores at Rookaway and all the
provisions needed can be had there, but
many Of the campers get their stores from
the city. Each afternoon the man Of the
family returns to the camp after toiling
In the city. and he usually carries large
bundles. It In only a matter Of fifty minutes
from the city TO the camp.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

arranging for the show lot, license. water.
frewood Tor the cooks, hotel for bill posters
hay. meat, bread. animal meat and livery
teams TO cover the country routes. To-
%o,Tov Tysonville would know to a boy
sant tie 70 CIRCUS ss' s xas SSmins s..s and d. PRICES es
Brigade hiss assembled and is coming
and when. II begins work secrecy will be
at an end. Sonewh here TO the west the
press agent and contractor Of q rival CIRCUS
are speeding to Tysonyille too, while be.
h;nd them comes precisely the same sor.
solitary telescope.
At tho Commercial House, where the
contractor arranged for meals and rooms
for the advertising forces, the landlord has
hardly slowed away his unexpected guests
before he begins worrying about their five
SS, ysSSms 61s I. .snd,n Down %,a Main Ma ar' street the The
know the country thirty miles away on all
the roads. Around at the opera house
the local bill poster is figuring how much Of
his space he can give the circus at q specia,
rate. A week hsnoe he will curse himself
because b never suspected that another
circus was coming.
A local carpenter and builder has q CON-
TRACT TO erect 90 many running feet Of new
bilIboards on sites secured by the CIRCUS
contractor and on the way uptown from
the station tho ger Of the Box Brigade
mas epted several briok walls that Will hold
poeters. Late - 1t 70, he hurries out and
ooutraots. for those whose owners can be
found, either u. paste bflls on the brick direct
or upon spreads Of canvas hung from the
roof. Some OF this space he gets for free
tiokets q 10 glad. Some, OF II has to be
oinched with money nd be u still glad
when be reneote Nat the rival show viii have
TO AXE second best.
Next morning. bali dozen livery teams
81 s': s ! sS| -: s:ss e CO s:l,' IL 's ssssS, I s:ss:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22

There is a pavilion in the camp. In this
Is tho office. the post office, a billiard room
restaurant, bowling alleys and a dancing
floor. Mail is received three times a day
and goes out as often. Rarn dances, corn
parties, progressive euchres and all .orts
Of entertainments are given in the hall
during the season.
There is q doctor in the camp. He occu-
pies tent No. 10. A lawyer takes his sum-
mer vacation at Camp Seashore and occu-
pies tent No. 20, and a photographer does
a thriving business making post cards with
views Of the camp.
A sign posted in the pavilion reads:
"A progressive euohre will be given on
July 20. Tickets, 80 cents each, including
Ice cream and a piece Of cake. Please
bring a camp chair
The camp life in this white city by the
sea has its attractions. Many Of the ocou-
pants Of the tents take great pride in the way
they are fixed up. The children gather
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-22
Most OF His Life Retired.
From the London Tribune.

From the London Tribune.
BY the recent death In Tasmania Of Capt.
Edward Dumaresa. late Eighth Bombay
Native Infantry. the oldest oaaosr In the
army passed away.
He was born in 1902, and was consequently
i0t years old at the time Of his death. He
and was promoted Captain In 1879 and rettrs4
on half pay In 1899.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25

able description have been provided by the
%tailors, and the tendency is toward some
such inconspicuous and oleverly tailored
garment for motor wear, the f~reakishness
of costume that marked the experimental
and fad stage of motoring having given
way to common sense and good taste.
Later the silk dust coats will be worn, but
even in summer a coat of lightweight wool
is seldom too heavy for motoring, and such
a ooat Is an almost indispensable item Of
a woman's wardrobe to-day, even though
she doesn't own IN automobile herself and
hasn't one in her family.
Thu comparatively short box coat in
covert cloth, broadcloth, &c, has many
friends this season, and still shorter pony
jackets in black or tan are furnished for
wear with plaid, check or stripe skirts, but
these coats are suitable only with frocks
Of a certain type and are OF less Use for
general wear than a longer coat OF the
conventional fitted back and fly front order.
A few very attractive belted or girdled
coats are among the new showing, and one
Of the best of these models IL illustrated in
one of the cuts. The original model was
in white serge with black velvet girdle,
neck finish. cuffs and buttons, but the same
thing il shown in soft mixed grays and
mode shades.
The redingote is at its best in cloth or
velvet and il not especially fancied for sum-
mer wear, but there are some close fitting
half length and th~ree-quarter coats Of the
plainest tailored type, and the tourist coat
with loosely belted back still has its uses.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
Foxes That Have Been framed.

From the LoHdop D1iiV Grdphic.
By far the best mod" OF keeping a tame
FOX is that adopted Ivy Mr.. T.. \. Cotton. who
had two in a large kennel and yard in which
they had plenty Of room tn move about.
As n treat they were allowed the run of a
walled garden. from which there was no
escape. for on the top OF the walls there was
a stretch of wire netting leaning Inward
80 that they could neither iump on the wnll
nor over IL.
When let out for a run they would race
around the garden. waving their brushes
wildly and gambolling about in a way that
vas quite delightful To- witness. Their fur was
in the most perfect condition and they both
looked the picture Of health. After half an
hours exercise of this kind they wrr" driven
into their yard and shut M for the night.
4 tame FOX in the possession Of German
forester became so attached to its owner that
II would rest upon his kures as he sat out In
his garden in close proximity to a pointer
with which II was on the best Of terms. An
other case Is on record in which a fox had
been rendered so tame by its owner as not
only TO evince no fear of a foxhound. but
even to lie down side by side with the latter.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25

gold roses at the side seemed to lose their
targetlike appearance.
The lace wind veil caressed the pin
cIrls and the whole hat seemed to have
gown in place jus. whare it was. The
woman was delighted.
How clever of you she said.
Clever il was, but the clevernass Ivy
Glmos wholly in putting tn, hat on right.
| stood her in front OF the glass and turned
her this way and that, settling the hat as
il ought to @ settled.
Suddenly, looking always in thu mirror,
| foJnd the right angle. And quickly, lest
! should lose il, | pinned tn, hat in place,
slightly bending it to fit the had. 1t was
quite a trick and | unders. God it.
Not ons woman in a thousand puts her
hat on right. That is the reason there are
so many heartbreaks when n new hat goes
home, The woman puts II on right in a
store, but when she gets home she foTgets
how to wear II.
Il am studying the Easter hat from three
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
Flights OF the Dreamer.

From the Providence Journal.
A flash Of light is not sluggish. sound ravels
rapidly. a bullet is no messenger boy and
an lie VIII ich shoots a mile in twenty
eight seconds is moving along certainly,
When II comes TO getting over the ground
in a real hurry. however, TO devouring dis
lance in dead earnest, the dreamer marches
proudly at the head of the procession. He
makes the latest thing in the line OF 100 horse
power racing cars look like hay carts in q
mud bank.
4 man sits in his chair after dinner and
dozes: lie awakes with n start and discovers
10 his surprise that he lost consciousness
for exactly three minutes by the clock. Yet
in those three minute he journeyed from
New York TO Port Said, transferred himself
to st. Petersburg, loitered in Paris and Lon
don and sailed up the Nile. What Is Of
greater Importance in this connection, he
journeyed leisurely, almost .indolently: he
stopped at various points OF interest" and
exatnined them thoroughly; he met with
annoying and amusing experiences on steam
ships and trains he talked with acquaintances
whom he ~encoun tered in foreign lands and
he told Some of them precisely what he
thought of ~thSm-there was genuine pleasure
in that.
Adreamer can put thousands and thousands
of miles behind him in the short space of three
minutes and l~azilyenjoy himself in his wander
ng. BY comparison the chauffeur. with
his life in his hands. is a slow coach and he
must attend strictly to business; he can en-
gage in no conversation or sightseeing.