The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-02-16

4 two weeks stand, in Madison Square
Garden, VIC are having the tents e
paired, and don't have to put up and
take down tents, and ride all night on
trains. We are all stopping at hotels,
and getting rested, and pa is having
q chance to shine. -
The managers think pa is trying to
commit suicide. for he wants to take
the place of anybody who is sick
or drunk, and is the understudy& of
everybody. We got" one act that just
curdles your blood, a cage in the ring,
with lions and tigers and leopards, who
go through all kinds of stunts. One
lion rides a horse and jumps through
hoops, n lands on the back of the
horse, and jumps on a staging .anG
lets the horse. 60 around the ring, anC
then jumps on again. The horse Is
blindfolded, sc he don't know it is a
lion that jumps on his back, but
thinks it is a man.
The tigers ride bicycles, and the
!eopards jump about wherever the
trainer tells them to; a monkey acts
as clown, and a little elephant runs a
make-believe automobile. That act
alone is worth the price of admission.
Well, the regular trainer went to
Coney Island, and got drunk, and we
either had to cut out that perform
ance, or give back the money, AMI
the manager was wailing about it,
cause nothing makes a circus man
wall like giving back good money.
Then pa said he would save the Gay
by taking charge of the animal act.
He said he had watched it every day,
and knew how to do it, and he could
dress up in the clothes of the regular
trainer, and the animals wouldn't
know the difference. Gee, but I was
scared to have pa try to run that AMI
NAL show, and I think everyone in
the show believed it would be pas
finish. I felt like an orphan when pa
came out Of the dressing-room with
the trainers clothes on, though pas
stomach was so big you would think
a blindfolded horse would know pa
was no trainer.
Well, pa went in the round cage,
made OF bar iron, and motioned to the
attendants to send the animals into
the cage through the chute from the
animal quarters. The first to come
were two tigers that were to ride We
l~ocipedes. I trembled for pa when
they went in and waved their tails
and looked at pa as much as to say:
20, we won't do a thing to you" They
actually looked at each other and
wlnked; but pa motioned to the We
l%ocipedes, and looked fierce, and when
they hesitated about getting on, pa
said: You won't, won't you," and ne
took a club filled with lead and start
ed for the biggest tiger. He hesitated
a moment, and then he jumped on the
machine, and the other followed, and
they raced around, and then pa made
them get off and jump hurdles. Finally
he motioned to a shelf for them 10
jump up onto, and when they hest
tated. he kicked one in the Stats, and
hit the other with the club, and they
went up on hat shelf too-quick, but
they stayed there and snarled at pa,
and I was afraid they would jump Oh
him when his back was turned.
Then they brought in the blind
horse and the lion, and the lion
was onto pa, and he struck right off.
He got up on the pedestal from
which he was to jump onto the
horses back, but when the horse came
around the lion wouldn't jump, and
pa said: "T1l give you one more
chance" and the horse went unde.
the lion, and he wouldn't Jump. So
pa stepped the horse and took an iron
lar and knocked the lion off onto the
floor, and he growled at pa, but pa
kept mauling him, and finally tho
lion jumped up on the pedestal and
seemed to say: Bring on your horse
and pa started the horse, and Mr.. Lion
made his jumps all right, and the ALL
dience cheered pa.
All the animals went through their
stunts all right, but I thought I could
see they were laying for pa, and /
wished he was out of the cage. The
Wind-up came when the lions were
seated on benches, and the elephant
was between them, and the tigers and
leopards made a pyramid, and the
monkey vas clawing around pas legs.
The signal was about to be given for
the animals to return through the
chute, when the monkey tackled pas
legs like a football player, the e!e~
phant pushed pa over, and the lions
paved him and snarled, and the
tigers took a mouthful out of pas
pants, and the leopards snatched his
red coat of, and the signal was given
for them to get out of the cage, and
they went, out like boys at recess
leaving pa in the cage with the blind
horse, with not clothes enough LET:
on him to wad a gun. He was not
even scratched, however, the animals
having just combined to humiliate pa.
The audience cheered. Pa said:
"Well, wouldn't that skin you" They
threw him an overcoat to put on, and