St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1906-12-29

Asher was the keeper.
Then came & Ben Him, Charley
Russell, Ben IT, City Clerk Bailey
and Lawyer Raoul Pavy) and Has.
Ben, (Chas Ventre.) Each were
yehicled alikea railroad scoop and
mule teams. They, like John Heavy
in Ben Hur,' were Roman chario-
teers, full armored and costumed ap-I
propriately. No mishap occurred to-
these gay knights, except the ac-H
cidental tilting Of Knight Bailey's
chariot through his legal companions
awkwardness in touching the spring
which is used to tilt the scoop.
Then came two giraffes, two ele-
phants and camel. These were
mads up with two medim-sized negro
boys serving as the legs of the beast,
to each animal, with the body Of the
animal made of cloth. They were
artistic. and resembled the original
SO strikingly that a close inspection
was necessary to tell the difference.
The patrol wagon brought up the
rear. It gave many Of our Mardi-
gras visitors the jim-jams, SO closely
did this vehicle resemble the old
Black Mariah,' the nightmare of
their carnival visits. The cops were
Mr.. r. M. Coltrin and DR.. R. Z. Wal
ker, and the jag was represented
by Mr.. Percy Dunbar, with Mr.. Mark
as the clown. AS we said before,
this outfit was as realistic as the gen
uine article, and showed ripe ex-
perience on the part Of the characters
Col. j. ]. Thompson acted as gen
eral master Of ceremonies in the
parade.
The circus performance was billed
to begin at Z o'clock, but it was
nearly nine when the performers
finished making up, and were ready
for the arena, the latter gaily dec
Grated with American flags and other
patriotic emblems.
The various stunts are indescri-
Ibable. That is, they would furnish
no amusement by recital in cold print.
One had to be present, and take into
consideration the ludicrousness of the
whole situation see big Arthur
IVeltin dressed in the garb OF 1.-THE
nearest we can come to iD milk
Imaid; Freddy Sandoz in his William
TELL outfit; Dudley Guilbeau in full
Iarmor; Coroner Boudreau as con
lcert hall ballet dancer; Assessor
/ IDossmann il q combination gladiator
and sardine packer garment; Clerk o.
d - =
i Court Andrepont in an indescribabit
dress; District Attorney Garland as
1beauty riding horse back On sid
saddle; DR.. Johnny Haas in bee
garden Uniform; Sheriff Swords i
i mephistopheles garb; Lawyer Paw,
j as . court knight; Pat Wolff, Jess
Barbett, Charley Russell, Phil Asher
j Charley Ventre, and others, all mad
up in some outlandish and grotesqu
], character.
Judge W. G. Perrault acted as ring
master at the Circus. and his Volubi
Iity and wit was distinct feature 9
the night Of fun.
The voting contest for the mos
! popular Elk resulted in an easy vic
tory for Mr.. ]. Adam Budd, who pol
: ed nearly nine hundred votes.
2 The Elk Circus was huge success
las a fun maker. The financial en-
D did not come up to expectations, bu
d we learn that the order will not los
$ anything. notwithstanding that th
Ell expenses were considerable. Th
3 Icostly paraphenalia remain the
8 property, and perhaps will be use
d for another circus in the near futur'
al or may be sold to the Elks IN SON
y neighboring city who desire to gis
]. their people real good time.
# The Circus was originally TO haN
ID taken place On The 17th, but u
II weather forced 4 change Of date.