The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1907-07-25
Circuses and Circus Performers.
The Aristocracy OF the Circus, in the Jul.
Everybody Magazine

The Aristocracy OF the Circus, in the July
EverybOdy's Magazine.
Riding on broad pad strapped on
horses back is very old: bareback riding
is comparatively new 1t was no longer
ago than 1854, on the Fourth of July,
that L. b. Washburne's circus, playing
in Boston, was packed to suffOcatiOn by
the announcement, spread broadcast,
that, on that particular day for the first
time i'll the history OF the world, a man
would ride three times around the ring
standing upright on the bare back OF a
galloping horse! The rider, Robert AL
mar actually accomplished this feat, and
also he carried an American flag, which
he waved uncertainty, thereby arOusing
tremendous enthusiasm. Contrast that
with the present, when there are scores
OF riders who can turn q sOmersault on
horseback. A clever boy can be taught
in about three days, to stand up on q
horse and ride around the ring.
A man horseback rider receives from
$75 to $12o week, and his career as a
principal rider lasts about ten years. 1t
is short, not so much because these men
get stiff and lose their agility, as be-
cause they lose their nerve. Nearly all
circus folk marry young, and with their
added responsibilities comes a lively
sense OF constant danger which thy ig-
nOred in younger days. A man rider
| who cannot turn a sOmersault ON a horse
| connut command more than $50 a week.
\ woman rider who can perform this
feat gets from $50 to 5000 week if she
is a finished rider
This isn't much when all the disad-
vantages of the calling are taken into
consideration, but it should be remem-
| bered that all the expenses are paid, in
| Guiding the care, feeding and of course
the transportation of their horses. All
| they have to provide is their own cloth
| ing For the men riders clothes do not
! constitute much OF a factor and the wo-
men nearly always make their own, ex-
cept those provided by the management
The most difficult training stunt in a
circus is to make a good bareback horse,
because it must be taught to travel at a
pace that never changes, to take a stride
| that doesn't vary an inch in length All
| circus rings the world over are ~ feet in
| diameter. \ bareback horse upon which
! performer turns a sOmersault should
take just twenty strides in making the
circuit of the ring. Ii it can be taught
to take % it is SO much more valuable
Ii it takes fewer than eighteen, it is use
less for fine riding, though in the finish
act, which goes with a rush and hurrah,
it may circle the ring in twelve to fifteen
strides. In turning a somersault on
horseback, the rider rises with the horse.
landing when the quarters are descend
| ing on the second strike after the rise If
there is a variation in time or in length
of stride, it means a fall and very often
a broken limb.
In this country the circus families are
fast dying out. The reasons are many.
| Primarily, circus parents, instead Of
bringing up their children to become per-
| formers, encourage them to adopt some
other calling, because the opportunities
| for success are greater in business or the
professions, and the danger is less. For
in most OF the acts q circus performer is
constantly risking life and limb. More
over, salaries are not commensurate
with the long years of preparation, the
hard work, and the brevity of perform
er's active life. Furthermore. the big
circuses, with more than one ring. do
not tend to develop really finished per
formers, since no act has the undivided
attention OF the spectators. All these
influences are diyerting circus people
from their hereditary employment
So we go to Europe for the big acts.
There, a child may be apprenticed at six;
and there is still a high standa ard for the
fine points, since they have but one ring.
Also, and this is highly important, the
rule is to give only one afternoon per
iormance week, thus allowing the per
formers the whole day for practice
Bad sick headache, biliousness or constipa-
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The best use we can make of our
life is to live so that we shall be a
. benediction to every one We meet.