Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-01
FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS
WILD WEST SHOW EXHIBITS IN
WASHINGTON.
Feats of Craftsmanship and Other Re-
minders of Life on the
Plains.

horSemanship and good shooting than the
tenderfoot would be apt to see in a year of
wild western experience. The Wild West
Show, which is classed a good educa-
tional institution, was just back from
long tour of Europe. Many of the Indians
and some of the COW punchers were new,
but many others were old stagers The big
arena and seating arrangements were all
new, with comfortable chairs in the grand
stand, and there is no exaggeration in say
ing that the whole show, both mechanically
and from theatrical viewpoint, was the
best that the veteran scout has ever pre-
scented in Washington.
The capital is particularly place where
the Wild West is appreciated. Yesterday
and last night there were at least dozen
old army officers in the audience, under ana
with whom Col. Cody has served. Ihere
We're Gems. Burt. Hall, Mills, Sharpe, Mer-
rit Allen and Gordon, all of whom at one
time or another had been in actual serV-
ice with Buffalo Bill. Admiral Schley and
Admiral Casey of the navy were there, as
were Speaker Cannon, Judge MuIloWny'
Representative Robert of Massachusetts,,
and when Col. Cody on his big IRON gray
horse galloped up and presented the con
gress of Rough Riders of the world ne
was facing a stand with more old, close
friends in it than he probably could have
found in any other city of the country.
Gen. Eugene A. Carr, who attended every
performance of the Wild West IN Madison
ness the show yesterday, but was prevented
by Illness.
As has been stated, the show was just
back from Europe, where it had been dis,
played before all the foreign soverelSns, and
i'll every capital and every city of any ac-
count on the continent. 1t embraced the
hardest locking lot of riders that the Wild
West had ever punched.
Burning of Powder.
OF course, there is a lot of powder burned
in mock fights at each performance, and
they are given with all the realism that the
limited area of the amphitheater permitted
But the performers did not take fraction
of the chances that the rough riders TOOK
in their nominally peaceful pursuits or rlo-
ing bad horses. You never can tell what
a bad horse is going to do, and however
well the COW punchers are acquainted with
the particular brands of deviltry in the
hardened buckers, the horses are almost as
clever at dvisng new tricks as the men
are in mastering them
One of the broncho-busters came near 1ur-
nishing a case for the coroner yesterday
afternoon, and it was no theatrical play,
either. Jack Haddon, big, smooth-1aced
puncher. undertook to ride a VICIOUS litt re
gray roam. 1t was one of the nice breed OF
western ponies that has acquired the senlle
trick of trying to roll on its rider. Hadoon
jumped on his back as the horse was get
ting up, and the roam tried to eaten MS
near leg under the saddle.
Haddon threw himself loose, but as the
horse got up again his rider slipped over
the other side. He was riding win pig
wooden stirrups without the usual leather
tapaderos, and somehow his foot hung IN
the stirrup as he fell. The bucker had Had
don just where he wanted him and com,
menced to jump. The excitement LaSteo
probably seven seconds, but 1t seemed like
as many minutes. Haddon was hanging
with his head under the horses hind hoofs,
and the bucker took eight or ten jumps, any
one of which might have smashed IN the
ilya an
all missed their mark Is beyond comprehen-
sion.
The other cowboys ran in, but before they
could do anything effective Jack had kicked
himself loose He rolled over, with his red
shirt clay colored from the hips to the
shoulders, stretched himself a few times
just to see how many bones were prokeh
and after few minutes rest went at the
horse again and rode him, bucklng and
pitching down the arena. 1t was com
bination of nerve, skill and luck such as do
not often come together.
Cossack Has Bad Fall.
There were really no bad accidents, but
one of the Cossacks was thrown and hurt
too much to continue his ride. 1t was En-
NAME, one of the rough riders from the
Caucasus The big arena looked as level
as q billiard table, but there was bad cor
ner at the right-hand end near the stand
Several of the horses fell there TILL the
riders saw the trouble and nursed them on
the turn. 1t was ENHANCES hrst round
and he was hanging over by one leg from
the saddle, with his pony going like
scared rabbit. Horse and rider went down
with a slide a the corner, and the horse
was up again like shot and galloped down
the arena alone. The Cassack rolled over
and ripped his knee up pretty badly. He
arose and lmped down the line, but did not
ride any more.
The only female broncho buster with the
show is Miss Annie Schaffer. She is
cOse-knit why little girl in a yellow skirt
and a green waist that ought to have made
any horse shy But she could ride for fair.
She had one of the worst bronchos. and
though he was held while she mounted, he
pitched worse after she was up than the
most of those that the men tackled. Annie
was game, and stayed with il from one end
of the Enclosure to the other.
OF course, there were lot of athletic
acts a troupe of Arab tumblers and an
other of japanese jugglers and equilibrists!
They put up better exhlbltlon than is
usually seen on the vaudeville stage, and,
considering that it was in the open air,
with none of the accessories of the theater,
it was sufficiently marvellous to have been
a show by itself.
High School Horse.
But one of the cleverest turns of the
whole show was Ray Thompsons high
school horse Joe Bailey, which is about the
most finished performer that ever got under
a saddle. Thompson is very lightweight
rider, and while he naturally must have
put in a long, hard course of training with
Bailey, the big bay really seemed 10 do his
dancing and sidestepping of his own
cord. His rider took him through his per-
Torrance on the snafiie. and mighty lightly
at that, and only once during the dance
sSed his riding switch against his flank
as "a signal Bailey did the usual Spanish
walk, and a triie better sIdestepping than
the most highly trained horses, and then
sat down on his launches while his master
sat down, too, and famed himself with his
hat.
Then they were up again and the horse
cut loose for some real equine stunts. He
cake walked did a polka to music that
one of the most graceful exhibitions g
horse could possibly do. and after circling
around in what was almost a clog dance
stopped in the middle of the arena and
danced the hula-hula in a fashion that
woke up the whole audience. Then he
piruetted away out of sight with non
Chalant air as much to say that he
took his master along merely as an ac-
commodation, but that really he could
do the act just we'll by himself.
There We're all the old stock turns in the
show. The riding of the pony express
the attack on the Deadwood coach and the
raiding of the emigraut train Johnny
Bakers shooting Buffalo Bits breaking of
glass balls from horseback and the broncho
busting were the features of the perform