Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-01-08

I
of somnolent acrobats and drowsl lg
elC wns-these carried more magic
than the most dazzling street pageant
of today
When the very first elephant came
TO America and began to peramhl-
late the eastern states, a whole show
in itself, the farmer folk were wont
to try 10 get free glimpses of the
wonder. He travelled wholly by
n ght and the canny farmers would
build great stacks of firewood beside
the road ready to light when the hug
beast came by. The circus people
also could plot an expedient. however
Well ahead OF the elephant they would
! send profuse' y blanketed horse with
an attendant. shouting Mile up!
Mile up!'-the elephants esoteric
command, And then bonfires woulu
fare up and curious farmers would
peer into the dim road, on'y to find
a draped Graft horse under their
noses. Not till the last flicker of
the fires had died down would
there come queer shufling tread.
vague bulk looming through tho
dark and the elephant was gone.
Days Of Adventure.
These were days of adventure. too.
Rolling shows visited not only the
biz towns, but all the intermediate
htmlets and they penetrated in their
patient search for dollars into the
uttenhOst parts of the south and
west They were not always blame
less. these show people ana they bore
no savory reputation. But shortcom-
ings not their own not infrequently
got lait to their aeeount Many a
circus troupe could match VIII Coup's
sly of a Texas town. a lost mig
ger boy" and crowd ripe for lynch.
| ing A furious mob oyerhauled the
circus properties in vain search OF
the missing child Meanwhile HIS
! big black nanny patrolled the
crowd urging 1t on with her wall
Amt dat horrible, amt dat sorrow
I full. de ole Snowman done stole away
little Josh from his paw and his
maw!' Just as the storm seemed
likely 10 burst and the showmen be
torn limb from limb, little Josh turned
up of himself and saved the situa.
tion.
Another time " Missouri, black.
mailer actually hid a slave in a cir
Gus WACO and then charged the
showmen with stealing him. II was
money he wanted, but he raised some.
thing rather more svely. Slave steal
ing by band Of Yankees was a crime
worse than murder In Missouri Ar
the first hint of the outrage guns
came out. The circus was met on
the outskirts of Boonville by an
armed posse with faces set like
grim death. The pluck and GOODNESS
of the circus manager kept the
crowd at bay until the hidden negro
was found IN the caravan. And theal
It would have been short shrift for
The. showmen but that the black
mailer, scared at what he had done
owned up. Then 1t was his turn Ia
feel the halter draw. The crowd
turned on him so fiercely that II
was by a hairs breadth that he es
capped into the safety Of n Jail. The
affair terminated amicaby enough
the mercurtal Missourians inviting
their eistwhile victims to feast OF
acknowledged chickens. hickory
ham, wild honey and all the deileacies
of the season. But the showmen
were not hungry.
Crossing the Prairie.
1t is viii Coup again who is spon
ser for a tale OF a yet more hair
hidng adventure, His caravan was
winding It's way across fiowery
prairie, vast moving serpent near
a mile in length The gildede chariots
flashing In the SUM- the piena4ld Ara
bian horses, the shambling camel,
and huge swaying elephants made
touch of the east on the wild face o
the west
While Coup was musing on tn,
sight his eye fell upon a jackhabbi
tting on his launches not NOR
than two rods from the trail he wa
following. Says he: Knowing thu
habstual timidity of these creatures
the boidness of this one surprise,
me greatly. He sat there with his
ears cooked straight up. his nos,
working neryously, and his hear
pounding so heavily that its pulsa
lions shook hia gray sides. Not If
the wagon had passed did the rabbi
stir. Then he dropped upon all four
and vanished in gray streak trav
cling in a line parallel with th'
course Of the caravan and keeping
only few rods distant
while ] was still pondering hi
curious conduct saw a rattle
glide out from the grass into the trai
only n few feet in front Of the off
leader Of our four-ho1-se team Natur
Tally expected to see the snak'
coil and strike, but he did nothing o
the klnd-simpIy avoided the horses
hoofs and slipped away into thu
grass beyond.
Did Not Know What II Meant.
In IL, course OF the next ter
minutes several focks Of birds passed
over us. flying low but very rapid y
The grass on both sides of the trai
seemed suddenly TO swarm with ami