davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

ONE in and see the gnarling, snarl-
~ ing. meat-eating, Misunderstanding
wild man of Borneo. The only one in
captivity, and we keep him Gagged. Only
one dime, 10 cents, will pass you in
This way. neighbors, this way. Como
this way and see the only great gyrascutis
ever captured by man. A nickel will ad-
nit you. Only cents, and you can see
the North Pole wonder. He eats ton
of ice for his breakfast and grizzly
bear for his dinner. When he howls
the icebergs in the frozen north split in
twain and the midnight sun blnks its
sleepy eyes"
The foregoing and similar cries of side
show "barkers" will resound along Penn
sylvania avenue and TIN street during
the presidential Inauguration period II the
history of former inausurations repeats
itself. Managers of fake shows are said
to be prospecting already with the view
of renting vacant stores and halls on
the principal thoroughfares of the city
in which to place on exhibition their
wonders" Next to procuring show
place on one of the busiest streets the
most important thing to the Snowman is
to secure the services of a convincing
barker" or 'spieler," whose duty 1t is
to halt the crowds. interest them and
then capture their nickels and dimes.
*
The ''fimmers," as the store shows are
termed, are opened the morning of March
:, and close at midnight March 5, to catch
the crowds coming and going, as the
managers express it. All manner OF
schemes are resorted 10 to secure pa
irons for the exhibition. Canvases with
paintings in vivid colors of the wild
man." clad only I'm breechskin and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17
WILL FLOCK TO WASHINGTON FOR INAUGU

and is an impossible story of the fakest
kind.
One Of the cleverest fakes of recent
years was that worked off at one OF the
late inaugurations in a vacant store on
Pennsylvania avenue. Some years pre-
vious there had been exhibited here a
most wonderful painting of Trilby as she
was described by Du Maurier. the au-
thor. The display of this picture, which
attracted wide attention, gave the show
man cue. and when March arrived il
found canvas exposed in front of a store
inviting the people for a nickel to go
within and see THE wizard work OF the
pencil of a great artist-Triby."
Those who gave UP their money and
entered the place saw this: On a canvas
curtain was painted a handsome gown.
bedecked with lace and jewels. Through a
hole at the neck of the gown prOtruded
the head of female with red hair and
freckled face. the female being in the
flesh and standing on stepladder behind
the curtain. Her freckled arms and
large hands protruded through the paint
ing Of the gown at the armpits. The
whole was "A most gross caricature and
libel on the original painting of Trilby,
after which 1t was supposed to be fashion
ed. Those who Were ushered into the
presence of the latter-day Trilby wore
looks OF disgust on their faces first. Then,
as the fullness of the joke daWned upon
them and they realized that they had
been sold the desire to "selT' some
possessed them and without
comment they went out to find new vic
TINS for the barker" and tell them what
a wonderful work of art the modern
Trlby was. Then they got their nickers
worth of laugh at the expense OF their
deluded friends.
An artist who had seen the original
Trilby escorted a brother painter to see
the great painting he had seen several
years before. When they entered the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

with three-finger "bracer' of booze
every hour to keep up his courage in the
strange role he is playing. The show
man tells his audience a wonderful story
party of hunters in the wilds of Borneo
only after two of the hunters had been
killed and several wounded. The wild
man Will eat only freshly killed meat,
he explains, and then he tells how the
creature of the wilds captures animals
and tears them limb from limb when he
is hungry.
"And would you believe it, said the
man who conducted the show here. law
yers. doctors and even preachers came in
marvellous creature. The Borneo game
is one of the best fakes on the road. 1t
catches EN- all
Those who so to see the gyrascutis as
it is pictured on the canvas without the
show place are disappointed. Instead of
seeing wonderful beast in the flesh they
are shown several big bones which orig
inally did duty in the anatomy of some
cattle, beast or horse The inside ''lec-
turer' tells his audience how the gyras-
cults sends out its shrill whoops over the
icy wilds of the frozen north How it
claws to death great grizzly bears and
feasts on the remains. and at one sit
ting will deVour tons of snow and Ice.
He also explains that not single speci-
men of the gyrascutis family has ever
been in captivity. But when surrounded
by hunters the animal tore itself to
pieces, committing a sort of hara-kiri
rather than fall into the hands of man
alive. For that reason only the bones
can be seem His description of the
beast in the flesh is a thrilling one. Part
Ice panther and part sea lion, 1t possesses
the form of half-man. half-beast. Its
strength is prodigious and in a combat
its savagery is terrific. The auditor feels
that although he has only seen few dry
bones, yet he has heard a story that
would put some of the juvenile story
book thrillers on the blink, even though
it is descriptive of an impossible animal
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

longer-he wanted to share Cash was
abundant. In fact. my father had more
money at the end of those two weeks than
he had ever seen before. In Melbourne it
was the same. and. in fact after that,
everywhere we went. we just coined 1T.
But just to show you my fathers nerve
at Hobarton was the penal headquarters
of Australia. 1t was there the officials
were located. and apart from these nearly
every other person in the place was an ex-
convict, or ticket-of-leave man. Well
father secured the opera house and an
nounced the play called The Ticket-of-
Leave Man. 1t was a mad crowd Ho-
barton contained when they read that an
nOuncement.
''They thought Yankee actor was in
sulting them.
THE house was packed. Every one
came towing to mob the player. Well!
when they saw that Bob Briefly, the in
nocent man, was convicted. and saw him
work out the manifestation of his inno-
cence, that crowd went wild Instead of
throwing chairs and benches at him It
was coins and flowers that fell On the
stage all about him.
THAT play went on until father was
worn out. and it was the greatest money
maker we had. Instead of mobbing the
Yankee mountebank, they called him
before seeing him i'm the play the whole
town stood ready to dance attendance
upon him at all times.
That was in go. Father was getting
homesick. His health had mended and
he was practically we'll man again The
ocean wasn't dotted with steamers, as it
is today. and when we started for home
we found 1t necessary to take suano
boat for Peru, hoping to catch something
there to take us to the United States
We were disappointed, but we PLAYED A
number Of weeks in South America to
good business
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

son to write his fathers biography, but
he passed away before he had done little
more than collect a few newspaper ar
ticles and letters from his father and
from his personal friend, Mr.. Grover
Cleveland These valuable possessions
have been kindly passed over to the
writer to add to the material already
collected for ''Recollections Old and New
Of Joseph Jefferson" To these has been
added the interesting story Of the travels
Of her brother-in-law as she has heard
them related by him.
Soon after our arrival in London ia
Their was asked TO present Rip Van Win
kle.' 1t was then I learned for the first
time that father had 1t in his mind that
his old play, Rip might be improved
upon for he declined to present it in the
shape he had been appearing in it. He
said that if he could get the great play
wright, Dion Boucicaut, to rewrite the
play for him he would produce it in Lon
don. Boucicault agreed TO this, and after
the terms had been talked over he went
to work like a steam engine.
at is amusing to recall that Bouci-
cault did not like the play and would
often stop working upon it to tell father
that it would be a failure. But father
kept saying: Go on with the play. I'm
willing to risk It.
after the work was done my father
asked:
"'Will you accept royalty or cash:'
MIR. Boucicault replied:
leash for me, for it will not go.
They'll never stand for man sleeping
twenty years"
Think what the royalties would have
amounted to had he decided to be paid
for his work in that way! His heirs
would still be receiving an income from
the play.
"When Rip was finally put on my ia
TIERS name did not appear in big letters.
There was no star part for him on the
program and he was not even featured
The play was advertised as the work of
Dion Boucicault, whose name alone was
enough to draw a large house.
"In this new version Of the play Rip had
been created just as my father wanted
him. Gretchen did not die, as in the old
version and the dogs name was changed
from Spider to Schneider, and he was
given a more prominent place.
"In this new version father seemed to
melt right into the character, and before
the play was over people We're asking:
Who Is this man? Where did he come
from?'
'After that first performance in Lon
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17
Very Decent of Him.

CHARLES NJ. SCHWAB at the recent
~ reunion of the Carnegie Veteran AS
ISOLATION at the Carnegie residence made
the hit of the evening with his stories.
lone of his stories.' said veteran
afterward. concerned failing sight. too
frequent a concomitant of workmanship.
Mr. Schwab said he entered, the other
afternoon, the parlor of a dear old lady
with poor eyesight. A footman was
kneeling to lay a cedar log on the fire,
and the old lady. who kept Newfound-
land dog, was patting him on the head
and saying. Poor old fellow! There, there,
poor old fellow
1.-The footman, said Mr.. Schwab, was
very decent chap, and managed to
escape from the room without letting the
old lady discover her mistake"
Copyright. 1909. by Estelie klauder)
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

storeroom and came face to face with the
freckled face and arms and the calcimined
gown, the painters gasped and literally
fled from the place.
These are but few of the fakes that
are worked off at inauguration time upon
the country cousins and city ones, too.
There may be some brand new ones in
evidence when Taft and Sherman are
indicted into office-this Is an age of in
novations.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

with long hair and beard, being pursued
by hunters, or of the animal mystery"
known as the gyrascutis, are displayed
In front of the show place, and the Shout
er and the ticker man do the rest
While some of these shows are the real
thing in curiosities, others are fakes of
the rankest kind. They have been fea-
lures of the county fairs and usually
nave had runs before coming to WASH
lngton to figure in the hurly- burly OF the
presidential inaugurations. During the
first Mckinley Inauguration and since
that time the wild man of Borneo"
show had big run here. The alleged
erstwhile roamer in the jung,es of Bor-
neo was exhibited in vacant store on
pennsylvania avenue. The man who took
the part of the wild man had never been
any nearer Borneo than the cranberry
bogs of New Jersey. He was known to
his companion side-door Pullman tour
lists as the Hobo from Hoboken' The
snowman found him asking for hand
outs on the pike between Baltimore and
Washington, and secured his services as
the wild man. at one dollar per When
IN action the wild man of Borneo Is
placed in an apparently heavily barred
cage constructed of papier mache and so
light that a fifteen-year-od boy could
play basket ball with 1t or a Jack rab-
bit could break through it's bars The
Wild mans makeup consists of a cover
ing of skins, wig of matted black hair.
Z" ,oiS anu uhheHipt Didck oeafu, MS lace
painted a sort of clay color, long talon
like finger and toe nails made of cellu-
lold, which are attached to his real
finger and toe nails, and ferce-looking
celluloid tusks to protrude from his
mouth: The picture is completed when
the wild man is chained to the floor of
his cage and big chunk Of raw beef is
placed in front of him.
>, :.
One Of the requirements of the hobo i'm
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

'overbilled. mistake made by his
agent"
He did not improve in health much,
either and hearing of the delightful CHI
mate of Australia, he decided to go there.
). *
Mr.. Charles jefferson, in speaking of
recoilectons of them before his severe ILL
ness and death last June.
I'VE made the voyage in sailing YES
sci, and were seventy-nine days at sea,
landing at Sydney
Fathers agent tried to arrange a date
for him to open at the opera house. 1t
was owned by ticket-of-leave man, an
eX-convict. He had never heard of JO-
seph Jefferson, and there was nothing do
ing Then my father went to the owner
and agreed to pay him two thousand dol
lars rent for the house for two weeks. 1t
was agreed upon. and father went TO his
agent and asked him for the money.
We had carried seven thousand dollars
out of San Francisco. and when father
asked for the two thousand rent Jim hesl-
tated a moment, and then confessed that
he had lost every dollar of the money at
cards the night before leaving Frisco.
There was American who had
crossed on the vessel with usa woman
who, hearing of my fathers predicament,
offered the loan of all she had. Unfortu-
nately. it was not enough, so latner
pawned his watch, Simons watch. and a
valuable diamond ring, which he had had
presented to him, and so was able to get
together enough money to rent the thea
ter.
I'VE rehearsed a play. but there was no
suitable scenery. Father was, as all
know, an artist so he painted new seen
erv himself between the rehearsals.
:: <
1--WE produced several plays, and at the
end of the two weeks that opera house
owner wouldn't rent the house to US any
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

anxious to hear some news about it. A
rowboat with calkers came out to meet
our sailing vessel, and upon it was a man
who knew my father The instant he
saw him he yelled out, We'll, I'll be
ID if there amt Joe Jefferson! Why,
Joe. where in the hi did you come
from?
Father asked him the news about the
war, but the man wanted to know all
about father and where he had been, and
it was some time before he could be per-
saued to tell US what we were SO anx-
fous to learn. At last he said:
The war is over. Richmond has
fallen and Lee has surrendered.'
Il was standing close beside my father,
and / heard him sigh heavily.
And Lincoln has been ssassinated!
yelled the man in the boat.
What a pity! oh, what.a great pityv
said my father
'''Wikes Booth shot him in the Ford
Theater in Washington continued the
man.
My father tottered. and l believe he
would have fallen had not the captain
and L caught him. He was as white as
violently. He and Wilkes Booth had
been friends; they had played together,
and the mutual attachment had been a
strong one.
presently father recovered, and, turn
ing to me. said:
My God. that's awful! What could
Booth have been thinking of? He must
have been crazy. Son, take me to my
room
Il cannot recall the time I saw nv dear
father so moved. He remained depressed
for days. and for days he was al taciturn
as l ever saw him. He seemed unable to
drive away the impression made upon
him by the dreadful news. In fact, he did
not succeed in doing SO until we had
reached London.
::
From South America we came TO ia
maica to catch the Evening Star. a YES
sci from New York, but, unfortunately,
we arrived in port after that vessel had
sailed. We were booked for passage on
her Two days out the Evening Star,
with every living soul on board, went
down
That was a narrow escape. Missing
that boat gave the American people Rip
Van Wrinkle.
I'VE found vessel going to Southamp-
ton. and, rather than wait for a ship
going to America, father decided to go
to England, pass a few days in London
and then cross the Atlantic for home"
1t was the intention of Charles Jeffer
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

don 1t was Joe Jefferson's Rip Van Win
kle-not Boucicault's.
After witnessing Mr.. Jefferson's work
in the play several nights after its first
performance. which the author could not
be persuaded to attend, he said to the
actor:
Joe, I think you are shooting over
their heads
81 am not even shooting at their
heads, 1 am aiming at their hearts, was
the reply.
The play had long and successful run
in London and various cities on the other
side, and when we returned to America
it created a perfect furOre.
ut has been presented more than ten
thousand times
In speaking of Mr.. Jefferson's success
as an actor in England, Mr.. John Ma
guire, who met Mr.. Jefferson in Austria
liza in the early sixties. says:
His success in London was emphasized
in a greater degree if that were possible,
than that already achieved in Australia
1t was then that America greeted the re-
turn of the Wanderer. proud Of the VIC
tory of an American actor In an American
play in foreign lands. This fame abroad
added to the glory of his country, both
at home and abroad; his public and pri-
vate life furnished an example dazzling
in the magnitude of its grandeur, and he
will forever be theme of pride to every
one in that profession he so eminently
adorned.
* *
Owing to his disappointment In San
Francisco Mr. jefferson concluded to sail
to the antipodes, and that voyage surely
was fateful to him in its results, for since
then the illustrous actor was above and
beyond any comparative criticism. Aus
tralia glowed with a young and lusty in
tellectualty regarding the drama, I'M
trammeled by mossgrown conditions of
the prejudice of a decayed senility, and
gave immediate response to the then young
American, Joseph Jefferson, and In him
recognized with all their enthusiasm the
beauty of his art and those talents that
so conspicuously shone forth in the per-
formances of the wide range of charac-
tiers he then essayed.
The most important event of Joseph JEFF
ferson's life occurred when, upon the
evening of September ). 1865, he made his
first appearance before a London audi
ence. The play was entirely new to the
English public, and it was at once
pronounced success and ran for 10
nights The part of Gretchen was played
by Mrs. John Ellington. who happily
still lives to tell the story of this event,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

familiar TO all who knew him;
some were kind enough to say / ran
away
During the war between the states Mr.
Jefferson was absent from America, and
concerning his absence at that time MANY
stories have been given to the public. The
correct story has never been put in type
excepting as told in his autobiography.
Mr.. Jeffersons sympathies were with
the south. but his judgment was against
the war.
Henry Watterson once wrote on this
point:
Early in 1861 Mr.. jefferson came to
me and said, There is going to be a war
know, unheroic. l am not a hero | am
neither northerner nor a southerner
cannot bring myself to engage in blood
shed or TO take sides. | have near and
dear ones north and south | am going
away and l shall stay away until the
storm blows over.
Il may seem unpatriotic and it is |
know, unheroic. / am not a hero an,
hope, an artist My world is the world
OF art and | must be true to that if ia
my patriotism, my religion | can do no
manner OF good here and | am going
away.
At that moment statesmen were hone
fully estimating the chances of a peace
iui adjustment of the sectional contro-
Versy With the prophet instinct of the
arust he knew better.
Although at no time taking an active
interest IN politics or giving expression
10 party bias of any kind, his personal
associations led him into familiar
knowledge of the trend of public opinions
and the portent of public affairs and [
c"a truly say that during the forty wears
that passed thereafter, l never discussed
any topic of current interest or comment
with him that he did not throw upon il
The sldelights OF an understanding large
and full and a judgment both nluminat-
ing and impartial
1t was not the war that made him leave
america. His wife had just died and he
was i'll poor health. Il was not generally
known at the time. but one of his lungs
was IN very bad shape, at least so the
physician told him when he sent him to
California in the hope that the climate
might benefit him.
This was in March, 1861 and breaking
mp his home in New York, and leaving
three of his children at school, he went
with his eldest son. boy of eleven years
Charles Burke Jefferson), to California
Joseph Jefferson was at that time COM
paratively unknown, and he was not a
success as an actor in San Francisco His
OWE reason for this was that he had been
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17


u Up VAN Wrinkles FIRST APPEARANCE IN LON
N DON-THE PLAY AS ARRANGED BY DION
BOUCICAULT UNDER JEFFERSONS DIRECTION
WAS SUCCESS FROM THE FIRST PERFORMANCE
IN THE ENGLISH OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES AN
TICIPATED FAILURE, AND REFUSED TO ACCEPT
ROYALTIES
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17
Perhaps.

From the Chicago News.
Pearl-In the first chapter Of this novel
it states that the heroine has hazel eyes
and in another chapter it alludes to her
liquid eyes.
Ruby-Liquid? Well. er-perhaps she
has witch hazel eyes.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

number OF Incidents, anecdotes and per-
sonal letters from great men show the
famous actor in light not generally
known to the public.
Mrs. Jefferson has had a vast source
OF information to draw from. Her hus-
band and she herself recall many inter-
esting incidents in which they figured with
the great actor himself. A large portion
of her work is made up of personal remi-
niscences of Joseph Jefferson. The other
members of the family have contributed to
the fund of reminiscent information con-
corning the great actor, principal among
whom was Charles Burke Jefferson his
first son by his first marriage, now de-
ceased, closely associated for many years
with his father business manager.
Many of the incidents have never before
been given to the public, who loved JEFF
fersOn so well.
The following article on Joseph Jeffer-
sons presentation of Rip Van Wrinkle for
the first time in London deals with his
reasons for leaving America for Australia
at the outbreak Of the civil war. with the
personal recollecttons of the actors son.
Charles, who accompanied his father to
Australia, with his experiences in Aus
tralia and the subsequent journey to Eng
land IN d sailing vessel, with the personal
recollections of Mrs. John Ellington, the
original Gretchen of the play, concerning
the premier production of Rip Van Wrinkle
In London and her prophecy OF it's sue
cess, and his return to America.
The photographs accompanying this ar
ticle are all over forty years old and in
all probability, the only set in existence
They were taken just after the opening of
the play in London at the Adelph Theater
in 1850. The play ran for 10 nights and
carried London by storm. The photographs
are most interesting in their portrayal
OF the difference between the original and
the present-day conception of the cos
tunes to be worn by the various charac-
tiers.
Extracts from the book, prepared by
Mrs Eugene Paul Jefferson, follow:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17
ARE Mc5oc1 boN foRsor :,
WHEN VIZ ARE CONF

{ s + L G. f N / Il
PAUL JEFFER-
son, wife of Thorn
as Jefferson. the
eldest living son Of
Joseph Jefferson,
who Is now living In
Washington during
the winter. has pre-
pared for publica-
ton a book, Rec
objections Old and
New of Joseph JEFF
ferson," in which a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

when we left Australia the war was
still going on in America, and we were
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17
EUGENE PAUL JEFFERSON.

BY EUGENE PAUL JEFFERSON
(T LOVED my country so much
l could not bear to see her
suffer-" Joseph jefferson used
To say with the merry twinkle