The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-09-09
Life With
the Circus
How One of the Big Shows is Au-
tomatically Handled, Fed
and Transported.


and Transported.
Ringing Brothers Circus is without
doubt the largest travelling aggregation
of its kind in the world. To success
fully carry on this great enterprise the
services of more than fifteen hundred
men and women are required. Nine
hundred men are employed in building
and tearing down this great white city
of tents. The other six hundred are
performers. No bank in the United
States has working system better than
that of the Ringing Brothers. Every
department about the big show is ham
died with clock-like regularity. The
show is divided into four sections.
The writer will endeavor to describe
each section and if possible acquaint
the readers of this PAPER with parts of
circus life with which most people are
unfamiliar. The first section and most
important of all, is called the Flying
Squadron. This section comprises the
cook tent, the campfire, the dining tents
and all the utensils used in preparing
food for this army of workers. The
Flying Squadron is the first to leave
the circus grounds and the first to ar
rive at the next city where the circus
is billed to show. All those belonging
to this section must be on the train be-
fore 10 p. m., as the train leaves sharp
at that hour. AS soon as the train ar
rives at the next cityi the COOK wagon
is the first unloaded and hauled at once
to the show grounds. Twenty minutes
after this wagon arrives breakfast is
under way. The cooking is all done
upon four large ranges, nearly forty
feet in length. In connection with this
there are two large steamtables where
the food is placed after coming from
the ranges. These steamtables keep
the food warm until the rest of the
circus arrives. Where few minutes
before nothing but vacant lot was in
sight, we now see the following tents
erected: The cook tent, the dining tent,
with tables all set and able to seat fif-
teen hundred people at once, several
horse tents and last of all we see the
entire grounds dotted here and there
with stake or pin, marked by little
strips of flannel cloth of different col
ors, showing the location of each tent
to be erected.
Ali the food used for both man and
beast is on the grounds at certain
hour, is quickly unloaded at the proper
places and at exactly half past three all
those who have claims for produce sold
receive their money, always in silver,
at the ticket wagon. 1t requires nine
hundred pounds of fresh and smoked
meat every day to feed the members of
this Lig show. About two thousand
loaves of bread, thirty to forty boxes of
crackers, one hundred to ahundred and
fifty bushels of potatoes, seventyfve
to eighty pounds of butter, ten to fif-
teen boxes of lump sugar and all other
fruits and vegetables in proportion.
Thirty to forty gallons of milk are also
used daily.
No man who ever travelled with this
circus can truthfully say he left the
table hungry. No show in the United
States feeds its men better or furnish es
better sleeping quarters than do Ring
ling Brothers. l speak from many
months experience with them. About
the time the walters, or funkies, as
they are called about the circus, have
finished their breakfast, the first sec.
tion of the big top and menagerie ar
rives. AS soon as these men reach the
grounds they secure a ticket and at
once proceed to the dining tent, where
they receive breakfast. After that
they erect the tents and perform the
other work required by their section
This is called section number two, and
consists of the side-show and several
animal wagons removed while the big
show is in full swing. Counting the
sleepers, this train is made up of about