Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-16
INDIANS AND COWBOYS
DESCEND ON CAPITAL
Big Tent Is Up and All in Read
mess for the Wild
West Show.

The big tent is up. Where there were
four acres of waste land at 14th and H
streets northeast yesterday, nomads have
settled in a twinkling and teeming life
beast and man-now aboundS.
Buffalo Bills Wild West Show and
Pawnee BilPs far east show have de-
scended upon the National Capital. To-
morrow and Tuesday they expect to as
tonsh and delight audiences composed Of
small boys and boys who once were
small and are still boys on circus days.
A village Of canvas is on the lot A
score or more Of tents. big and little.
cover the earth. Many languages are
heard and tho neighing Of horses and
the calls and cries of other animals join
in the diapason Of the strange chorus.
The pioneers arrived yesterday and sur
veyed the field. They made clearing for
the settlement. and the white city went
up before dark, and was ready Tor the
nocturnal slumbers of the arriving horde.
But the work still is going on: There
is much to be done before the big tent
is ready for the opening performance at
2 o'clock tomorrow. Scrapers and level
ers will be busy all day today. The great
field must be dry and smooth before an
audience will be allowed on 1t.
All Kinds Of Horses.
There are Indians, blanket red men, I'M
tanned and unafraid, but finally trained
to work in harness. There are horses and
horses, $50 Of them. some broken to all
gaits and others held in captivity sorely
against will and bent on taking a fall
out Of the most daring and capable rider.
There are cowboys and cowgirls. Arabs
and CosSackS, vaquerOs, or Mexican herd
ers of cattle, plainsmen, English lancers.
American cavalryrnen. artiller1sts. ruraIes,
sharpshoOters and stranger types OF hui
mainly from the ends and middle OF the
earth.
This is Buffalo Bills last appearance as
a show king. He positively announces 1t.
His first performance in Washington was
given in 1889, and he has been visiting
the National Capital practically every
year since.
The Indian camp ON the grounds Is IN
charge Of American Horse, an Oga1alla
Sioux, son Of one Of the greatest ch1efs
of the tribe. With him is old Iron Tail.
chief Of the tribe, seventy-siX years old,
and still apparently as young and Wig
orous as if he were only twenty-five. 1t
was Iron Tail who fought the famous
duel with Buffalo Bill in 1874. BY COM
mon consent each withdrew from his fol-
lowers to test the supremacy Of the man.
They fought until other men would have
died, and finished without deciding the
issue.
Big Trick Elephant.
Minnie, the gigantic elephant. nearly, II
not quite. as big as Jumbo of old, is COM
Portable in a tent all her own. She Is one
Of the most docile of animals. Housed
next to her are her constant companions,
the two thoroughbred English stations,
Wild Bouquet, which won the Irish Derby
three years ago, and Shirlind, one of the
widest Of thoroughbreds Minnie stands
more than nine feet in height and
weighs sixty-two hundredweight. With
the two horses. she is announced to
do q feature act, with a tiny pony, not
three feet high, winding in and out
between her legs She finally picks
him up with her teeth, 1t is stated. and
trots out Of the arena with him. There
are four musical elephants. which have
been trained to play with the band
and whose playing is said actually to
produce harmonious chords in keeping
with the tune played. There are nine
camels and among them the first baby
camel ever brought into the District,
1t is said. 1t is only three days old and
looks like q great big toy.