Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-12-19
Early RecOlectiOns
Of Old Noxubee

0nuQualak was IN 1893, IL Delng, (WhRC
realize now, cheap, magic lantern
affair, given by an old Snowman. as
we called him, by the name of Elsberry,
who travelled in a one-horse. covered
wagon, and made visits to Shuqualak
about every three months, his itinerary
being all points within the circle marked
by Louisville, Miss, west; Macon north;
Lauderdale Springs south, and Living
ston, Ala, east, it taking him about
three months to make the round, and
these visits continued up to the time of
the breaking out of the war.
Such an entertainment now would
hardly draw an audience of five-year-old
children, but in those days, (when NOV
ing pictures we're unheard of, such
shows never failed to be greeted by
crowded houses, the showmen behind
such entertainments being looked upon
as magicians of supernatural powers.
and it was the curiosity to the manipu-
lator of them as much as the entertain
ment itself that helped to furnish the
drawing qualities.
Old man Elsberry, (his age was about
65). generally sent hand bills by mail
i~~r or FIVE days ahead of his coming
ard for the nonce, and until he did ar
rive everything was expectancy-little
else talked of-especially on the part of
che children, who would almost 60 wild,
the expectancy being SO great, 80 let
Elsberry come when he would and he
could always count on an audience tax
/. ing the Academy upstairs to its capaci-
Jty.
\ [The first show I ever attended, as I
stated in former letter, was min
Astrel performance given by Charlie
Massengale's Minstrel Troupe, of Ma
eon.]
I, The third show I ever went to at
'Shuqualak was in February, 1859, "De-
Havens Circus" which travelled over
land, and shall never forget the mass
! i've crowd it drew at both the day and
;ght performances and some of the
openings of the day and the repartee
81, ,.ngs, OF the clown.
1t was in the days of hoop skirts for
y women. some of them being as large as
\ hogsheads in their circumference, and
4 the larger the more fashionable, and
likewise the day of pantilets for women,
inese pantilets being drawn on over
ihe shoe, like man would draw on his
bants, and tied with draw string just
Inder the knee, and reaching down to
luct below the ankle, entirely hiding
[ }he leg from the knee down. the bottom
of them being ruffled or futed, and the
more fancy the needle-work the more
fashionable was supposed to be the
wearer, the stockings worn then being
all white, but If you had to be made
; wise to this fact you would have to be
made so before they were donned, for
no one ever saw the stocking portion of
woman's limb in those days in their
hperambulations to entertainments, town,
church or anywhere else, and | 90 be-
Klieve, as timid and demUre as were
kVomen then, that they would have risen
flp in mob and made short work of
\ any one Of their gender who would have
mad the audacity to venture on the
lyttreets or anywhere else with one of
khese "modern frights" on, called "slit
kirts."
IN Speaking cf hoop skirts, women, in
for them at the stores. would
lust say "hoops, leaving of the skirt"
kBortion of the word, and this leads me
7 ,ack to the circus performance.
Well, it was at the night performance,
! ind nearly every young lady there had
Fan escort, (beau), the performance
opening with the clown coming running
in, rolling a barrel hoop, it oeing pro-
PEELED by a small stick he carried in his
hand. and when getting near to where
the ring-master stood in The arena, the
ring-master accosted him, after popping
his whip at him, with the words: What
are you doing running after that hoop?"
the clown answering. Nov. you just
WYATT until this performance is over anu
You'll see older fools than me running
after hoops"
The repartee is seen in the last word,
and shall never forget the shock it
gave the ladies. for they all had on
hoops, and | do believe that some OF
them chewed up their handkerchiefs in
an effort to hide the ''undoing" this re-
mark of the clown caused, for modesty,
lanfeigned, was the rule then and not
the exception.
4 Some of the other happenings that
yleft their Empress, boy though was
Linen, were three or four runaway teams
when the / rade started in the morning
Is the banc struck up; the large contin-
bent of negro girl nurses that came
along to attend to the babies while the
..mistresses" enjoyed the show; the
harpe collection of the old-fashloned