Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-02

make port at P1CCOn, an II IL ain Ta1TllT
too hard We'll see if we can give show
SOMETIME about three in the mornin'-
wasn't it, Grogan?-we was yanked out
of our hunks. The train was stopped in what
looked like river or lake. With lanterns
and hip boots we starts sloshin' and slippin'
and slippin' around peerin' into cars, operlin'
cages, and haulin out carcasses. Nine more
horses, tiger, a chimpanzee, couple yakS,
an a acrobat had croaked durin' part of
the night The bodies whirled away the
minute they hit the flood, an by the time
we was under way again they must've been
in the next county. Can you see some nice
old lady comm downstairs to start the
kitchen fire in the mornin', an findin' a
horse, a chimpanzee, a yak, an acrobat
piled up against the back steps?
"When | comes to open the elephant car
finds Potiphar wide awake an nervous.
He stood there in the dark, fifty streams of
water runnin' off his back, his little pea eyes
lookin' at me mournful-hke, an his trunk
swingin' like pendulum on a granddad
clock. Every once in awhile he'd let out
cough that'd almost wreck the car. Right
then an there | knew the worst was goin' to
happen. Old Potiphar was goin' to cash in,
an then where'd we be- Did anybody ever
hear of tent show without an elephant?
"After maxim the old boy as comfy as
possible | swum back to my car an turned
in. When come to in the morrlin' thought
was dreamin'. The ground outside looked
firm an hard, an while no sun was shinin'
it was such change that the hull mob
sloughed off the train in nightshirts and un-
derclothes. We was rollin' In the grass an
feelin' of the dust when the Old Man comes
along. He orders us back an tells us to
4
can dry out before parade.
"Potiphar had developed a sneeze after l
left him, an his eyes was runnin' so he
couldn't see. I had to lead him all the way
to the lot. When l got there l finds the
Old Man propped UP against the stake
wagon with paper in his head. He was
cryin' soft-like.
"What's the matter, Mr.. Van Horn? says
I as comes along with Potiphar.
"What's the matters? says he. Look at
that paper! =
u looked, and there, right on the top of
the first page, it says, Terrific rains due in
Picton an all over Missouri this afternoon
3Just then Potiphar let out an awful
cough an commenced shakin' with chills.
"'Joe,' says the Old Man, want you to
sell that elephant an sell him quick. l
don't want no animals to die on our hands
Ill lllS OGiIc. l VIC SOC just CiIOuSll iIloIcy
left to get the remnants of this show back
home. If Potiphar passes away before you
make the sale, we're doomed to stay here
till we drown. Tell the boys to haul back
to the train. There amt goin' to be no
parade, an there amt goin' to be no show.
There amt goin' to be nothin''
AFTER communicable these tidings to
= the boys | ties Potiphar to a stake un-
der tree an starts for town. The only size
able businesses | could locate was clothing
store an sort of drygoods place, an
picked out the clothing establishment as the
likeliest for sellin' Potiphar.
"Where's the boss?' says | to a young
Teller who was arrangin' the dummies out
in front
aHe yells Pal two or three times, an a
old guy with whiskers comes out rubin his
hands an snilin'.
AMY names Begg,' says l right off the
bat, Joe Begg. | have charge of the ele-
plants with the Windy Van Horn Circus
what's just arrived in town. One of our
beasts, the world-renowned Potiphar, who
is the legitimate successor of Barnum's Tum-
DO, is sick. We dasn't move him, cause the
motion of the train1 make him sicker. All
he needs is rest, an he'll be allright. We've
got to leave him behind
"Vell, don't leave him NIT me- says the
old gentleman. NV store is a white ele-