Omaha daily bee., 1916-08-28

Afteranabsence of two years the
Ringing Brothers circus family of
1900 or so arrived in Omaha yester-
day, spent the day here and will hold
"house warnings" in their tents at
the show grounds at 2 and 8 p. m.
today.
The Ringlings were informal hosts
to seseral thousand people yesterday.
Under gentle pressure they admit
ted that their household of people,
animals and furnishings had greatly
increased in size since last they Wis
tied this city.
And if you think it is an extrava-
giant statement to say that one of
the most interesting parts about a
circus is that which appears behind
the scenes" you should follow the
silent man on horseback who pre-
ceded the first thing on wheels that
arrived on the circus grounds yes
terday. No matter how late the
hour, he is in no hurry; they do
things methodically, those Ringlings,
He reads the signs, the bits of red
and white cloth futtering from the
little steel rod sthat mark the camp
site; he waves his hand The driver
of the eight horses that pull an i'm
mense wagon calls out the name of
the off leader, the grays turn into
the field, settle down into their COL
lars and drag the unwilling vehicle
through yielding turf to the spot in
Dictated by particular flag.
Circus Arrives.
The circus has arrived.
A quiet man, who smokes a cigar
and who has heretofore been taken
fora bystander, looks at his watch.
We'll be serving breakfast in forty
five minutes" Nothing looks more
unlikely.
Then a whistle sounds, and from
nowhere spring a myriad Of men. A
wave of the hand from the man with
the cigar and they have stormed the
first wagon before the horses are
fairly unhitched. They warm over it
like iAts; they dismember it; they
rip off the red sides; they unlmber
lengths of steam pipe and connect
them; they dig out manmoth copper
kettles and the kitchen outfit of a
giant. The mysterious vehicle turns
out to be the steam boiler wagon
which cooks the meals. The fireman
lights the fire; smoke curls from the
stack. The circus has put on its
coffee pot. By this time another
wagon, heavier than the first, has
been placed; has been converted into
range and is sizzling with steaks
and chops.
Many Watch Breakfast.
The activity OF the three rings, two
stages, the aerial apparatus, the hip
podrome and all the daring and skill
OF the hundreds of performers who
will today grace the sawdust i'll this
moving municipality Of Ringlingville,
will have difficulty n SURPRISING that
great unprogrammed show which
Sunday morning followed the estab
fishing Of the commissary depart
ment.
A steady stream Of wagons has
begun to invade the lot" The man
on horseback designates the location
of each with a wave Of his hand. A
score of vehicles marked Costumes"
plough through the grounds. You
are informed that they contain trap
pings used in the gigantic fairyland
spectacle, cinderella" Up where
the block-long main tent is to stand
there is bit of yielding turf. The
wagon loaded with the big top"
poles, and to which ten horses are
hitched, sinks above the tires. Hook
on eight more horses" is the order
Jerry, Bill, and the rest Of the grays
throw themselves into their collars
with a unanimity bred of long ex-
perience. Nothing doing. The grays
shake their heads. Observe there is
no urging, no cursing, no whipping,
no breaking OF harness. The Ring
ling horses are driven with the voice.
But the load must move, for the
circus is billed" for Monday and the
youngsters are planning to feed the
elephants. Hook on eight more"
Still nothing doing Zen more
horses up 'front.'" Upward OF forty
heavy draft horses feel the thing
give as they plunge ahead.
Thirty-one Elephants.
In another part Of the grounds the
menagerie tent has shot skyward.
The elephants, thirty-one of them,
shamble to their accustomed place,
The cages housing the thousan or
more animals are rolled under the
canvas. -.
Less than three hours have passed
since the silent man on horseback
waved the first wagon onto the
grounds. Twenty-four tents have
been erected. The worlds biggest
show has been fully placed. Father
takes his boy in his arms and starts
homeward.
The prologue is over,
Today comes the other show
the one Of spangles, sawdust and that
ever-welcome national drink-circus
lemonade. First of all, this morning,
will come the three-mile-long street
parade; then the performances att
ernoon and night, opening with the
great fairyland spectacle Cinderella"
and followed by two hours OF arcnic
acts. Upward of 400 men and women,
scores OF beautiful horses, three herds
Of trick elephants, many companies
of trained bears, monkeys, dogs and
Shetlands, and sixty clowns will ap-
pear on the program. 1t is said to be
the biggest circus the Ringing
Brothers have ever travelled. The
menagerie of a thousand wild ami
male, including Big Bingo,' the
"two-story" elephant, promises to at
tract much attention