The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1921-02-17

strange camp for a couple of days to
break our journey.
when we got to Fort Benton we
found the river was very low, and
only two or three boats had made it
that far. AS they had left, we had
to continue our ride down to the
mouth of the Marias, where we found
a small boat called the Twilight just
about to leave for ST. Louis. We
took passage, and after a long and
monotonous trip on the river, broken
twice by brushes with the Sioux, we
got to that city. From there we pro-
ceeded at our leisure for New York.
I'm not going to take the time to
tell you all about New York as it
was in those days, or the fun we had
while there. We thought it would
be amusing to write Marie Bonfanti
a note, telling her that four gold
miners from Montana had come all
the way to the Atlantic coast to see
her dance, and asking her if she
would meet us and shake hands with
us. She sent a reply to our hotel,
inviting us to call at the stage en-
trance after the performance that
evening. You can imagine that we
did so, and met one of the most beau
tiful and charming little ladies /
have ever seen. We told her about
our trip and she told us something
about herself, speaking in broken
English that seemed to add to her
attractiveness.
''The show, too, was worth going
around the world to see, and we saw
it half a dozen times.
Marie came out of Italy, from
Milan. She reached New York by
way of Covent Garden, a mere child
then, only Is, but she was of the old
school of classic dancing which takes
its recruits at an early age and
through long years of study and
training makes of them such dancers
as the modern stage does not know.
She came to New York to take the
position of seconda in Jarrett and
Palmer's original production of the
Black Crook, sire to all and sundry
of the chromatic Crooks" Red,
Green, White, Blue, that have linger-
ed on the stage even down to the
present. But her grace, her ability
put her at once into the place of
premiere danseuse and she danced
her way into the heart of gilded
youth of her day.
LIKE a. bIIu
"When she came on the stage we
sat breathless, for the little girl
SKINNED over the stage, poised like
a bird on the tips of her toes, her
whole being electrical with magnet
ism; more fairy than woman she
seemed. so spritelike and wonderful
she was. Her dancing was more than
perfect rhythmic movement was
the flight of the bird in the air, the
flutter of the bough in the breeze,
the very spirit of the dance itself.
When she ceased we drew in u
breaths again, like sleepers awaken
ed from a dream, and shouted for
more.
FOLLOWING The Black Crook she
danced in The White Fawn,' The
Arabian Nights Aladdin The
Twelve Temptations that superb
and spectacular melodrama, 'Voya-
gers in Southern Seas or The Chill
dren of Captain Grant and 'Sardan-
apalus.' l always followed her ca
reer in the newspapers and maya
zines. In all these and more besides
Bonfanti was the bright, particular
star. Her dancing was said to ex-
press a matchless purity which was
emphasized by the simplicity of an
ir~reproachable private life. That
was in a day when stage dancing was
modest; there was nc high kicking,
no doing the split no winking at
the audience, none of the ~acrobat1cs
that run riot in these days of bare
knees and shakings of the shimmy.
Dancing Their was an art that had It's
canons and rules, the most difficult
of all arts, that must voice it's poetry
from eyes, from poise, from finger
or toe.
"But the old days faded, new gen.
grew up who knew Marie
Bonfanti not, her fame sank lower
and lower, her name came to have no
significance, and she was crowded
of her old place as a favor1te.
Scarcely anyone remembers her name
today"
AS Gilluly concluded his story he
was hailed by a member of the SEN
ate and hurried away.
'I was Just doing some figuring,
said Richardson, of the Billings Ga
zette, who is always keen on statis-
tical information. "If Gilluly was in
in 1865, and had been
working a claim for a year or so
then, he must have been over 20
years old when his story started.
see, that would make him get
ting along toward 80 now"
81 never would have believed it."
observed Joe Hooking, of the Glas-
Courier. "He certainly both
looks and acts young for his age and
isn't his memory wonderful? l hope
I'll keep my youth as long as be
Not a chance Joe," remarked
one from the gang as the crowd
dispersed.