Evening journal., 1922-05-20

in there all night" exclaimed a boz
anxiously awaiting the alighting o
the elephants from their four pri
vate circus cars on the siding.
Don't get too smart" shouted an
other chap. "or the elephants II ca
you" Just a little threat to his pa
who was tantalizing him.
The keepers of the elephants stood
at the bars across the doorway OF
each car. They lowered them and
came forth into the gray haze OF
the morning with a spiked stick in
one hand and In the other, a green
lantern. Then appeared the trunks!
Long. gray trunksl
Soon thirty-two huge, gray beasts
were lined up outside the cars; some
knelt TO their keepers who clung 10
their trunks and were perched on
their heads in a trice. Then. in
truth, the circus began In the gray
Of the morning, the immense gray
beasts swung along their thousands
of gray tons and their tens Of thou
sands of wrinkles; and the chains
which shackled their heads and fore
feet had an iron clang. Two by two
they went as in the days of Noah
coming out OF the Ark. Chained in
twos with a keeper for every two.
the ponderous gray feet scuffed the
ground, covering yards in a single
stride and balancing their keepers
with no concern whatever; and the
keepers in nondescript garb, wearing
their green lanterns like giant but
tonhOle bouquets. rocked on the
hard, gray heads Of the animals
whose rather moth-eatsn looking
ears now and then tapped for va
riety and whose tails linked with
trunks following formed shafts Of
gray which no circus elephant would
side-step.
a circus within a circusl That IS
what you see when you go TO the
grounds where the circus is made up.
the grounds.
Within six brief hours II became
a city; a city of tents. where men,
women, children ate and slept. "Our
tents like a private house." re-
marked one of the elephant gang.
We've even got a tub and can take
a bath when we want TO. I've had
every kind OF a Job on the show
grounds. I don't do anything until
1.25 comes. Then my work Of put
ting up the tent begins"
We've been following that little |
fat man, with the speckled neck and |
the Sits for eyes while he staked off /
the ground for the big tent" I re-
marked to the elephant hand. He's I
wonderful II is comical TO hear
him repeat, Shove the pin overi
Come on" Then walk the length
Of the tape calling mechanically, but
pointedly. for every word counted
with him, Look out, boys! Get out
OF the wayl Get out of the roadv"
do you know how long that mans
been with the show? Thirty-fve
years. He ought to know his job"
explained the elephant gangster.
why. he can draw you picture Of
every show-ground in the United
Just then wagon 125 drove
up. How he knew where he would
meet II or ( thin, was hard 10 tell.
But he got up IN a matter OF fact way
and in a twinkling the private tent
house was ready to live In.
Circus red and blue were the lead
ing colors worn by poles, wagons
and buckets OF every size which be-
gan TO move back and forth in every
direction. Poles appeared myster-
ously on the ground lying in fash I
on Ike the spokes Of a wheel put (
here by unseen hands while we I
watched the stake driving. A feat; {
his stake driving. Eight Negroes Z
ZACH swinging a powerful hammer
With a long. strong handle sur
rounded a stake. All hammers were
.aised. With a laugh upon his lips {
he first mans hammer fell upon the a
take and rebounded in air for an O
,ther blow. The second hammer fol- t
owed Immediately with a stroke and s
rebound. Then the third, fourth, 7
ifth. sixth. seventh. eighth in rapid a
uccession three times round and b
ne stake was driven in far enough S
O take its share in supporting by
opes those poles of red and blue. -
iachines were there TO drive stakes
.ut the human machines, with 4
nique skill, received the praise Of Y
he crowd.
A hundred upraised hands and
he tightening Of ropes by men and
orses and a veritable mast was
aised. A hundred hands and d
undred cries and another pole went 9
p. Another and another until six n
oles stood in line and you could n
asily imagine you were aboard "a
x-masted schooner. Then along "
anne the canvas hands to unroll the a
undIes Of canvas lying here and ol
iere like clumsy. tired elephants. a,
ands and cries Of men and boys m
,read the canvas over the ground III
bout the poles. The pieces of can nj
as were then laced together by 10
pes. Rope connections were made al
ith the poles. Men began 10 walk Ee
,und the edge OF the circular can hi
Is, crimping the edge and making re
look like the crust of one OF cooks NJ
es "Shove up! Shove it up" ~
ant up the cries and slowly the can tn
~ utbdu W Ilats Inv oNAAbNhNA eS'AA pt
sappeared. A dirigible, gray and sc
was mysteriously mount sci
8 in air. Up. up it went and then Cl
ing there in mid-air Now the men ~
tn ladders appeared. A half-dOzen an
en- going up and down ladders tul
stened the wall of canvas to the WI
ter circle of poles. =
Up! The tent OF tents! The -
lusement tent OF tens of thousands
p world over! Come on Step
ely, let's have 1t out! Heave-aye,
wave have IL outrp caue from