Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-11-16

money do you want?' declared he haC
plenty to carry him through
" It's said Of Uncle Dick that ht
took offense at the answer and wa,
inclined to consider the LaShelle man.
ager in the light Of an interloper anc
a green hand. That opinion was main
tanned until the same man STRUCK
Butte a few weeks ago and, having
heard the story of how he had faller
from the Sutton grace, touched the
veteran for S400-all OF which restored
him to the good opinion of the victim
as a man who had learned things
4 necessary to the business.
I And it is not only the advance
agents who worship at the free-handed
Sutton shrine. Many manager Of an
unlucky venture and many stranded
! actor can tell you Of how he reached
Butte and got out Of the hole through
/ Uncle Dicks devotion to the per-
/ flesh
But it is not wholly Of Uncle Dicks
charities that this story is to speak.
1t is more of his past life-or as much
as one can get at half a dozen Sit
tings, which altogether aggregate sew
eral dozen hours, with not more than
an hour or two Of actual uninter-
rupted conversation.
IF you ask Uncle Dick when he
first entered the show business he
will-if in the humor-screw up one
of those little eyes of his, bite off
another chunk from the end of his
Matinee and answer:
Twas before you were born, son.
And it's pretty nearly true.
1T was April Is, 1874, that the ia
nous manager first saw the light OF
country that was then called Kahn
tuck by its natives that Richard p.
Sutton was held up for the christen-
ing.
Began AS Boy
1T was in 1858 at Evansville. Ind,
when IA years of age, that the youth
full Snowman started his first venture.
This was a little four wheeled wagon
carrying a panoramic show and which
was pushed or pulled by the manager,
who was the whole show and the band.
All through the week his school days
were devoted to boosting, or adver-
Using his show, and on Saturdays he
would grab off a hayloft and give his
show to the boys of the neighborhood.
The prices of admission to the show
varied with the kind Of plumber the
boys were able to purloin from their
homes. There was many a father to
beWaiI the mysterious disappearance
of a good pair of boot tops which
passed through Snowman Sutton's
hands and into the peddler's wagon.
steamboating on the Ohio river and
followed that business off and on for
three or four years as cook, waiter
and steward.
I'm 1861 he joined what was known
as William Lakes Hippolympiate cir
Gus, and in 1864 was with Ldpman's
Colossal circus as a jig dancer and,
what In the vernacular Of the craft
was called 'side-show blower Uncle
Dick himself will tell you that he IS
Just a side-show 'orator-but this Is
Just one of his little pecularitieS of
manner and speech.
ut was probably with the latter
circus that he first absorbed the fun
damental principle so necessary 70 a |
circus man of humbugging the people. !
"One of the freaks featured to a |
large extent was an educated sacred !
bull from down in Indiana. /
The largest bill placed on the boards |
by the circus was that advertising an
Indian riding a buffalo. The buffalo
and Indian took with the fasteners, |
CAPPED at the flaring posters. They had |
the buffalo all right and 1t was ex- /
hibited in every parade, but the In
dian never materialized and the buff
falo was never ridden until the Great !
Spirit got astride of it one day in a |
storm and rode it out of existence.
Continual Tom Show
"Since 1864 Mr. Sutton has been in
the show business continuously either
as a performer, side-show orator, or
manager. One of his greatest boasts
S the money he has made out of his
almost continuous presentation of an
Uncle Toms Cabin show, in which
all of his children have actually been
reared.
1.-THE Dick P. Sutton's Monster Uncle
Toms Cabin is still doing duty, and
only recently came into Butte after
a successful road trip under the man
lgement of Mrs. Sutton, wife OF the
manager.
although handling these shows dur
ng the winter, each season the vet
lears, taken out a circus either large
n small, and some years has dumped
n a lot of money which Uncle Tom
md the bloodhounds brought him.
The Sutton circus was often in
Butte and about the last appearance
lere was in 1893, the panic year. 1t
vas billed here in July of that year
IS Richards Three Big Shows: and
hat visit was made memorable one
o all connected with the show.
There had been q balloon race adj
'ertised at Columbia Gardens which
iidn't come off. The circus advertised
IN ascension and the gentle citizens
# Butte who treaded the streets at
hat time decided that there would
)e no more disappointments. There
we're several hundred men down
lround the circus that day, armed
With knives ready to cut the canvas
nto strips in the event the ascension
vas not made. The demonstration
the aeronaut, who jumped
he show the next day and made a
lash for Chicago, where he could get
police protection.
Paid Off Debts
From that day on the circus