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About The Sioux County journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1888-1899 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1896)
' The Sioux County lOTTRMA!.' HAKKISOX, NEBRASKA THUJlSDAV, OCTOBER 8, 1800. NUMBER 5. , GOING TO TH CIRCUS.! Ony time Ioti nml I were hoeing pota toes, when we saw u man in blue uni form coming down the road. Iu whs my older brother, and lie didn't 11 k to hoe potatoes any better than I did, but he could dissemble better. Twice that hot August morning In 1st 54 he had left me to tread the wine press alone I re gard that simile as a heap pleassntor than Is the fact while he pretended to fix something on the shady side of the barn. lie eiplained each time when he came bark that he much regretted the necessity of leaving this nice, easy work In the potato field for such un pleasant tasks at the barn, and I grew quite sorry for him. I offered to go next time In his place, but he was tiie most self-abnegating fellow you ever saw. and Insisted on this systematic martyrdom. When the mnn In the blue uniform came down the road we stopped hoeing long enough to look at him mid wonder who he wan. We had Mopped several times Is-fore, but that wm nor to won der who the travelers were. We knew who they were. We even knew where they were going. We knew they were neighbors going to the circus at the county seat the circus that hud been advertised with tremendous osters and Intemperate print for just four weeks. We knew in a general way people did go to such places, but we thought about It as almost as distant as the battle with which the uniform ed man was associated. A circus was not for us. We must hoe potatoes. The man In blue uniform turned In at our house and sat there In the shade of the locust trees while mother rinsed the milk palls and set them In the sun. Presently he came out In the field ond hook hands with us. Wo retm-mls-red him as a hired man who had formerly worked for tisan excellent fellow, as you shall nee. lle'waa something far removed (runt potato hot-lug. lie tud een big battles, and we believed we had found his portrait In a colored print of the times, which showed a col umn of even-stepping heroes rushing to conflict as to a carnival. We were a little embarrassed In his presence, and scarcely asked him aliout the weapons ho wielded and the foemen he had slain. Ourlihrary contained some lxoks which treated of conflict In those rarer times when men went single-handed into the ranks of an enemy and swept down swaths of weaklings those rarer times before a rifle bullet made one man us good as another. John asked iyt how the cattle were getting along, and something tijiout the neighborhood gossips, and then march ed away very straight, ns If he were under rhe eye of n drillmaster. Another neighbor came along and John signaled him. "I guess I'll go to the circus, too," he said to us, laughingly, over his shoul der. Oh! soldiers could do anything. This proved t. lien who could suddenly think of something desirable, something wonderful, and who could Instantly tie . clde they wanted It and so have It these were the favored anion men. As to the circus! Why, I would have given anything everything, discounted hope' and Itonded the future for the plain privilege of "going to the show." You cannot know the heart hunger felt for the circus by a country Isiy In war time. It was an expected, an Illimit able, an Inexhaustible case of wonders. John ran to the fence, placed his hands on the top rail and vaulted over, as became a soldier home on furlough, while the people In the wagonthey were dressed In the very flower of gain attire pushed forward to shake' hands with him. Then they callel across to us: "Ain't yon going to the circus'" Mifl so went on. t'ate was a despot. We did not question the decree, though we could very freely understand the charm that was crouched in that om- jihwse "Going to the circus!" We had hoed out the row when moth er calbfl to us, and we went to the house. It was not nearly noon, but there was n luncheon of bread ami but ter, of milk and of warm currant pie on the little table In' the vine-shaded porch. The spread astonished us. Moth er was getting at her spinning wheel. io you want to go to the circus?" she asked. Of course that meant permission. No mother can taunt her child. John had aid he would pay for our tickets If he would let us go. He wanted to do that much for the sake of old times, be said. And, dressed In the best those trying war times afforded, we started on foot for the county neat. My people were church member, and we knew alstut miracles. Rut no sun waiting the will of Joshua waa ever more miraculous than this Instant change In oir condition. Rut an hour ago hoeing potatoes; now going to the circus! I had never seen a lion nor an ele phant nor any of the curious beauts from foreign hinds. I knew their pres ence In the garden of Eden ami In the ark. I knew that African travelers had found thenr. Hut that was far away. At the end of rhese little miles, Just be yond thine business buildings, already in sight, 1 should find "wild beasts of the field," and should drink my fill of marvels. The season was right. Harvest was over, corn needed no more plowing. There was a midsummer lull In all ac tivity. Even In a time when few men remained at home, and when women and Isijs did much of the farm work, there was still time and Inclination to visit "the show." The proportion of men in blue uniform was greater than It hud ever been. The army pervaded everything. Meh home on furlough were guests of honor and wore feted royally they, too, had money and could reciprocate, were that permitted. They were sought continually. And they told when the war would cease. The circus was there. All lurking fear that at the last something might hap pen to dlsupMiint me was dispelled when weciime to the courthouse square, for there, Just beyond the temple of Jus tice, In the vacant lots, was spread the mighty tent. Sure those vacant lots had been doubled In size since hist I saw them, for no common space could entertain an establishment so vast as this. Why, there were walls of canvas on the right hand and on the left hand of the mammoth teut, and there were successions of smaller tents that stretched it way Into bewildering vistas, and before them all everywhere tugged the great advertisements, wonderful In picture, exotic In text. There was a noise, a bustle, a hurry, a nervous ten sion, unknown In the town. No man had more time than sufficed for, the scantiest of greetings, unless accosted by a soldier. In which case he would talk Interminably, -or a sharper, In watch case he would Invest disastrous ly. The only calm, contained men were those la w-deficrs who looked with such honest faces Into the wavering eyes of honest men and beguiled them to their ruin. Tor there were three-card games and "chuck-a-luck." popular among the soldiers, and wheels of fortune and straight faro. Only the most beggarly pretense of accreting all this crime was made. The "short change" man, who flourished In fine place and disappeared to rise In another, was on the irround and was remembered. There were as sistant iirnrshals with large stars, and they walked In and out of all tents at will. Hut they saw nothing less than quarreling men, and roused to activity only to prevent fighting. Just before noon the parade started. We watcheif the wonderful aggregation of marvels form Into line. To youths bred In nn environment where some of the odor of sanctity might reach them II seemed most shocking that so much profanity was needed in assembling a great moral aggregation. Furthermore, there was a quality about that profan Ity I have never known equaled. It was Intense, incisive, terse, emphatic, sul phurous, full of murder and flashing with the lightnings of blasphemy. I have ridden behind "mule whackers" on the plains and have spent vacations where the voice of the first mate of a river packet. could assail my ears. Hut I have found no man whose profanity matched the splendid wickedness of the circus employe lit the old d.-jys of wagon transportation. , The parade was a thllig to marvel at. In the front was a carriage resplendent above aliove anything In the town and bearing the dusty human who was yet more than mortal, for he owned "the show." Then came the band ln,a golden char iot that quite satisfied me. If anything lu my rending equaled that I could not recall It. How many there were In the band, wiiat they played, or 'whether they played well, these things did not Impress me. For behind them came the elephant. He walked alone, stately or sore-footed, and how wai I to know? He swung like the rocking of a hay stack In a storm and his driver prodded him. Then came the cars. Vpon the side of each were painted such picture as must have whetted the curlosltv of the n learned. Hut two wen' opened. In one was "the massive and blood- sweating behemoth of holy writ" a hippopotamus! In the other a man wit In safet w'lth unchained lions on his, every 'hatjd. . .What more there was In the parade, how many ladles In remarkable skirts and gentlemen In the armor of knights, how many clowns and how many cages, I do not know.' But It wm a maglflcent spectacle. It wound about those streets fhat had always before been common place, and it grew more wonderful as it advanced, I know, for I followed it, j And then it vanished into the spread-, Ing walls of the canvas city and was : lost. The lx-auty and the loveliness would have vanished from the earli but for the glare and flare and marvel of that circus dav. 1 John was in the line before the ticket wagon, but his progress was slow foa time, and again he was pulled from bis place to give a frantic greeting to some- one whose sou or brother or father was in ine service, mat was wuy soiniere j came home on furlough to tell when the war would end and to talk hope fully fo the friends of the boys at the front. Rut finally he stood at the wonderful door of the ticket wagon, where money was leaping from the hand of the coun tryman in exchange for pleasure. In stantly be was a way ngaln. The fat, hot mnn that sold tickets cared nothing tor the blue uniform. He saw nothing that Interested him beyond the bills laid down. And these ho Whisked from sight half savagely. Our tickets were In onr hands. We' had passed the Insolent, broad-Jawed fellow at the gangway of ropes, and stood In the most amazing place In the world. To the left were rows of won derful cages now opened am !n each was a marvel of animal life. I nerer hod seen them, but somewhat of natu ral history had been opeued to me In )xMks, ami I could call them by name. A man may live a thousand years apd will great honors, but he will never feel' so keen a Joy as thrills In the loy of 10 when he stands in the center of an yn- expected circus and menagerie. I sought the elephant i;i vain, because my little eyes had not, been adjusted to the huge dimensions of the pachy derm. And I was touched by his trunk before I gave him recognition. And In the 'midst of that wonder, but half filled with the charms of the animal portion, I was dragged away to the smaller etertalument of the ring. The oM circus was near at hand, and a single ring embraced the limit of It possiblities. There was the band above the place of entrance, and 'on each side of It were the higher-priced seats. Our tickets culled for but oommon sittings and we, found place In a coatless, fan ning, perspiring, but happy crowd. The men were vociferous, the women broad ly smiling. Oirjs giggled and Alushed when the clown tossed kisses at tboin and their escorts bought what t!-ey called refreshments . and,.. tried ?.ic prodigality to purcbase popularity. There wan lmrehack riding and, be ing old, I will say those later days have taught us nothing In that. There was the leaping through "balloons," which seems to have come with the first cir cus, and a trapeze performance which was doubtless good. There was trick riding and performers on a horizontal bar. And then there .was a bout at 1x Ing. Nothing could have been more timely. No doubt amusement purveyors are the same yesterday, to-day and forever, and even before rural audiences, which they hold In contempt, delight In mak ing applause. Well, this sparring ex hibition wiw no "frost." Very likely that undertone combatlveness, which, appealed to by drum and fife, set a na tion at war, was Just sufficiently assert ive to resismd to this matching of man against mnn. For there was nothing of the hippodrome alxiut the affair. The men were fearfully, exhaustively in earnest. Hut to me, who got even in war time my first sight of human blood drawn In anger, there was something so horrible, ho heart-sickening, so lmKs- sible, that I appealed with Uiith to the man at my right to sbfp them, lie was a jKiwerful fellow, but he laughed at me. The circus was almost over when loud voices to the rlglit announced the beginning of a 'quarrel. There were at least ten years, beginning In lull, when circus men counted themselves fortu nate if they got out of a town without a batth. They hired canvas met! who were as good at fighting as at work.' The whole corps of workers, was organ ized and constantly prepared. And the' towns In which they showed were sure j to have "hard men." Fighting was the order of the- day. The clscus simply provided the occasion. Sitting up there In our lofty place, we could hear that premonitory speech In an ominous lull of other sounds, could feel, as sentient humans always do, the gathering of human muscle and the hardening of human hearts. And ihea we could see a little rush, for the word hud ceased, and the fight was on" I don't remember the "Hey, Hubo!" ex clamation, which later years have told me Is the showman's slogan; lmj I know that a great wave of horror rolled over the hearts of ,thot who did not love a tight, and the soul of -shutghter leaped up In those who scened lmttle afar off, and hastened to join In It. Who began It, what It was aliout, how many were Unit, and who finally triumphed are matters of 'small con cern. I birye nn Idea none of the com batants Is still living, so It does not matter, Rut I do know the seats were overturned", law officers .were defied, bleeding men surged, across Jhe ring chasing other blcctllng men before them, and worn chaserl back In turn. And at last It waa all over. Someone said the combatant bad transferred the field of tbejr activities "up town," and we avoided that amrter on our way home. There were many neighbors from be yond our farm, but the battle separ ated us from them, and we walked back to the farm. Just as we came to our meadow gate the first wagon of that show came along, driving already for the next town, thirty miles away. The driver was asleep, his horses taking the J way of their own free will. A man ' ahead on horseback seemed, although half a mile away, to mark out the line of march. The irreat eolden chariot. housed In dull trappings to keep off Che dust and the rain and the sun, rolled heavily past, and the gaudy men who rode so proudly by day slept in it mis erably by night and blessed their stars they could find the solace of even so meager a repose. Chicago Chronicle. Napoleon's Last Official Act. Next day Napoleon performed his last official act, which was one of great courage, Ixith physical and moral. The national guard in Farts bad been reor ganized, but Its officers had never been thoroughly loyal to the Empire, many or mem being royalists, and some radl cal Republicans. Their disaffection had lieen heightened by recent events, but they were nevertheless sumoned to the Tullerlew; the risk was doubled by the fact that they came armed. Drawn up in the great chamber known ns that of the marshals, they stood expectant; the great doors were thrown open, and there entered the Emperor, accom panied only by his consort and their child In the arms of his governess, Mine, de Montesquieu. Napoleon an nounced simply that he was hoping, by the aid of (tod and the valor of his troops, to drive the enemy beyond the frontiers. There was silence. Then tak ing in onr, hand that of the Empress, and leading forward his child by the other, lie continued, "I intrust the Em press and tse King of Rome to the courage of the national guard." Still silence. After a moment, with sup pressed emotion, he concluded, "My wife and my son." No generous-heart ed Frenchman could wlthstund such an appeal; breaking ranks by a spoiitane ous impulse, the officers started for ward In a mass, and shook the very walls with their cry, "Long live the Euiperer!" Many shed tears as they withdrew in respectful silence, and Chat night, on the eve of his departure, the Emperor received a ifumerously signed address from the very .men Whose loyalty he had hitherto had Just reason jco suspect. Century., i " ' '. JL lA Hung Chang's Liberal Vicys. n Is claimed that, notwithstanding LI Hung Chang has shown some liber ality of views toward modern improve ments and education, lie Is at heart a hater of foreigners, and has an abid ing faith In Chinese institutions and methods of government. lie is, It is true, a great admirer of the Confucian philosophy, and remembering the eti durlng history of his people we can hardly wonder at his devotion to the ln Ktltutlous which have made that his tory possible. Wheii we call to mind the experience China fins had with cer tain Western nations, if might not be considered strange If his attachment to foreigners was not very ardent ; but In all his public life his conduct shows that he feels the need of foreign aid, and Is disponed to give It proper wel come, and of all Chinese statesmen he Is the most liberal minded and free from prejudice. He Is far from claim ing that tin; present system of govern ment Is perfect. He has, In fact, urged upon tiie aulhorltlets at Peking two Important changes which look to a re form of the most serious defects in the system; to wit. the withdrawal from the viceroys of provinces of powers which should be exercised only by the imperial government, and such a change In the method of admission to the 'public service ns will liberalize the, examinations, and make fitness rather than scholarship the test. There are other changes which he would glad ly bring about If he had the power; but, as he confessed to Marquis Ho, "China Is hampered by antiquated customs which prevent desirable reforms." Century. Napoleon's Army In 181:1. In order to arm and equip the men raised by conscription, Napoleon had recourse to his private treasure, draw ing 55,(100,000 francs from the vaults of the" Tulleries for that purpose. The remaining ten were transferred at In tervals to Blols. Hut all his treasure could not buy what did not exist. The best, military stores were In the heart of Europe; Ihe French arsenals could afford only antiquated and almost use less supplies. The recruits were arm ed sometimes with old muskets, the use of which they did not know; they wore for the most jsirt bonnets, blous es, and sabots. There were not half enough horses for the scanty artillery and cavalry. Worse than all, there was no time for instruction In the manual and tactics. On one occasion a boy conscrlit was found standing In active under a fierce musketry fire; with artless intrepidity he remarked that he believed he could aim as well as anybody If he ottly knew how to load his gun. Century., t In an argument the average man dues not listen to what the. other. fellow la saying, but spends the time formu lating a 'eply. LESSONS ECONOMY. IIILE tiie avenues for wage- earning by women have wonderfully increased In the Inst years and in numerous instances financial enterprises are successfully carried on by women, it yet remains true, and ever will, tliat a large class Of wives, not to mention daughters, handle very little money. For these women are not supposed to be needy; they are generally placed in comfort able homes, with tasteful wardrobes, bountifully spread table, and. to the casual observer, no apparent lack in their surroundings. But the house mother knows how many times she reckons over the houshold supplies to see what article can be left unbought. It Is little money which causes so many women to haunt the bargain counter, to the derision of husbands, who are sub limely unconscious of their wives' slen ner purses. It gives interminable shop ping In the swell from store to store to Pud the best article for scanty means. And these vexations are not the worst which come to her with little money. She must liear with what grace she can Imputations upon her taste when she selects perforce some cheap com mon thing lu preference to tiie more ele gant one which a beauty-loving nature may cry out for. She must often curb witn a stern naiuj tier-natural gener osity of spirit, and forbear giving to the friend or cause she loves, or at most strive to content herself with a meager, almost shabby token. "I never have had enough money with which to run my household comfortably. I have bad to plan and contrive In order to' get something out of every cent In the dol lar," said one, considered a fine house wife and manager (and she was), who lived In fine style in a handsome man sion. It brings lines all too soon to women's faces, and gives to many eyes on all too wistful expression. But it also helps to develop valuable qualities which In a state of mose abundance some women would never have shown. It sharpens Invention, Ingenuity and carefulness, and, like many a disagree able thing in life, teaches patience and self-denial. To Mrs. Jessie Brace Weber belongs the honor of being the first woman to break a political slate lu Missouri. At the recent Democratic convention In Jefferson City her father, Judge Theo dore Brace, was renominated for the Snpreme Court agalust very strong opposition, and chiefly through the ef- SIRS. Jl'.BSIB BRACK WtfBF.R. forts of his daughter. Although one of the most prominent Jurists who ever sat upon a western bench, It seeined that Judge Brace was going to be de feated, because he and Frank Pitts, the unopposed candidate for tbe nomi nation as State Treasurer, came from the same county. To put two men from the same county on one ticket was something unheard of. None of the wise geographers ever supposed It could be done; but It 'was done, Mrs. Jessie Brace Weber was the handsome teach er who taught the politicians the lesson. Mrs. Weber took charge of her fa flier's campaign from the start, and her wide State acquaintanceship made her a most valuable manage! A few clays before the convention she opened head quarters at the Madison House hud flung her father's banner to the breesfe. It was a campaign of smiles. The dele gate, called, was charmed and before he left the smiling campaigner had In an artless way'conxed a promise that he would vote for father. No Missouri man not even a politician ever broke his promise when given to a -Missouri woman, and the nomination of Judge Brace, In a storm of enthuslaam, was the feature of the convention. If Mrs. Wcler cried a little over her victory, Miat was her privilege as a woman. It does not.ln the least alter the fact that he Is a shrewd political manager, and tnat her charming smile and the wom anly wisdom which daught her how to manage men won, a victory over the moat clever polltlca managers In the SUte. ' Wielding a Fun Correctly. The average oian or woman, coming In from a walk or matching a few minutes' reat from some exertion, will seize a fan and ply It with frantic. fore. IN ine very effort makes the last stat worse than the first, and the constant breeze blowing on the face causes. If anything, a heat more disagreeable than the first flush of discomfort. Fana ere as old as history, and tff ancient Egyptians well knew their use, ut V it not impossible to Imagine those stately queens of ancient days permitting la their presence anything so vigorously, undignified as the modern method of fanning. Languor, ease, grace and moderation not only make a woman fanning herself a pleasing sight to look upon, but they alone give the fair fanner an appreciable eense of com fort, ' Miss 1 area ret ReliJ. Miss Margaret Reld is one of the pretty young American women who have made a warm friend of the British public. She has'had a successful reign at the Covent Garden Theater during MISS MA1IGAKET ItKID. the London "season" thla'year as prints; donna in grand opera. Her first appear! ance at the Covent Garden was In that part of Nedda In "Pagllaccl." Her pow ers of acting were not quite equal to) the rather difficult role, but she morel than atoned for that. In the opinion on the critics, -by the jrea'ArMl w" charm' YwTffl w-hicft Slte'ma"isMilau,Bfr music. During the season Miss Redd sang with great success at many pri vate concerts and musical, at homes.' This Is her first visit ito London, and the warmth of the reception, public and private, that has been' given her will be a guarantee of many returns to the big city. Her last operatic success was In Mine. Tattl's great part of Zerllna'ln "Don (ilovanirl.'! 'She threatens to make England her future home. First Choaen Woman Elector. Mrs. Sarah Malloy, of . Cheyenne, Wyo., has been chosen a Presidential Elector by the Republicans of Wyom ing, being the first woman In the Uni ted States to attain that high. position. This is the most pronounced1 victory for the cause of woman's suffrage so far recorded, and marks an era in the polit ical progress Of the female sex. It reaJJ lz( the wildest dreams of Mrs. Susan B. Anthony and -the other pronounced advocates of woman's rights. From this nomination to the choice of a wom an for Governor of a State is now only a step, and the possibility of a female President seated in the White House at Washington looms up with startling clearness. That Wyoming should have been the first to break down the bars that kept woman out of the Electoral College wfls to,have been expected. It was here tht the political equality pf WMF, SARAH MALl.OV. the sexes was first recognized. Mrsi Malloy has been activte In politics ever since Wyoming adopted woman auf frage. She was one of the first workera in the cause in the West, and helped) materially to secure the adoption by tha , , Legislature of what waia then the Terrl'j tory of Wyoming of the law giving woman the franchise. "If we are good enough," she argued, "to raise and' train the boys who are to go up to the polls and vote, then we ought eertnlnljr to be good enough to vote ourselves." Ihe surface of the sea Is estimated at 150,000,000 square miles, taking the whole surface of the globe, at 197,000, 000, and Its greatest depth supposedly' equals tbe height of the highest moun tain, or four miles. Tbe Pacific ocean covers 78,000,000 square miles,-the At lantic 28,000,000, tbe Mediterranean J 000,000. f
