6 M
4
Coronado's Hysterical Bull and the Boys Who Made Him Be Good
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: OCTOBER 1, 1918,
mm
T PELL to the lot of tome
tent of thousands of per
sons from divers parts of
. the western hemisphere,
principally, however, from
the commonwealth of Ne
braska, to be entertained during the
course of the summer and fall, by the
musical travesty known as "Coron
ado'i Hysterical Bull" in the vast and
echoing halls of King Ak-Sar-Ben's
den, Twentieth and Burdette streets.
Every year tens of thousands are
entertained here by some phantasma
gorical production by the home talen
wonders, who come scampering ou
of die various occupations of lift
every Monday evening during the
season, just to entertain Nebraska's
population, and let them know that
an Omahan will work without pay
at any time for the entertainment,
enlightenment, edification and gen
eral , merriment of Nebraska people.
Set 282 men, boosters every mother's
offspring of them, appeared at this
den Monday evenings for a period
of nearly four months and staged
this 'magnncent production, half his
torical phantasmagoria, half blood
curdling initiation, just to give Ne
braskans and other visitors to Omaha
something pleasant to think about
for month or two.
The vehicle pn which their work
wasUiung was "Coronado's Hysteri-
Bull." Of course, the hull didn't
play-as big a part as did Coronado.
The -plot, props and effects were de
signed by Gus Renze. The lyrics
were, emitted by Miles Greenleaf.
George F, West was responsible for
the ritual with which thevisitors were
all Sworn in as loyal knights of the
realm, Prof. Sigmund Landsburg,
concocted the music and Oscar
Lieben was the architect of costumes.
Ben F. Thomas was grand mufti
this '.year. There must always be a
grand mufti in every Ak-Sar-Ben
show, and the grander the man
chosen, the grander the mufti F.
W. Pitch was the scribe who trailed
along with the mufti to see that
none of his august words were lost
to posterity. Bert C. Miner snd
William Wappich took turns in the
part of the prophet, for what ia a
court of a mufti without a prophet
or in oracle? Oscar Lieben, J. R.
Cain" jr, and William Wappich,
were interchangeable in the part of
the seer, with Lieben and Wappich
taking the part most of the time
during the season. .
No sooner had the thousands of
visitors been duly rolled in. the stu
pendous barrel, marched through the
concentrated cyclone on the second
story; of the den, hammered through
plate glass windows, and bumoed on
nst steel screens, than the bugler
announced the comma- of the errand
mufti, Every head in the vaat hall
. ni miuniiv narun inn visirnra inn
local -members alike stood at attention.-,
The mufti with hit retinue of
attaches appeared, preceded by bug
lers, banner bearers, and in a gen
eral flourishing burst of magnifi
cence. ,
Whea they marched to the great
stage: at the north end of the hall,
the mufti took his position back of
small altar, bade the multitude be
seated, and then and there made
them all loyal knights of Ak-Sar-Ben;;
Here the aeer, usually Oscar Lieb
en, came slowly upon the scene, an
aged and bent figure, leaning hit tot
tering form upon a ataff. In hit
hand he carried a crystal globe as
big 'as a man'a head. He tottered
over to a little table, placed the globe
upon: it, whereupon it instantly be-
At tne leer gazed into the crystal
depths of the globe, he began to see
again the great drama of the progress
of Nebraska from a treeless desert
upoir which the red eye of the tun
ern day of agricultural plenty, a mil
lion and a half of people, and a high
degree of civilization, educational and
general culture. All these things he
reviewed in a dramatic speech as he
stared wild-eyed into the brio-lit red
4 crysiau as h nis eye wat sweeping
X the ages, hit oratory slashed through
r vhe centuries, and hrrtno-ht th li.t.
. -: . . t
cre ijvwn 10 inc moaern aaie, me Dirtn
of Ak-Sar-Ben as a booster organiza
tion and its twenty-two yean of prog
ress '
Again this feeble patriarch's mind
suffered a lapse, and he seemed to
bear again the bells of the royal court
of the fabled King Tartarrax, the
mythical king toward which the Indian-
guide in centuries gone by, led
Coronado and his band of Spanish
cavaliers.
Even as the old aeer vanishes from
the foreground the bells of the fabled
court chimed, the curtain wat with
drawn, and there was this fabled
court itself lying before the gaze,
p lit rushed Jack Alvord, taking the
part of the fabled King Tartarrax.
Charley Gardner played the part early
in the aeason, and his big musical
voice was much applauded. Then he
had to drop out for a time, and Chief
Henry Dunn took the part as well as
he could for a time, but since he had
the Operation a year ago, he has not
been: especially enthusiastic for these
laborous stage stunts. lack Alvord
was then decided upon, and Jack made
goo a. Mot so huge in stature as
Dunn or Gardner, his voire neverth.
leas !tarried well, and h marl a rv
editable king of the fabled tribe of
red men.
SoJm rushed King Tartarrax roar
ing about the jangling of the "infernal
bells, for he was growing tired of
them; Likewise he was tired of gold
fish,, for he had fed on them until he
longed for something more sub
stantial, aay a nice fat fried spring
dog..
So he sang:
"Oh. .fileaae lake my money,
Wen's- aomeona take mjr dough, St, ate.
Tot t oat sold flab
On a silver dish.
When I'd rather have sour rum."
Ever the squaws and braves joined
him in the chorus, and such a clever
bevy of squaws they were in buckskin
dresses with delicate fringe. F. H.
Hanson waa the fattest squaw in the
lot "Before Hanson joined this par
ticular aggregation, it was necessary
1 rotund fl&rure. but dim Hanson Waa
- "
-. . .' 1 . r r
and -E. L. Livingston had a particu
lar! clever atep in the dance that
went with this chorus. M. H. Vance.
ii Will Fox. H. V. Smith 3nH H,r,v
Benford were not averse to introduc
... tng eome of the modern tango and
:; hesitation into the Indian squaw
Meyer, A. E. McLarnan, P. Romenek
and Clint Miller could be depended
upon to keep the tquaw dance in per
fect unison.
Jack Alvord and M. C Brown now
come atorming in over the bank of
the river in the costume of Lewis and
Clark. They are on their way to the
northweat coast, exploring the vast
reaches of the Louisiana purchase.
They are thirsty and are shown to
Tartarrax'a bar.
Another shout goes up and Peter
Sarpy is sighted in the distance,
.lowly approaching in his prairie
jchooner drawn by a decrepit mule.
Harry Johnston played the part well,
and looked every inch the hardy old
trader who braved the wilds in the
early days to trade with the Indians
and early travelers and pioneers. The
historical crank again consulted his
book to see if Peter might be ad
mitted to the gathering.
"Probably some old bootlegger,"
exclaimed King Tartarrax, "but let
him in." ,
So Peter Sarpy drove his mule be
hind the scenes, leaped off the wagon,
snatched out an American flag, hauled
doVn Coronado's Spanish colors, and
hoisted the Stars and Stripes amid the
appJause of Indians, Chinese servants,
and the multitude of candidates and
visitors. - 1
Alex Reed and Harry Goetz were
the two efficient white wings of
Quivera, and always created a laugh,
especially when they became dis
gruntled, dumped their cart in the
middle of the street, and turned out, a
real live candidate.
Coronado, Peter Sarpy, Logan Fon
tenelle, Tartarrax, and Lewis and
Clark having all congregated together
at the court of Tartarrax, a feast was
spread and some of the visitors at the
Den were invited to eat A monstrous
bird flew to the table, snatched np the
table 'cloth, dishes and all, and soared
away, before their astonished eyes.
Other candidates were forced to wash
themselves before eating ,and were
terated to a mysterious ducking be
fore they even got their fingers wet
I. A. Stalmaster, at Boot Leggo, the
waiter, made a very efficient servant
about the tables, and Kenneth Hatch,
aa Lumbago, another waiter, was
equally nimble. T. B. Dysart, as The
Turk, Coronado's advance agent, ably
personified this notable character in
Coronado's expedition.
Cleopatra had no better, abler, and
sturdier boatmen to row her perfumed
barge down the mystic Nile than Ed
Shavlik, F. A. Waldman, I. Finken
stein, M. L. Hamann, K. H. Jones, and
T. H. McNamara, who were the boat
men rowing and piloting the famous
barge of Cremo down the Muddy Mis
souri to the court of Tartarrax.
When the dinners of the visitors
proved failures for various reasons,
a chuck wagon was sighted in the dis
tance, drawn by a magnificent team
of oxen. The wagon was loaded with
visitors, often as many as thirty
.sturdy sons of Nebraska were piled
into' the wagon.
The Indians under Chief Afraid of
Firewater, who in real life ia John
Hogan, made a rush at the wagon,
and aurrounded it Eight sturdy
bravea danced about the wagon. They
were Louie Storz, Carl L. Abbott, M.
). Gibson, E. A. Arriens, Dr. L. A.
Dermody, J. E. Archibald, W. H.
Metcalfe and Bert Tanner.
The driver of the chuck wagon,
Bert Fox, was overpowered. The
driver of the ox team, E. L. Potter,
was hog-tied, and the candidates were
pulled roughly from the wagon. They
were seated on the driveway and
treated to a most hair-raising shock,
while the Indians wailed weird songs
Baker Ice Machine Co.
ALL SIZES
ICE MAKING AND REFRIGERATING
MACHINERY
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
Evans - Model Laundry
The Cleanest.
Lightest ,
and
Best Ventilated
Laundry
in Omaha
Ak-Sar-Ben Visitors
WELCOME
into their ears, and clicked their tom
ahawks threateningly near.
They singled out one unfortunate
traveler, hustled him to the stump of
a great tree, and there bound him
helplessly to the tree. They flung
tomahawks at him, dozent of them,
which stuck amazingly close to hit
face and body with a horrifying thud,
and clung there quivering with the
shock of arrested flight.
Yes, and they shot arrows at him
and into him from a distance of ten
paces, and that was desperately dose.
Then they set fire to a pile of brush
directly in front of him in order to
put him to the slow torture. But
here the cowboys came clattering up
the trail on fiery bronchos. They
emptied their tixshooters into the
pack of Indians and sent them scam
pering into the underbrush. They
galloped to the side of the roasting
individual, cut the thongs, stamped
out the fire, made camp for the even
ing, and then resolved themselves
into a quartet, while one of their
number, Lee Kennard, twirled the
rope in all the devious and graceful
writhings that would make Irwin
Brothers' best ropert look up and no
tice. Charles Taylor, Dr. Gladstone Der
by, Harry Watts and John J. Hoffman
constituted the cowboy quartet and
the rescue party. While the twilight
was glowing iit the western hills of
a beautiful scene arranged at the den,
these fellows always made a ten-
i strike with their clever little song,
4f
ana.au - i
ISIDOR
ZIEGLER
Attorney-at-Law
407 Ware Block
"Only a cowboy, only a cowboy, laid
in a cold, cold grave."
Just prior' to this Indian escapade
the "Zeppelin" plunged into the den,
carrying always one of the visitors
in a most unthinkable flight The
"Zeppelin" was manned by Victor
Roos, Otto Ramer and James Fisher.
It was none other than a stout mo
torcycle with a third wheel and a
basket seat The candidate was put
in the basket, and Victor Roos, the '"
expert driver, whirled him about the-"-'
stage, keeping the third wheel off"'
the floor half the time, and the bar-, ;'
ket with its frightened occupant tail- -ing
high in the air over the edge of'.'"
the platform and above the heada of ' ;
the audience.
A military drill and a beautiful tab'-, ",
leau wound up the evening'! perform-
(Continued cm Pace SU, Celamn One.)
Edmund
George
McGilton
Former Lieutenant Gov
ernor, who exert a
powerful influence
for good busineu in
growing Omaha.
ATTORNEY AT LAW
1004 City Nt'L Bk. Bldg.
Saaasaaa
E. G. McGilton
,,0,,...
lates
0
. C. PACE AttonM7-at-.Uw
Above Them Allin Quality
i
You get your money's worth
every time you buy
hen's Fairy Soda Crackers
They taste so good, just because they are good
all the way through. Made of the best materials
baked and packed under strictly anitary condi
tions. You can get fresh and fine Fairy Soda Crack
ersin 10c and 25c cartons, 50c family tins and in
returnable cans by the pound at almost any good
grocery store.
Baked fresh every day and guaranteed by
ITEN BISCUIT CO.
Snow White Bakeries
I I Ml Ml MM M H M I U II HI
MYRON L LEARNED.
' too BEE BUILDING
itiniiniii
IIIIHMIIIIIIMMMIMIIMHIIIIMIIMIM
aa
ALBERT W. JEFFtX.S
of tha fins f Jafferls A Tanieon, ! ma of tha bast known attorn ere In Omaha,
Ha waa aaatetaat Bounty attorney for one term, and In ISOt waa tha nominee of
tha republican party for eonsreie In tha Omaha oktrtot Ha araduatad in ISSI
from tha law department of tha University of Midhisaa. la whteh naiyaraity ha
won prominence aa an athlete, aa well aa a scholar.
aU
hW
1 1 s 1 1 i s i its i l
aaaaammmiatSSlaa
LA........ Ij
Harvey W.
Morrow
Attorney at Law
815 Brandeis Theater
Building
Louis J. Piatti John D. Wear
John F. Moriarty
Piatti & Wear
Attorneys and
Counselors at
Law .
10174022 City National
Bank Building
Phone Douglas 4508
OMAHA
N. H. LOOMIS,
General Solicitor
'' 1 3
Union Pacific R. R. Co.
danee
of five centuries sgo. J. S.
AAA" on
i minr-in mm
