Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 186, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1918 — A "THRILLER” FROM OVER THE SEA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A "THRILLER” FROM OVER THE SEA

The war in Europe has had man y and varied effects on all classes of (business in this country, and the circus business has been no exception. The most noticeable effect on the circus business has been the effort made by performers in,all the war-ridden countries to escape to this country, and this fact has enabled Mr. Sparks, of the Sparks* Circus, to secure novelties that under normal conditions would not be available at any price. Probably the most sensational “thriller” secured by any of the circuses from Europe this season is the death-defying act performed by Hillary Long. This man has out-done all - the loop-the-loop, loop4iregap and other similar acts ever attempted, owing to the fact that his very life, as well as the successful accomplishment of the act, depend, not on mechanical contrivances, but on his skill and nerve alone.

In this dare-devil performance Mr. Long attaches a .common roller skate to the crown of his head, then from the top of a hundred foot incline, reaching to the very dome of the mammoth tent, balanced on his head upon the roller skate, he dashes earthward until near the end of his perilous journey the incline makes a slight upward turn, which catapults Mr. Long through space to a distance of 30 feet, where he again lights on his head and finishes this marvelous performance on a shorter strip of incline. This act is the big outstanding feature of the Sparks’ Circus that is billed to exhibit here Saturday, August 17th.