Jasper Republican, Volume 1, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 April 1875 — P. T. Barnum's Latest Wonders-A Colossal Exhibition. [ARTICLE]

P. T. Barnum's Latest Wonders-A Colossal Exhibition.

Harper's Weekly devotes nearly two columns to explaining and extolling the great enterprises with which P. T. Barn urn is making historical his forty years' career as the most liberal and daring showman in the world. The statistics which Harper Brother* give ns from authentic sources are nearly overwhelming. They make an ordinary head dizzy. Mr. Bamnmhas always boasted that he gave his patrons double their money’s worth, and his claims are generally acknowledged; but this time he seems to have far outstripped himself. List year he obtained from toe Connecticut Legislature a charter for “ The P. T. Barnum’s Universal Exposition Company,” with a capital of a million of dollars; Mr. Bsnram, who is President of toe company, and Mr. Coup, his Manager, have spent many months in Europe perfecting their plans. The object of this great company, as they announce, is to elevate amusements, divest them of all objectionable features, and thus render them worthy toe dhtronage of the most moral and refined classes. They say that eventually they will have a score or more of exhibitions (traveling and permanent) in America and Europe, and they iotend that their chartered title shall be a guarantee of toe merits of whatever they bring before toe Public. The present season they have but wo exhibitions. One is Mr. Barnum’s wellknown “Museum, Menagerie, Circus and Traveling World’s Fair;” the other is simply called “The Great Roman Hippodrome.” Mr. Barnum seems to have devoted years to perfecting this great enterprise, and nearly one year of bis personal attention was paid to it in Europe. At an expense of several hundred thousand dollars he erected a great hippodrome building in the heart of New York city, and under an outlay of over $5,000 each day he has run his establishment in .New York for nearly a year. This Exposition Company are engaged to ship the entire Hippodrome to Europe next autumn; meanwhile they have undertaken the difficult task of transporting it entire to the principal cities in America. Harper's Weekly says: “The Great Roman Hippodrome will resemble a moving camp. There are 1,200 men, women and children m Mr. Barnum’B service, and the stock includes 750 horses and ponies, besides elephants, camels, English stag and stag-hounds, trained ostriches, lions, bears, tigers and other animals. For the exhibition of the menagerie and the various shows, displays and performances connected with the enterprises, two enormous tents, each 500 feet in length and 300 in width, have been provided, one of which will be kept in advance in order that no time may be lost by delaying in making ready. The question of transportation by rail—a Very serious one —was solved by the construction of 150 cars twice the usual length, built expressly for this purpose. Among them are a number of ‘horse-palace’ cars, constructed with comSipdious stalls, in which the horses can lie own and rest while on the journey and arrive at the place of exhibition quite fresh for the performance. Besides moving the tents, animals and all other material in these Hippodrome cars, berths will be provided in those devoted to the personnel of the company for nearly all the employes. Besides the great exhibition tents, and stable tents for the horses and other animals. There is also attached to the company a large corps of blacksmiths and carpenters and builders, some of whom precede the show several days, to make ready for the exhibition by preparing the ground, erecting seats, etc. The dressing-room tents alone will cover more ground than an ordinary circus.

“ To move such an enormous establishment without hitch or delay requires the employment of clear-headed, practical men at the head of each department Everything is so arranged as to move with the smoothness and precision of clock-work. At the appointed hour the canvas will go up, the street procession will move, the performance will commence. When all is over, and the great tent emptied, everything will be packed up by those detailed for toe work, and toe caravan, without the loss of a minute, will be on the move toward the next place of exhibition. “ The programme of performance will be varied ana attractive. Donaldson will make daily balloon ascensions with a car large enough to contain a company of five or six persons, at a cost of about SSOO a day for this feature alone. Then there will be toe ‘ Roman races’ in chariots driven by‘Amazons;* the ‘liberty races’ in which forty wild horses are turned loose in the arena, in exact imitation of the famous carnival races of Rome and Naples; ‘ standing races/ in which the riders stand on bare-back horses; hurdle races for ladies; flat races by English, French and American jockeys; besides camel, elephant and ostrich and monkey races. Another feature will be toe exhibition of Indian life on toe plains, in which toe actors will be scores of Indians, with their squaws and pappooses. They will put up a genuine Indian encampment, hunt real buffaloes, give war dances, pony races, foot races against horses, exhibitions of daring horsemanship, lasso, throwing. A band of Mexican riders, mounted on famous mustangs, will make a pretended attack on toe Indian camp and give a mimic but faithful representation of the wild scenes enacted on the Western frontier. The English stag hunt will be an exact picture of the sport itself, with a company of 150 men and women in full hunting costume, and a large pack of English stag-hounds. There will also be many other interesting and attractive features, the mere mention of which would make a small volume. “ Mr. Barnum certainly deserves great credit for an enterprise which is calculated to afford a vast amount of innocent, popular amusement; and although this gigantic venture involves an enormous outlay of money it will present too many attractions not to be generally sustained.’’ Amazing as this exhibition seems from toe description given by Harper's , we can say, from actual observation, that one feature is to be introduced into the traveling Roman Hippodrome more interesting and instructive than any other. It is the great procession known as “ The Congress of Monarchs." The Harper’s omitted mentioning this because, probably, they supposed Mr. Barnum would not dare incur the expense of transporting such an enormous affair through the country. But he will do so, and here is a brief description of this dazzling and bewildering exhibition, as given by a New York contemporary: “Of all the gorgeous pageants the world ever saw toe ‘Congress of Nations’ is the greatest, and how the surpassing genius of even Barnum could produce it is a wonder. The costumes are true to life, and many of them are genuine, having been procured direct from the nationalities which they represent. The individuals employed to personate the historical characters have the most faithful resemblance to toe originals in face and physique. Each nation finds its special portraiture in some kind of triumphal car, brilliantly bedecked with appropriate flags, emblems, colors and intricate devices, and all sorts of characteristics in toe way of peculiar uniforms, animals, soldiery, attendants and music. Scores of glistening gilded chariots illumine the arena with a halo of luster, as it were, and the display of royal splendor is far more imposing and impressive than words can describe, thrilling the auditor with unspeakable amazement ana admiration. “ As toe name of toe grand Congress implies, it is a stupendous gathering of toe Monarchs of toe universe, bringing ia vivid view toe living Rings, Queens, Rulers and Potentates of the oast nine centuries, culminating in an affecting finals so touching that it must awaken toe emotions of a stoic. Her Majesty, toe Queen of England, heads the glittering column, surrounded by her royal court and followed by a long ancestral line, the notability and richly-uniformed “life guardsmen.” Then France, in the person of Napoleon toe First and his famous Field Marshals; Ireland, Rome, Russia, Germany, Italy, Turkey, India, Japan, China, and soon, until all the Monarchs and Courts of the entire world pass in review, winding np like a jewel-besprinkled coil around toe continuous circle. To look upon this beautiful historical procession in all its grandness and greatness is equivalent to sitting in full view of the courts of all the earth, so truthfully realistic are the bewildering pictures revealed in. rapid succession. Such a dazzling half mile of solid gold, jewels, silver, precious stones and tinsel could only be produced after years of preparation and the expenditure of half a dozen competencies. Any attempt at Imitation on toe part of ambitious and unscrupulous showmen for years to come will result in the most inglorious failure. None other than the 'Prince of Showmen’ himself would undertake Ik and nctae other than the great and irrepressible Barnum could achieve so signal a triumph.” This entire exhibition is advertised to exhibit in New England in May, New York, etc., In June, Chicago early in July, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan in July and August * It is due to our readers that we inform them that Mr. Barnum announces that certain imposters in Cincinnati have copied his bills, '-store, cuts apd advertisements, and wjtfi &

few broken-down circus horses and wagons wiO precede his exhibition in toe West, aud by announcing the Great Roman Hippodrome will attempt to make toe public believe that it ia his unrivaled establishment. He cautions toe public against being thus deceived, and reminds them that It would be impossible with say amount of money to organize and equip even a semblance of his establishment without a preparation of several years. The Cincinnati Doily Enquirer of Feb. 37, 1875, says that this pretended “ Hippodrome” is simply the “ wreck of that stupendous fraud known as toe Great Eastern ana Great Southern Circus and Menagerie combination, wbich exploded at Selma, Ala., the 16th of last November, a number of horses haying to be sold to pay the expenses of shipping the show to this city, where the proprietors left a number of their employes unpaid and penniless, and vamosed. Who the real proprietors of toe business were still remains a matter of considerable mystery, but it is generally believed that Andy Haight, one Gibbons and George Weber and others were large stockholders. The defrauded circus men and others connected with the concern finally obtained toe aid of toe law to compel a settlement of their just claims, and the whole matter ended in the show being attached at Hamilton, and in an auction rele of the circus property at Lebanon yesterday afternoon. ** The best of thejoke is that De Haven, Webber, Gibbons and others are about to reorganize a Hippodrome out of toe ' wreck’ to start out with next summer on another tour. “ The whole show was rather a poor concern, only a few lions being in good condition, ana the menagerie including no really rare or valuable animals.” Our readers have only to use ordinary caution to discover which is too real and which is the bogus concern, though we see that Mr. Barnum complains that some shows obtain an employe named Barnum, and then adverse “ Barnum’s latest enterprise," and resort to other devices wherein they use the name “ Barnum” to deceive toe public. He says that all exhibitions with which he is connected will give his initials, “P. T.,” and also publish bis portrait by way of identification. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. “A word to the wise is sufficient.” As Mr. Barnum’s great Hippodrome travels under an expense of nearly SIO,OOO each day it can exhibit only in large cities. These can be reached by cheap excursion trains. Mr. Barnum says he can easily lose half a million of dollars by this summer's experiment, and tbat in any event he shall not bring back his Hippodrome from Europe. It is patronized and approved by the clergy and religious classes, as well as by school-teachers ana all heads of refined families who desire their children to improve their minds under this great system of " object-teaching.” Beyond all question this is the most extensive and extraordinary exhibition on the face of the earth, and probably this generation will “never see its like again.” Herbalistic Remedies.— ln former days, if a member of the household became indisposed, the family-head, under instructions from the gray-haired dame, went to the forest or the field to gather herbs or berries, from which were quickly made invigorating extracts, which ere many days brought the patient safely around, and saw the family gathering once more without a missing member. How is it now? The slightest indisposition brings the “family physician,” with bis handsome carriage. He feels the pulse, examines the tongue, looks very grave, writes a few lines of hieroglyphics, charges a big fee, and leaves, only to return the next day and find his patient mercurialized sufficiently to be really sick. A week or two of attendance follows, and therein lies the secret of “ wealthy physicians.” Compare the physique of the present age with the past and the story is complete. Reader, discard chemicals and try herbs. If you are ill, try the great herbalistic remedy, Dr. J. Walker’s Vinegar Bitters. 80 Davis’ Pain Killer.— This article needs no comments from us, but the real worth of so valuable a compound compels us to give publicity to it. The Pain Killer we keep constantly at hand, and have done so for a number of years, and have administered it for ails of all descriptions, both external and internal, and have ever found it to be the best remedy extant. We well recollect its first introduction for public patronage; it was then sold in a few shops in the city; look at it now —the world are its patrons. Sold everywhere. Dr. A. Johnson, one of the most successful practitioners of his time, invented what is now called Johnson's Anodyne Liniment. The great success of this article in the cure of Bronchitis and all diseases of throat and lungs will make the name of Johnson not less favorably, if less widely, known than that of Louis Napoleon. Glen Flora Springs are located at Waukegan, 111. Cures Dyspepsia, Bright’s Disease and Kidney Complaints. Circulars free. Pbussing’s celebrated White Wine Vinegar has been before the public twenty-seven years. Get the best The best Elastic Truss is Pomeroy’s, 744 Broadway, N. Y. Write for it. The Northwestern Horss-Nai-l Co’s “ Finished” Nail best in the world. Burnett’s Cocoaine is the best and cheapest hair dressing in the world.