Sawdust & Spangles: Stories & Secrets of the CircusCoup, W. C. (William Cameron)
History
Sawdust & Spangles: Stories & Secrets of the Circus
Coup, W. C. (William Cameron)
Circus
I was also mentally fatigued by my partner's opposition and his
requests to abandon the scheme; but at this point I realized more than
ever the benefits that would accrue from this great departure, and I
determined to stick it out to the end. I went to the superintendent of
one of the railroads on which we were to travel to Baltimore and
Washington and told him I must have a lot of cars of uniform
construction at any price. These he succeeded in getting after
considerable trouble. I then made up my mind to try it as far as
Washington, and if I could not by that time get everything to run
smoothly I would abandon it. We reached Wilmington without mishap and
gave our exhibitions--three each day. It must be remembered that we had
advertised three shows daily, and so far had given them; indeed, we did
throughout the season, but that was the first and only year that such a
feat was attempted.
I told the railroad superintendent that if we could manage to load in
Wilmington by two A.M. and reach Baltimore at five A.M. it would be a
success. He ordered the road cleared, and we arrived in Baltimore with
the first section only a little late, and, with a little extra energy,
we had the parade out on time and opened the doors to the morning
performance at ten A.M. The trip from Baltimore was easily made, but
from there we had to run over heavy grades up and down to Frederick,
Md. In order to load we had to remove all the brakes, and this the
yardmaster refused to do. I showed him my contract, wherein the company
had agreed to remove all brakes, but he still refused, so I finally
resorted to strategy.
I invited him to a restaurant, and while we were absent, by a
prearranged movement, Baker, the boss canvas-man, wrenched the brakes
off, and by the time the yardmaster and I returned the train was almost
loaded. Of course I pretended to be very angry at such conduct, but our
point was gained. As the brakes were easily replaced we made the next
stop all right.
PERFORMING BY DAY AND TRAVELING BY NIGHT
I determined to have a train of cars built for our special purpose, and
accordingly visited all the shops in the east; but I could find no one
willing to undertake the job on such short notice. Finally, at
Columbus, Ohio, I made the acquaintance of a thorough man of business.
He was conducting the car shops there and was prepared to execute any
order I might give him. In a short time I had made a contract with him,
and in thirty days a train of cars was built. They were of uniform
height, with iron extensions reaching from one car to another. These
improvements made the loading and unloading mere play. I then heard of
some palace horse cars at Cleveland. These I bought. I had them freshly
painted and lettered, "P. T. Barnum's World's Fair."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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