es much es
the' will thet hoss. Bet we'd miss ye every--time--we sot--up
to--a--meal."

In the vernacular of the show profession of today, Rosston, Springer &
Henderson took up the stand and did not appear in Brownsville. They were
advertised to play in Pittsburg.

Mr. Hurd sent Alfred to Pittsburg to collect the newspaper advertising
bill. Harrison was having his troubles with those to whom he had sold
tickets. The holders of tickets held Harrison personally responsible for
the non-appearance of the circus. Since the day Frank McKernan had
pummelled Harrison, various and divers persons had been threatening him
with similar treatment. Harrison staved off hostilities by promising to
have the tickets redeemed when Alfred collected the paper's indebtedness
from the circus.

The circus had no band wagon. The musicians were mounted on horses. This
was all there was of the parade. Alfred has since learned that this
feature was introduced into the circus as an expediency. G. G. Grady, an
impecunious circus proprietor, found his colossal aggregation without a
band wagon and no funds to purchase one. He hit upon the idea of
mounting his band on horses. The innovation was heralded as a feature
and to this day circuses advertise the mounted band as a novelty of the
"highway, holiday parade."

John Robinson's circus boasted a steam calliope, which dispensed "biled
music." Grady, not strong enough financially to annex a calliope,
altered an old animal cage that resembled the exterior of a calliope. He
installed a very large and loud hand organ inside the imitation calliope
wagon, with a stovepipe poking out of the top, plenty of damp straw
inside, a man to feed and burn it. In a stove inside, the volumes of
smoke issuing from the stovepipe, a strong man turning the hand organ,
the greatly improved steam calliope was calculated to astonish the
public. If the music were not so vociferous as that his rival's
instrument sent forth, it must be admitted that Grady's was more tuneful
and therefore less objectionable.

Grady's steam piano came to an untimely end almost before its career
began. The man inside the calliope, the fireman, was too industrious. He
filled the stove with damp straw, poured kerosene oil over it and
applied a match. The parade was in the midst of the public square, in
Canton, Ohio. Thousands had congregated to witness it. The whole
interior of the calliope was ablaze, smoke issuing from every crack and
crevice