Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 39

Till: MINNEAPOLIS Sl'XDAY TinnrNH: FKIIIU'AKY 2 If -MU jU) I It II I it i 1 1 fir Vt Mir I i I I II "fr 'M4 I I P. kjkj. Q) jfqg) Pi' ayi hJl'h f'h'i''- -Sif JtX -Ml "V.77.,,',-'.-..- entire Beason The fixed salaries of performers, it must be borne in mind. Include board and lodging, the first being furnished in the cook tent, the latter in sleeping accommodations rn the cars. Originally, with the old-time circus, board and lodging meant hotel bills; nut uic lnimenne niao of the modern ahnw ami tin lifcll I'll ,1 5 $9 i 1 iiiiiW way' SiW rim 5 as long as the engagement lasts.

It is part large personnel nave changed all of that The show tents must be pitched in the suburbs of cities, far from the base of local supplies, while in most of the smaller towns the entire hotel and boardlng-louse arrorm rdatl Mould be Inadequate to care for the circita personnel. As performers may now jco from the night performance direct to the cars and to bed. and usually do so. there is ample time tor proper rest en route for the next stand. There bring no excuse for leaving the Bhow grounds, and no necessity for private expenditures beyond tne small lees indicated, to porters, the salary of a circus performer is practically so much clear money; whereas the theatrical -performers must pay hotel bills out ot his sf'iry Its'des King the ttmptations incidental to idleness' In city.

The abolition of the street parade the Bar-n'im show has greatly ameliorated the conditions of tuo penormers so far as that organization Is concerned. With the other shows ever person, whether high-class performer or groom, is compelled to appear In costume In the morning street parade, under penalty cf a heavy fine. And it was so with the Barnum show until quite recently. The object of the parade being to make as imposing a spectacle as possible, everybody must turn out exceptiag cooks and such watchmen and others as are absolutely necessaryJn camp. To furthe- this object, baggage wagons, cages, hippodrome chariots and every clas? of vehicles, with the camels and other herd animals, with their drivers, trainers and keepers, are requisitioned, es well ns the performers, grooms, in gorgeo.is' apparel.

A great deal of expense in wagons, floats, uniforms and trappings must be incurred for the modern parade that are not necessary for the real performance cr tent exhibition. Cars must be provided to transport these, and time and labor devoted to their handling end enre. When a street parade is on the move, many accidents occur, and (he show is often mulcted in damages. Hand wagons cost from $2,000 to $5,000 each, all for a free show, the financial returns for which. Mr.

Bailey were disproportionate to the cost. But. it-Is here in its relation to the subject under consideration, the performers and their duties and hardships: NO TIME TO REST. The street parade necessitates early rising, an early breakfast, an extra change of costume, a long and dusty ride in the hot sun, a scramble for dinner, and that "tired feeling" to begin the real day's work on a little later. And all of this to please a large class' cf people who never spend a cent to see the real show.

At the close of the season all employes ara-dis except a few necessary persons like ani- mal trainers, the winter office staff, etc. There is nothing left of the show except the animals ana those who care for them, the wagons, tents and paraphernalia. These could possibly be duplicated for say, $100,000. The Adam Forepaugh show, once on the verge of capitalization at $1,000,000, was sold to Mr. Bailey, good will and all, for The Sells Brothers' show was sold at auction at Columbus, Ohio, three years ago, for $150,000, and half of it to the Ringling at private sale for $75,000.

The name of the Barnum and Bailey show, it will be seen, is- worth considerably more than the material show itself. Barnum received $25,000 a year for the use of his name, before Le formed a partnership with Bailey. He was of no other service to the combination or management. (Copyright, 1908, by R. F.

Hamilton.) Bits of the business of the foreign agent, therefore, to keep in touch with all th ebig shows throughout the world, and It Is through, such or athlete can be filled at short notice. 'iig-a, iri agencies that the place of a particular rider V. Vl AI agencies that the place of a particular rider The flrst official Bten between reus majiaeer 1 iT I The flr6t official Btep between circus manager 1 suj4i ti wiv iniB ccuiraci covers auoui 4u rules wutcu Btncuy to.mcmtwwK-iMt WtttWRFN -A I This contract covers about 40 rules which if strictly 'T t-: i.i TB.t. I1 'l ond performer is the signing of an iron-clad contract. adhered to would qualify the signer for a proscenium box in glory.

The subscriber has only the personal freedom left to enable him or her to perform the act contracted for, and to eat and sleep between times. All else is forbidden or provided for in the Vll ruleB mentioned. Even the kind of clothing worn between performances is specified. For instance, shoes must be polished; and to insure the enforcement of this rule the sum of 25 cents per week Is assessed against each ERTORMERS are engaged for circus work pretty much the eamo aa are the other people. Some apply personally or by letter; others are obtained through advertising in London, Berlin, Paria and other foreign cities.

Another method of obtaining people and attractions la I through foreign theatrical agents. These agents are found in the principal cities and every performer and paid to the portr of th car for this service. The fines for violation of the rules vary from $1 to $25. MUST SUBSCRIBE TO RULES. All grades of performers must subscribe to the same rules.

There Is a clause in the contract generally, witch permits- either of the parties to it to terminate rne same upon two weeks' notice. Thus, when a particularly high-priced act" is not required beyond a certain time the two weeks' notice ends the engagement. Sometimes this sudden severance of business relations works a great hardship to the performers, who may be "fired" at the point most imote from his base. But sometimes the performer gets a better engagement, when he aims to give notice so as to be nearest his base when the two weeks shall have expired. This scheme is usually foiled by the circus manager with the prompt' reply: "You don't have to wait two weeks.

Quit right now. Go to the wagon and get your money." This two weeks' clause in contracts is made use of by the manager at the clos of his metropolitan season, after his show has secured the hearty endorsement of the metropolitan press, to cut down the expenses for the road. The last week of the metropolitan engagement is the real show the much curtailed performance of the tour under canvas. Some attractions' of an expensive character are hired only for the flrst four or five weeks. Some, after test, are not wanted and are let go simul lurounnout the world.

Their financial Interests induce them to keep posted in all public studying interesting and novel features of entertainment and keeping en rapport with the latest stars of the stage and ring. They are the thousand eyes of the big show. henTmeT)f these agents' discovers a new act by an individual or troupe, he will try to secure engagement for the performers on the basis of 5 per cent on the salary received, which royalty continues taneously with the short term artists. A second cut usually is made in the fall should a Bouthern trip be included in the itinerary. Of course the printing remains the same in the last case, and the original metropolitan press notices are used throughout the nr About Giy Tlx large African village.

They have trading stations upon Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika. They are very enterprising, and as they live upon almost nothing they can undersell the whites. They handle cotton of bright colors and of the most gorgeous patterns. They sell wire for Jewelry and all sorts of knlckknacks backs. TBey are fine-looking and are apparently well-bred.

Some of these beasts are hitched to American wagons brought out here from Wisconsin I saw such a team hauling a Kentucky plow through the streets of Nairobi yesterday. Indeed, I And that American poods are slowly making their way Into ihcr.0 wilds. American axes, sewing machines and American sowers and planters are sold by tho East Indians. African Turf club, and In the Globe Trotter I see tho story of a cricket match which was held last Saturday between thn government clerks and the townspeople. As to the advertisements, the most of thera come from the local merchants and some are odd to an extreme.

One In the Otlobe Trotter of today is signed by a well known American' circus company, and states that It wants to buy a white "rhinoceros, a giant hog, boiiiu wild dogs and a white tailed mongoose and bongo. Another advertisement Is that of tho Homestead Dairy, showing the Improvements made along fanning lines, and others state that certain merchants will outfit hunters for shooting. Thero are many land seals advertised, and also that the African wants. They deal also In European goods, and one can buy of The drug stores carry our patent medi Them almost anything from a needle to a sewing machine. Here In Nairobi there Is one long street which Is devoted to the Hindoo market.

The stores are all open at the front, and the men squat In them with their gay goods plied about them. These Indians dress In a quaint costume not unlike thnl nf the PTngpc "all ana machinery, American wagons vehicle. One man goes in the shafts and the other pushes behind. They are clad in a single cotton cloth which flaps back and forth as they run, exposing their nakedness. The streets are unpaved and they are frequently masses of dust.

Along many of them eucalyptus trees have been planted. These have grown rapidly, and the roads are now shaded by their dreary foliage, the leaves of which hang down as though they were mournner; Anionic the Black African. I have gfven the total population of Nairobi as 15,000. I doubt whether it has 1,000 whites. Of the remainder, about one-third are East Indians and the others are the queerest Africans you can imagine.

I speak of them first, because they are everywhere. You stumble over them on the street; and they wait upon you In the hotels; they carry bundles for-you and they clog your footsteps when you go outside town. Many of the natives wear dirty, greasy cloths, not more than a yard wide and two yards long. They hang them about their shoulders and let them fall down on each side, so that they flap this way and that In the breeze. Some wear breech cloths, and some do not, and not a few are bare to the waist.

In the early morning when the air is still sharp many of these people are clad In red flannel blankets, and they go stalking along with their legs bare to the thigh. 1 have already spoken of tho ear plugs. Soine have the holes In the lobes of their ears so stretched that I can put my fist through them. The loops are so long that when a man taken out his ear plug he hangs the loop skin over the top of his ear to prevent It catching onto something and tearing. The loop looks Just like a leather strap about as wide as one's little finger nail.

I have handled many of themi, twisting them this way and that to be sure that they are genuine. I see a squib In the Olobe Trotter, a nowspapor of Nairobi, wliich fits tho native costume here. It is: "A London JL I tyffvSif JlHIj sill JYs: JXo5AJ tZUAfKrYl and every market has more or less American cottons. The wood cutters are using American axes, but they complain of tho flat, or oval holes made for th'! handles. They say that a round hole would be better, as the natives who do the wood cutting are clumpy and the handles snap of at the ax.

If round holes were used, heavier handles could be put In and the natives could make them themselves. A Itnllrund mid Telcarnpli Centor. Nairobi promises to become one of the railroad centers of this part of the world. It Is the chief station between the Indian ocean and Lake Victoria, and a road Is now proposed from here to Mount Kenla. By and by that may connect with the German road from Tauga to The country through which the Tganda railway goes is among the poorest in thn colony, and the Mount Knla road will open up a rich agricultural region which Is thickly populated by tribes moro than ordinary industrious.

The railroad shops ere here, and the employes havo a large collection of tin cottages for their homes. Tlv headquarters of the railroad, where nil the chief officers stay, are one-story tin buildings, and the telegraphic offices are connected with them. Both railroads and telegraphs are run by the government. Tho telegraphic, rates arc comparatively low. Away out here In tho wilds of Africa one can send messages far more cheaply than In the I'nlted States.

I ran send 'ight words from bcr to L'ganda for 3.1 cents, ani ran telegraph to London about as cheaply ns yon can telegraph from New York to Snn Francisco. This Is so, notwithstanding the difficulty which the linemen havA to keep the wires In shape. I t.ave slready told you how the nntlves steal the wire from the poles and make bracelets, anklets and earrings of It. They can use It for trading, and In some districts It will pass as money. Purlnr thn Nandl rebellion, forty-odd miles of wire were carried awsr and never recovered, and In one of thn provim-eg ad-Joining Uganda.

above ake Victoria, the natives are so crasy after tho cnpi wire there used that It Is almost Impes-sihln to keep tho lines up. Another serious vlnger to the telegraph Is the big game. The cira'fes "arh tin and plav with th" brackets ami pull tho wire this way and that. At Nalvashn the hippopotami navn once or twice butted down thn poles, an1 understand they hsvn been doln considerable daniH" to the Hneg along th toast near the Tana river. In the heart of I'ssnds the monkeys have a way of swinging on the wires and twisting them trether whi'-h stops the transmission of manv messages, go that.

Ind'ed. th way of the "nemsn urd. (Copyright, lisw. by Frank G. Carpenter.) WIKOr.A.

British East Africa, clergyman who wears a long black coat buttoned up to the throat. The only difference is that the Hindoo's trousers may be of bright colored calico, cut very tight, and his head may be covered with a flat skull cap of velvet, embroidered In gold. Moreover, his feet are usually bare. This is a British city, notwithstanding lis African and Asiatic inhabitants, and the ruling class are tne English. They are divided up Into castes almost as much as are the East Indians.

The government officials rank tt the head. They are the swells of the town. They dress well and speud a great deal of time out of office hours playing tennis and golf, which, strange to say, have already been Introduced Into this part of the black continent. They also rldo about on horseback and In carriages, and upon very low salaries manage to make good show. Allied to them are the sportBinen and the noblo visitors from abroad.

We have a scattering element of dukes, lords and second sons of noble families who have come out here to Invest or to hunt big game. They are usually men of means, for the prices of largo tracts of land are high, and It also costs considerable money to fit out a gamo shooting expedition. In addition there are laud speculators, who are chiefly young men from England or South Africa. They dress In riding clothes, big helmet hats and top boots. They dash about the country on ponies, and are especially In evidence around the bars ot the hotels.

There are but few white women here. Several of the government officials have their wives with them, and now and then a titled lady comes out to hunt with her friends. I have met three women who have themselves shot lions. Nairobi baa English doctors, dentists and lawyers. It has ono photographer and two firms which advertise themselves as Safari outfitters.

These men supply you with tents, provisions and other things for Shooting trips, and they will givo you porters who will carry your stuff and chase tho linns out of the Jungles so that you may got a shot at them. nlrnll evmpnper. It seems strange to have newspapers away out here under the shadow of Mount Kenla, within a half Cay's ride on horseback of Hon and rhluocerous hunting. Nevertheless, Nairobi has three weeklies. They are all banking on the future of the town and all rlalm to bn prosperous.

They are good sized Journals Nulling for from two to three annas, or from four to six cents each. They have regular telegrams from tho Reuter agency, which gives them the big news of the world, and they furnish full reports of the local cricket, polo, tennis and golf matches. This week's Star reports the meeting of tho IStst sorts of agricultural Implements. Ono of these newspapers ot Nairobi la edited by on American. It Is known as the Globe Trotter, and has a good circulation.

The editor's name Is David Gar-; rick but I am not sure that he Is a relative of the president's son-in-law. He Is certainly enterprising, and partakes of our president's character In his love for wild game. He came out here orlginallv to buy lions, giraffes and rhinoceroses for Barnum and Bailey's circus, and he still takes a whack at the wild beasts during the Intervals of his editorial writings. Mr. Longworth has done somo newspaper work In tho United States, and was editing a newspaper at Cairo, Egypt, Just before he came here.

Anothor paper of note Is Thn Star of East Africa. This is owned by Mr. Low. the brother of A. Maurice Low, the well known Washington correspondent of the Boston Globe and London magazines.

Tho Star Is very American In Its methods, and it delights In sensations. Last week it published a supplement consisting of a pamphlet of sixty-four panes, on the outside of which was printed In large type, the words. 'What the Rrltish government Is doing for Ilrltlnh East Africa." t'pon opening the pamphlet tho other pages were found to he blank. Hotel in Afrlen. Nairobi has three hotels, tho Norfolk, the Stanley and the Masonic, and the accommodations in them are comfortable.

I am stopping at the Norfolk at tho upper end of tho town. It Is a low ono-siory building, with a wide porch In front, separated from the dirt street by a picket fence, and "shaded by eucalyptus trees through which tho wind seems to bo ever sighing and moaning. The charges are $3.33 a day. Including meals, but I have to have my own servant to make my bed and tei.d to my errands. I have a room at tho back with a fine view of the ttable, and a German sportsman next door, who has a little cub lion about as big as a Newfoundland dog, tied to a box outside his window.

During a part of tho day he lets tho baby lion out. and ties hlin by a rope to one of tho pillars of the porch. The animal seems harmless, but his teeth art) sharp, and hn Is entirely too playful to suit me. Besides It roars at night. Tho horses are fairly good hern, but the charges tor them are high.

When I rldo out on horseback It costs me $1.65 an hour, and the carriage rates are still more. Tho best way to get about Is in the Jln.rlklshas, usicg negroes as heusls of burden. For a long rldo over tho plains horses are necessary. As to the heavy hauling of this part of East Africa It Is mostly dore by the saercd cattle of India. 1 mean the clean-cut animals with great humps on their AVE you ever heard ot Nairobi? It Is the metropolis of this far-away colony, and the place which the Kiillsh think la to bo ono of the greatest cities of Africa.

They are already speaking of it, as a Chicago In embryo mid are prophesying that It will havo a vuhI white population. The tailor says that any gentleman can be clad for 25 Thn native gentleman of Nairobi can be fully clad for 2 annas (about 5 cents). Including the smell." This African smell Is everywhere. It loads the market places, and I verily think It might bo chopped up Into blocks and sold as a new kind of phosphates. Tho natives cover themselves with hair oil and body grease, and thn combination of this when It turns rancid and of the natural effluvia which exhales from their persons Is Indescribable.

Others of tho natives smear their faces with a mixture of grease and red clay; they cover their hBlr with tho same material, so that they look moro like copper Indians than Africans. These Africans do all tho hard work of Nairobi. They are hewers of wood Mid drawers of water. 1 see scores of them loaded with Iron and brRss Jewelry of various kinds, carrying baskets of dirt on their head. loads of wood on their backs and pushing and pulling carts and wagons through the slreets.

Tho most of my trips from one place to another are mado In two-wheeled carts hauled by natives so clad. The I nil inn Trmlrr. 1 find thn retail business of Nairobi done by East Indians. This was also the case at Mombasa, and 1 am told It Is so In every settlement on this part of the continent. Tho Hindoos havo mado their way along every traveled route, and their little stores may be found io every true of the governor's offices.

Many of the houses have iron ceilings and Iron walls, and the chief retail business section Is a collection of one-story iron booths, open at the front, In which Hindoos stand or sit surrounded by their goods. My hotel Is half Iron. The government treasury nearby, consisting of a shed of not more than 13 feet square, Is of tin and has a tin roof. I could chop It to pieces with a butcher knife; and the only sign ot safety about It Is the negro rollceman who, gun In hand, stands out-fldo guarding the door. The office of tho land surveyor Is of tin, and so are the police headquarters and the house In which the supreme court Is held.

Thn more fancy dwelling are now being painted, and some stone and brick buildings are rising. The Nairobi of today Is largely cow pastures. It Is a city of magnificent, distances. Every iilace of Importance seems several miles from any other plHce of the samo character, and the patches between are often grazing ground. The houses are of one and two stories, and they sre scattered along wide etrects whlrh run for Hn Indefinite distance out Into thn in-alrle.

Tho chief ways of getting about are on foot. -on horseiback or In jlnrlk-shas. the later being by far the most popular. The jlnrlkshss are much like those used In Japan, save Ihat they are larger and wider, itm told they arn made In America. They are pushed and pulled by black Africans, two tu each by the altitude, and white men can live and work upon them the year round.

The country Is. in fact, a white man's country and with care people of our race can thrive upon thousands of square miles of it. I struck these plains after a 20 hours' rldo from the Indian ocean by railroad. They me think of our West as it vas 50 years ago, and I doubt not in tlmo they will ho settled by ranchers and farmers as Is tho western part of tho United States today. This country Is an empire In Us undeveloped possibilities and the Kngllsh do right in putting a hlKh value upon It.

But. I shall writo more of that In the future. A City Unlit Tin. This letter Is to be devoted to the tin town of Nairobi. I should Bay galvanized Iron, for that Is tho chief building material." There are no bhw mills or planing mills here worthy of mentioning, tho forests have not been exploited, and about, tho ouly lumber available Is that which Is brought from our eourhtry and Norway and landed at Mombasa.

Tho ocean freight rates are heavy, and In addition there Is the cost of bringing tho lumber hero by railroad. Aa a result the most of the buildings are of galvan-laed Iron, which comes hero In Bheets from England and Belgium. Almost all the buildings are of Iron, which Is put up just as It eomes from tho fmtory, Klvlng thn whole town a Hllvnr gray color. pofitofnee in of Iron, tho depot has an iron roof, and the same is own Is not 6 years old. Threo years so it had hardly a hoiiae.

Today streets havo been laid out, over an area about 10 milen in elrcuitiff rence, hundreds of biilldlngn of tin, wood and mono have been erected and tho place has almost jri.OOO Inhabitants. Nairobi lies In the very heart of tlrititdi Kant Africa. It is little moro than half way inland from the coast on the road to Ike Victoria, and, as tho crow flies, 100 mile from Mount Kenla, which kisses the e)mid an altitude of 18,00 or JD.ono feet, off to the northward. I can co Mount Kenla from here on a bright day, Htid some distance down the railroad, when tho s'ln is Just. right, ono ean get a glimpse of the two peaks of Kilimanjaro, which lies to the southeast, In tho Oernian possessions, distance of J.r0 miles or nioro.

Nairobi Itaelf Is just iihnut as high as Denver, and, liko it, Is tdluafed at the western end of great, plains which rlne to an altitude of B.OOO or more feet uhovR the sea. They are so that tho equatorial sun Is comiuore'jd Anil 9nnirtlmea Mineral, IVm-her-l thm nv romiwllpt- link I'iipII-Ym, mum; thr's hah.Thlla'VtiM limuinr,.