20 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 



natural born musician. He could play any instru- 

 ment and play it well. 



On arriving at any town, as a joke we would 

 pick some one who had a local reputation as a 

 ne'er-do-well and explain to him Shilleto's weak- 

 ness, flattery and whiskey, telling him to go up 

 to Shilleto and say, "I beg your pardon, but are 

 you not Shilleto, the great Musical Clown, now 

 with Fryer's American Show. I have seen you a 

 number of times in different parts of Europe but 

 never expected to have the pleasure of seeing you 

 in Australia. You are the greatest I ever saw. 

 Will you allow me to shake hands with you." 

 Shilleto never had been in Europe, although it was 

 his boast that he had traveled all over that continent 

 with shows. 



That would settle it. Shilleto's chest would 

 swell up and that person was his guest for days, 

 introduced as his friend, from Europe, often giving 

 him a title. Shilleto never seemed to get wise 

 to the fact that in every town he would meet with 

 some one who had seen him in Europe and with 

 the same story. 



It was on one of the visits to New York that 

 the late J. A. Bailey of Barnum and Bailey, sent 

 me a telegram from Chicago to meet him two days 

 later in New York, and, after mutual greetings, 

 asked me how long it would take me to get to 

 India. I told him I intended to stop two weeks in 

 New York and probably three or four weeks in 



