An Exciting Performance. 267 



the town, and to distribute hand-bills broadcast. My wife 

 arrived ; the evening came to pass ; I had the animals all 

 ready near the ring ; the electric light was on, and three 

 turnstiles were opened for admission ; but they proved so 

 inadequate to clear the way in front of the ever-increasing 

 crowd which sought admittance, that half an hour before the 

 performance was advertised to take place, the gates yielded 

 to the pressure from behind, and thousands entered on the 

 free list. This was an unforeseen accident for which excess of 

 patronage alone was to blame. As the crowd invaded the 

 ring, October and I hurried through our work as fast as we 

 could. When the throng of miners, Boers, roughs and gentle- 

 men, all mixed up together in a tangled mass, saw a pretty, 

 slight, young woman of middle height and faultlessly attired 

 in riding costume, step into the ring and walk up to the horse 

 that no one had been able to ride, they began cheering and 

 yelling as if they were all mad. Some shouted»out words of 

 encouragement ; others, entreaties to leave the horse alone ; 

 while the Boers loudly encouraged the animal to do his best 

 against the accursed ' Rednecks,' as they are pleased to call the 

 English. In the midst of this row, my wife was hoisted into 

 the saddle, which she had hardly touched, before the horse 

 began to buck and plunge as if he were possessed with an 

 evil spirit. When he was tired of this amusement I gave 

 him a lesson in jumping, and then my wife rode him 

 quietly about the place and made him jump hurdles for 

 the first time in his life. Her fine horsemanship, the like 

 of which had never before been seen in South Africa, created 

 a great sensation. We then did a lot of interesting work 

 with some other horses and the mule, and finished a very 

 trying evening in a satisfactory manner. Despite the giv- 

 ing way of the gates, we did not do very badly ; for we 

 took £173, out of which we had about .£140 profit. Had the 

 gates stood firm the sum might have run into four figures. 



As the majority of the people who had attended the show 

 had been unable, owing to the crowd and row, to see the per- 



