6 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 
ropes and wires for the aerial acts and laid out all 
the paraphernalia for the ground acts. While we 
were doing these things, the canvas-men were 
stringing the seats. Then we had breakfast. 
When the parade returned, there were cages to 
be placed in the menagerie tent and the parade 
properties to be prepared for shipping. By the time 
that work was finished, the crowds had arrived for 
the show and we stood by to handle the tackle of 
the various acts. At night, after the show had 
started, we began taking down the smaller. tents 
and stowing the properties just as fast as they 
came from the “big top.” Then, when the show 
was loaded, we took one last look over the lot to 
be sure that nothing had been left behind. 
No, we didn’t care much where we slept—just 
any spot where we dropped was good enough. 
My greatest interest was in the animals, espe- 
cially the elephants. In my spare minutes—they 
were mighty few and far between—lI talked with 
the keepers and learned from them many things 
about the care of animals. When we went into 
winter quarters at Columbus, Ohio, the head animal- 
man agreed to let me stay as a keeper. 
The next season I went with the Adam Fore- 
paugh show; then with the Frank Robbins show. 
I learned the circus business from the ground up 
and I was rapidly promoted. In 1883, I joined R. 
W. Fryer’s show as head property-man and trans- 
portation master. It was a responsible position, 
