4 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 
living with my parents. That day I joined some 
other boys in playing hookey from school, and we 
earned our passes by carrying water for the ani- 
mals. It wasn’t my first circus, but it was the first 
time that I had ever worked around the animals 
and I was fascinated. I didn’t miss the big show, 
but all the rest of the day I was in the menagerie, 
listening to the yarns of the keepers and doing as 
much of their work as they would allow. That 
night, when the circus left town, I stowed away 
in a wagon. 
The next morning, in Elmira, I showed up at 
the menagerie bright and early. The men laughed 
when they saw me. I had expected them to be 
surprised and I was afraid that they might send 
me away, but I found out later that it was quite 
an ordinary thing for boys to run away from home 
and join the circus. And the men didn’t mind be- 
cause the boys were always glad to do their work 
for them. I worked hard and, in return, the men 
saw that I had something to eat. That night I 
stowed away again in the wagon. 
In Buffalo I was told to see the boss—the head 
property-man—and I went, trembling for fear he 
was going to send me back home. Instead, he told 
me that I might have the job of property-boy, which 
would give me $25 a month, my meals and a place 
to sleep—if I could find one. There were no sleep- 
ing accommodations for the canvas and property 
crews; we rolled up in the most comfortable places 
