Index

Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.

A

accidents, 35, 47, 65, 80, 95, 101102, 111

claims settlements, 125

diversions during, 118

parade mishaps, 79, 171

as staged attractions, 96

tent blow downs, 48, 9899, 122, 127

train wrecks, 59, 102, 128

Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brother Circus.

See Forepaugh-Sells Circus

Adam Forepaugh Show, 66, 233n56

admission prices, 31, 33, 46, 199

advance agents, xviii, 14, 40, 132, 135

advertising

1887 handbill, 29

advance agents and, xviii, 14, 40, 132, 135

“Baby Boo” the elephant, 38, 38

banners and bannermen, 134

for “Caesar’s Triumphal Entry into Rome,” 50

for Canadian tour, 94

for Chicago indoor show, 69

Chinese language handbill, 105

circus heralds, xvii

competition and, 132, 133, 134, 136, 155

employees in advertising department, 72, 130

for “Enormous Railroad Shows,” 45

for “Field of the Cloth of Gold,” 122

“five brothers” trademark, 70, 70, 169

for Forepaugh-Sells Circus, 162

giraffes featured in, 62, 94

“Greatest Show on Earth” slogan, 8990, 90

Gus Ringling’s role in, 24, 40, 57, 72, 130

for hall show, 12

for harness making business, 2, 4

hippopotamus featured in, 46, 68

hyperbole in, 130, 136

for “Jerusalem and the Crusades,” 108

for “Joan of Arc” show, 178

largest tent claim featured in, 75

Lillian Leitzel featured in, 192

lithograph posters described, 130

for local businesses tied to Ringlings, 127

for Madison Square Garden show, 157

newspapers and, 10, 1112

for performers, 18

posters, 9, 132, 133

press agents, 72, 135

rail cars for, 45, 57, 130132, 131

reputation featured in, 146147

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, 208

for Ringlings’ first circus, 19

Saxon Trio featured in, 135

for “World’s Greatest Shows,” 62

World War I and shortages of paste, 198

Alexander, Spencer “Delavan,” 40, 72, 73, 169

Algona, Iowa, 48, 143

Al Ringling Theatre, 174, 185, 203, 203205, 204, 205

American Circus Corporation, 211

Andress, Charles, 49, 125

Andro, Adolph, 215

animals, 27, 156

camels, 153, 153

dog acts, 36

escapes and runaways, 3839, 57, 93, 121, 129

kangaroos, 57

lions, 46

panthers, 93

polar bears, 55

“Pot Gang” of animal caretakers, 81

rhinoceroses, 149, 149150

“sacred ox,” 121

snakes, 17, 73, 93, 194

tapirs, 55, 232n36

training of, 36, 5253, 53, 93, 109110

walruses, 8889

water buffalos (bovalapsus), 44, 46

zebras, 93, 111, 170171

see also elephants; horses and ponies; menageries

Appleton, Wisconsin, 127

Army, circus studied as model of efficiency by, 189

Asmus, Theodore, 26

attractions

automobile “thriller” act, 146, 147

band concerts as, xxii, 69, 71

bicycle acts, 115

clowns and comedians, 2627, 69, 81, 85, 118, 128

free ascension acts, 35

high dive acts, 6970

“human volcano,” 26

motion pictures in “black tent,” 76

strongwomen, 43

technology as, 5657

audiences

Alf T. on, 64

convicts at prison, 80, 82

crowds, 89

Indians as, 90, 105

lack of language barriers, 105

patients at insane asylum, 74

in Rock Springs, 76

Aurora, Illinois, 127

automobiles, 154, 161

“thriller” act, 146, 147

B

Bailey, James, 115, 116, 127

ballet dancers, 128, 199

balloon contract, 184

bands. See music

Baraboo, Wisconsin,

abandoned as winter quarters, 200202

Al Ringling Theatre in, 174, 185, 203, 203205, 204, 205

animal escapes in, 93, 121, 129

bird’s eye view of, 28

circus opens in, 25

circus ownership offered to city, x

circus records and properties abandoned in, 214215

Circus World Museum in, 212213, 216

construction at Ringlingville, 36, 6061, 8384, 97, 115, 159160, 166, 174, 193

described, 3, 15

as home to Ringlings, x, 3, 9, 1920, 49, 154, 194, 206

local economy and circus business, 5556, 6566, 96, 154, 176, 206

map of, vi

Mrs. Potter’s land leased, 42

press reports on circus, 137, 139

“Ringling Day,” 57

Ringling Hotel, 5556, 196

Ringling residences in, 140, 140, 225

Ringlingville properties sold, 215216

Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center, 216

as winter quarters, 27, 36, 42, 49, 9293, 152, 166, 174177, 180, 186

barbershop, 86

barns vs. houses, 36

Barnum, P. T., xvi

Barnum & Bailey Circus, xvi, 55, 67, 77, 8990, 101, 115, 165, 179

acquisition of, 126, 138139, 141142

as competition, 112113

consolidation of circuses, 202, 205206, 207208

noncompete agreements with, 66, 126

under Ringling management, 186

Barreda, Jorge, 110111

baseball, 4748, 88

Baskett, Thomas, 35

bicycle acts, 115

Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 56

blacksmith shop, 86

Blainey, Jas., 15

Bode Wagon Company, 104, 106, 106

Boise, Idaho, 111

Bolivar, Missouri, 48

Boston, Massachusetts, 73

bovalapsus (water buffalos), 44, 46

Braathen, Sverre, 214

Bradna, Fred, 191192, 197, 206

Bridgeport, Connecticut, as winter quarters, xvi, 104, 181, 200202

Brodhead, 6

Brown, Joe H., 130

Buckley, Matthew, xvi

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, 101, 139, 150, 151, 156

Butte, Montana, 99

C

“Caesar’s Triumphal Entry into Rome,” 50

camels, 153, 153

Canada, 94, 107

candy butchers, 26

Canton, Ohio, 102107

canvasmen, xix, xxxxi, 72

Carl Hagenbeck Greater Shows, 134, 137

Carpenter, George, 185

Case, Harrison, Jr., 121

Case, Theron and Lucy N., 193

Castello, Dan, xvi

chandelier department, 72

Chicago, Illinois, 73, 7879, 91, 101, 107, 114, 157, 165, 178179, 180

Chicago World’s Fair, 61, 61

Coliseum, 191

indoor shows, 6771, 84

childhood exposure to emulation of circuses, 56, 7

Chinese language handbill, 105

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, 102

The Circus Kings, 208

Circus World Museum, 212213, 216

claims and litigation, 39, 125, 129, 164, 171, 180

Clarkonians Big Aerial Act, 197

“Cleopatra” show, 186

Cleveland, Ohio, 188

clowns, 2627, 69, 85, 118, 128

Puff Club, 81

Cochran, Thomas, 128

Cody, William “Buffalo Bill,” 150

Coerper, Alice Ringling, 142, 169, 170

Columbus, Ohio, 91, 144145, 166

competition, 101

advertising and, 132, 133, 134, 136, 155

American Circus Corporation, 211

Barnum & Bailey Circus, 58, 67, 76, 104

Carl Hagenbeck Greater Shows, 134

cooperation among competing circuses, 116117, 195

dominance of Ringling holdings, 192193

efforts to drive Ringlings out of business, 7475

motion pictures, 161

noncompete agreements, 66, 116117, 126

from other forms of entertainment, 76

between Ringling owned shows, 163164

Sells Brothers Shows, 64

traveling stage shows and lectures, 161

vaudeville acts, 107

concessions, 31, 31, 40, 72, 120, 158, 158159

Concordia, Kansas, 59

Conners family (performers), 81

contracts

for advertising on buildings, 132

balloon contract, 184

employment agreements, 155

lack of contract among the brothers, 54, 194, 210

noncompete agreements, 66, 116117, 126

standard contact, 32

cooking and dining department, xixxx, 72, 94, 148

4th of July menu, 94

farewell dinner menu, 63

Coup, William C., xvi

courier cover, 200

Curtis, Edna, 179

D

Dahlinger, Fred, Jr., 101, 118, 150, 206, 213

Dailey, Tom, 130

Darlington, Wisconsin, 27, 31

Daubenberger, Gretchen, 5

Davis, Janet, 43

Decatur, Illinois, 165

Delavan, Wisconsin, xvxvi

map of, xvi

Denver, Colorado, 102

DeSanto, Karen, 212

detectives, 57, 187

Detroit, Michigan, 144

Dialo, Rich, 26, 26

Dietzler, Albert, 59

Dodgeville, Wisconsin, 21

dog acts, 36

Double Specialty Shows, handbill for, 12

Dr. Morrison’s Coliseum, poster, 9, 10

Duluth, Minnesota, 57, 115, 128129, 148, 185

E

economics

1857 depression, 3

1893–1897 depression, 6163, 67, 75

1907 banking crisis, 138139

Baraboo’s local economy and circus industry, 5556, 6566

crash of 1929 and Great Depression, 211

impacts on local businesses on circus day, 165166

industry in Wisconsin, 9

Sherman Anti-Trust Act impacts, 4445

Spanish-American War’s impacts, 77

wages and prices (1900), 88

work day for average person, 12

see also finances

Effinger, Fred J., 215

elephants, 30, 60, 74, 102103, 110, 129

acquisition of, 3031

“Baby Boo,” 38

born in Baraboo, 3839

“boxing” elephant, 156

escapes and runaways, 3839

as essential to circuses, 21, 25

graveyard in Baraboo, 166

sale of, 141

Spanish-American War and offer of, 79

training, 109110

“white elephant,” 37

Ellsworth, Kansas, 99

Emery, William, 38

employees

of 1885 show, 26

1895 organization, 72

canvasmen, xix, xxxxi, 72

diversity of, 86

labor shortages, 197, 198, 201

performers, 46, 72

at Ringlingville, 73

support staff, 8586

unions and, 155

wages for, 51, 54, 64, 128, 155, 187, 197

during winter season, 187

women as circus staff, 43

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 185, 242n47

see also specific individuals

Enormous Railroad Shows, handbill for, 45

entertainment

circuses as, xv

for employees, 4748, 111

market for, 12

vaudeville, 107

Ziegfield Follies, 161, 163, 163

equestrian acts, 52, 63, 84, 115, 117

Harry Buckley, xvi

Rooney, Mike, 52, 69

see also horses and ponies

Europe

performers recruited from, 190

tour in considered, 184

expansion of circus, 25, 27, 29

after consolidation with Barnum & Bailey, 207208, 211

Barnum & Bailey acquisition, 126, 138139, 141142

Forepaugh-Sells Circus shares acquired, 114, 115117, 127

Hagenbeck Circus acquisition, 137

John Robinson Greatest of All American Shows, 78

W. B. Reynolds Circus acquired, 74

expenses. See finances

F

“Fairyland Spectacle Cinderella,” 194, 197

families, circus “families,” 81

fees and fines, 1920, 38, 128129, 135, 159, 164165, 185

“Field of the Cloth of Gold” show, 121122

finances, 185

1891–1897 summary of, 77

1897 daily receipts, 7576

1903 profits, 112

assets in 1909, 150

Barnum & Bailey purchase price, 139

credit rating, 84

daily expenses, 51, 65, 126

daily or individual show profits, 62

evaluation of holdings, 168, 170

expenses incurred by 1914 fire, 189

financing of first circus, 11, 18

hall show as money raising effort, 11

investment in menagerie, 150

loans, 3334, 120, 138139

Otto as treasurer for circus, 23, 72

politics and financial climate, 150151

prices for repair work, 96

wages for employees, 51, 54, 64, 128, 155, 187, 197

winter quarters expenses, 195

see also profits; taxes

Finnegan, James E., 131

fires, 38, 64, 111, 180, 188189, 195

in Kansas city, 189

at winter quarters, 78

Fish, Charles W., 62, 63

Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 80

Flying Squadron, xviii

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 102

food. See concessions; cooking and dining department

Forepaugh-Sells Circus, 101, 120121, 138, 141

1910 advertising poster, 162

acquisition of share in, 114, 115117

auction catalog, 116

sale of, 172

shares acquired, 127

Fort Smith, Arkansas, 171

Fox, Charles P. “Chappie,” 145, 153, 201, 212

G

Galesburg, Illinois, 51

Galveston, Texas, 128

Ganweiler, George, 118

Garrett, Indiana, 58

giraffes, 60, 93

in advertising, 62, 94

Gollmar, Arthur H., 102

Gollmar, Walter, 53

Gollmar family, 12, 49

Goodhart, George W., 130

Grandforks, North Dakota, 51

“Greatest Show on Earth” slogan, 8990

Great Wallace Show, 101

Gregory Brothers Circus, 15

grift, 41, 47

Gulickson, Andrew, 185

Gumpertz, Sam, 211

H

Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, 163, 195

Haley, E. C., 72

Hall, George, 26

hall shows, 1116

concert program, 13

handbills

for 1881 Double Specialty Shows, 12

for 1887 United Monster Shows, 29

for 1889 Enormous Railroad Shows, 45

for 1893 show, giraffe featured in, 62

for 1897 show, tent size featured, 75

for 1903 show, in Chinese language, 105

Hardy, Sam, 26

Harlow, Alvin, 8

Harmoyne, Harry and Lottie, 15

harness-making business, 2, 3, 45, 6, 910

Harry, Matthew, xvi

Hart, Fred, 13

Hartford, Wisconsin, 48

Hatch, Alden, 208

Heiser, George, 124

Henderson, E. B., 112

hippopotamuses, 44, 46, 68

history of circuses, xvxvi

Hobson family (performers), 115

hoof-and-mouth disease, 191

horses and ponies, 40, 4950, 117, 120

baggage horses, 52

employees for horse department, 72

equestrian acts, 52, 115

ring stock, 52

training of, 5253, 53

train wreck and, 59

Horton, Lorene Ringling, 142, 169

Horton, W. H., 131

Hunter, Dick, 26

hyenas, 27

I

Illinois State University archives, 214

indoor shows, 6771, 78, 84

influenza epidemic, 199200

insane asylum performance, 74

inventions. See technology

Irvin Feld family, purchase of circus by, 214

Isenberg, Carl, 61, 61, 115, 160, 166167, 174, 182

J

Jackson, Michigan, 80, 82

Janesville, Wisconsin, 76, 165

“Jerusalem and the Crusades,” 106107, 114

poster advertising, 108

program for, 218220

“Joan of Arc” show, 177178, 179180, 186

advertising for, 178

costuming for, 179

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 209

John Robinson Greatest of All American Shows, 78, 163

John Stowe and Company’s Great Western Circus, 5

K

kangaroos, 57

Kankakee, Illinois, 74

Kansas City, Missouri, 103, 189

Kariska, William “Baraboo Bill,” 214

Kelley, John M., 39, 125, 164

Circus World Museum and, 212, 216

Kelley, Mr. (murder victim), 58

Kernan, Jack, 15

Kimball, E. M., 13, 15, 16

Kissell, Frank, 26

Knob, Louis, 130

L

La Belle Roche and “thriller” automobile act, 146, 147

labor and unions, 96, 155

work day for average person, 12

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 242n47

Lake Mendota, 137

Laramie, Wyoming, 3839

LaRosa, George W., 26

lawsuits, 125, 129, 164, 180

Leitzel, Lillian, 191192, 192

leopards, 128

Liberati, Alessandra, 69, 71

Life Story of the Ringling Brothers (Alf T. Ringling), 5, 23, 88

lighting, 72, 188

Lillie, Gordon “Pawnee Bill,” 156

lions, 46

Little Rock, Arkansas, 128

“Looping the Gap” bicycle act, 115

Lowe, Walter, 115

M

Mabie, Edmund and Jeremiah, xv

Madison, Wisconsin, 103

Madison, South Dakota, 57

mail service, 8586

Manchester, New Hampshire, 133

Manson, Wisconsin, 47

maps

Baraboo, vi

bird’s eye view of Ringling, 28

Delavan, xvi

winter quarters at Baraboo, 186

Martinettes (performers), 188

Maryville, Missouri, 122

Masonic Lodge, 154

Mazomanie, Wisconsin, 12

McCracken, Sam, 181

McGregor, Iowa, 35, 8, 8, 14

Ringling residence, 4

McKinley, William, 88, 9697, 102

mechanical stake-drivers, 124, 124125

memorial service for McKinley, 9697

menageries, 31, 60, 98, 149150

1885–1889, 40

1890, 44, 46

1891 acquisitions, 49

1892 acquisitions, 55

1893 acquisitions, 60, 60

1895 show, 70

1900 acquisitions, 8889

1907 acquisitions, 141

animal shortages during WWI, 190191

as attractions, xxii, 166

claimed in lawsuit, 180

disease outbreaks and, 191

employees for, 72

first collection of animals, 27

food for, 132, 149150, 182, 235n6

value of, 150

see also specific animals

menus, 63, 94

midgets, 156

Miller, Charles, 72

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 63, 102, 174

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 62

Moeller family, 9, 96

Monson, Ohio, 48

Moreau, Raymond “Sabu,” 202, 206

motion pictures, 45

Muncie, Indiana, 95

murders, 35, 58

music

Alf T. and Otto as musicians, 9, 11

band concerts as attraction, xxii, 69, 71

bands, 118

Circus band (1891), 54

employees in music department, 72

mounted parade bands, 119

in Ringlings’ show, 118119

N

Neuman, Jan and Duane, 166

Newark, Ohio, 127

New Orleans, Louisiana, 82

New York City, 67, 148, 157, 179, 180

noncompete agreements, 66, 116117, 126

North, Henry Ringling, 208

North, Ida Ringling, 214

North, John Ringling, 214

O

O’Donnell, Robert, 59

Ogden, Utah, 111

Oneonta, New York, 123

Otis, Clara Curtis, 6

P

panthers, 93

parades, 57, 7879, 101, 111112, 142144, 238n31

in 1865, 40

in 1912, 179

in Algona, Iowa, 143

at Circus World Museum, 212, 213

in Detroit, 143

with hall show, 14

in Madison, 103

mounted parade bands, 119

nighttime parades, 73

in Oneonta, New York, 123

“playing circus” during childhood, 7

reviews of, 165, 166

in Rockford, Illinois, 83

on Sunday, 91

Parson, Alfred E. “Butch,” 31, 40, 72, 120, 158159

with brothers and concession tent, 31

Parson, Frank, 127

Parson, Joe, 35, 158

Parson and Roy’s Great Palace Show, 10, 158

Parson brothers concessions, 31, 158

Parsons Great Grecian Circus, 15

Paschen, Al, 154

Peckham, Ralph, 169

Peoria, Illinois, 74

Peri, Professor, 128

Pfening, Fred, III, 125

philosophy of the Ringlings, ix, 21, 41, 87, 101, 148

polar bears, 55

politics

financial climate and, 150151

income taxes, 173176, 185

women’s suffrage movement, 175

Port Huron, Michigan, 11112

post office, 85

poverty as influence, 5

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 67, 14

press agents, 135

prison as venue for show, 80, 82

profits

1891–1897 summary of, 77

1891 annual profits, 51

1892 annual profits, 58

1894 annual profits, 64

1895 annual profits, 73

1903 annual profits, 112

1906 annual profits, 137

1909 annual profits, 157, 159

1912 annual profits, 181

1915 annual profits, 193

1916 annual profits, 195196

for 1917 show, 197198

1918 annual profits, 200

concession sales, 158159

daily receipts, 64, 71, 73, 76, 79, 126, 171, 193, 199200

hall shows, 14, 15

profit margins for circuses, 54

program for 1903 show, 218220

properties department, 72

psychology of the circus, x

Puff Club, 81

Putnam, G. P., 26

R

Racine, Wisconsin, xv, 9

Rae, Jeanne, 197

Rafferty, James, 72, 73

rail circuses, xviii, 40, 4142, 44, 45, 59

buildings for, 6061

train wrecks, 59, 102, 128

railroads

John Ringling and, 24, 208209

as transportation for circus, xviii, 40, 4142, 59

wartime regulation of, 202, 206

Rapp, George, 185

recreation, for employees, 4748, 111

Reese, Wilson W., 72, 73

reputation, ix, 41, 47, 5758, 84, 112113, 116, 146148, 156, 176177

of menagerie, 149

reviews, 11, 2021

of 1885–1889 shows, 4041

of 1888 show, 3536

of 1892 show, 57

of 1895 show, 7374

of 1896 show, 75

of 1900 show, 91

of 1906 show, 127

of 1915 show, 193

of “Caeser’s Triumphal Entry in Rome,” 51

Carnival of Fun, 25

Chicago indoor show, 7071

of early circus, 27

Enormous Rail Shows (1890), 47

of “Jerusalem and the Crusades,” 107, 114115

of “Joan of Arc” show, 179180

of menagerie, 149

of “United Monster Shows,” 29

Reynolds, Richard J., III, 113, 171, 190191, 202, 206, 209210, 214

rhinoceroses, 149, 149150

Rice Lake, Wisconsin, 17, 27

Richardson, James, 35

Richardson, Vic, 26

Richland Center, Wisconsin, 91

Ringling, Albert “Al,” 2, 5, 67, 26, 90, 111, 194, 221

as animal trainer, 36

Baraboo residence, 140, 140

death of, 193

hall show and, 13, 1516

as head of performers, 72

marriage to Eliza “Lou” Morris, 17, 18

as performer, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 158

role in circus business, 23, 117, 184, 194

theatre in Baraboo, 174, 185, 203205

Ringling, Alfred Theodore “Alf T.”, 3, 5, 23, 23, 26, 88, 209, 221

on attendance, 64

death of, 207

Greenfield Township farm, 80

hall shows and, 13, 1516

harness-making business and, 9

on lots available for shows, 82

as musician, 9, 11

as press agent, 135

on prison show, 80, 82

role in circus business, 23, 72

on winter season preparations, 92

Ringling, Annie, 142, 169

Ringling, Aubrey, 210, 211

Ringling, August Albert “Gus,” 6, 12, 17, 24, 142, 221

advertising and, 24, 40, 45, 57, 72, 130

Ringling, August Frederich, 14, 2, 5, 67, 1617, 42, 221

death of, 77

Ringling, Carl Edward “Charles,” 3, 23, 23, 2324, 26, 78, 154, 182, 221

death of, 209210

hall show and, 13, 1516

harness-making business and, 9

on income taxes, 176

letter planning 1914 season, 187188

as musician, 11, 24, 210

role in circus business, 2324, 107, 108, 179, 193, 207

on shortages during WWI, 198

shows written by, 199

Ringling, Della, 95

Ringling, Edith, 209210, 211

Ringling, Eliza “Lou” Morris, 17, 18, 81, 95, 111, 204

Ringling, Henry William George, 3, 12, 24, 27, 170, 221

Baraboo theatre and, 204

death of, 200

as partner in circus, 167168

role in circus business, 24, 72, 78

Ringling, Ida Belle, 200

Ringling, Ida Lorina Wilhemina, 89, 42, 81, 95, 221

Ringling, John Nicholas, 3, 15, 26, 210, 221

control of circus by, 210211

death of, 214

hall show, 1516

as performer, 10, 2627

on psychology of the circus, x

railroads constructed by, 24

role in circus business, 24, 24, 142, 177, 181, 207

Ringling, Martha “Mattie,” 142, 169, 170

Ringling, Otto, 221

Ringling, Richard, 95

Ringling, Salome Marie Julia, 12, 2, 95, 137, 221

Ringling, William Henry “Otto,” 3, 23, 23, 26, 167

correspondence with “Butch” Parson, 159

death of, 167170

financial role of, 23, 3334, 72, 138139, 161, 164

as hall show agent, 15

hall show and, 12, 1516

harness-making business and, 9

managerial responsibilities, 141142

as musician, 9, 11

on politics and the economy, 150151

role in circus business, 72, 88, 117, 120

Ringling Brothers Carnival of Fun, 22

“Ringling Day” in Baraboo, 57

Ringling Hotel, 5556, 196

“Ringlingville,” 92, 215

buildings and properties sold, 215216

construction and expansion at, 36, 6061, 8384, 97, 115, 159160, 166, 174, 193

as portable city, 183

post office, 85

on the road, 8586

shops and construction in, 55

term first used, 42

winter employees, 73

River Falls, 99

Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center, 216

Robinson, Fayette Lodawick “Yankee,” 15, 18, 18, 19, 20, 22, 229n22

Robinson, John G., 78

Rock Springs, Wyoming, 76

Rodems, A. M., 154

Roeders (performers), 188

Rooney, Elizabeth, 179

Rooney, Mike, 52, 69

Roosevelt, Theodore, 97

Rowan, George, 15, 16

Roy, Charles W., 72

“rubes,” 21

Rungeling, August Frederich. See Ringling, August Frederich

S

“sacred ox,” 121

safety laws, 180

St. Louis, Missouri, 71, 73, 78, 79

Sam MacFlinn’s Great Eastern Circus, 55

Samuel Nichols circus, xvxvi

sandstorms, 99100

Sandwina, Katie, 49

San Francisco, California, 96, 105

Sarasota, Florida

Charles Ringling’s residence in, 182

Ringling residences in, 208209

as winter quarters, 210211

Sauk City, Wisconsin, 12, 20, 3536

Scarff, Sally Veit, 6

scheduling

demands of schedule, 20

of hall shows, 14

rail travel and, 44

Scofield, Edward and Agnes, 38

Sedalia, Missouri, 98

Sells Brothers Shows, 64

Sells-Floto Circus, 163, 164

Sensation Circus, 5

Sherman, Texas, 128

sideshows, 72

Smith, Charles, 100

Smith, Frank, 102

Smith, Thomas, 156

snakes, 17, 73, 93, 194

Snellen, John “Happy Jack,” 72, 73, 169, 182

Souder, Pearl, 38, 72, 73, 102103, 109, 111, 129

Spanish-American War, 77, 79

Spanish Flu, 199200

Sparks, Frank, 26

Speedy, human high diver, 6970

Spencer, Alexander “Delavan,” 171, 172

Springfield, Illinois, 107

stake-drivers, 124, 124125

Stanwood, Barry, 15

Sterling, Illinois, 180

Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 102

Stillwater, Minnesota, 9

Stoughton, Wisconsin, 29

strongmen, 135

success, measures of, 25, 58

suffrage movement, 175

Sullivan, John L., 156

T

Taft, William H., 151

Tama, Iowa, 47

tapirs, 55, 232n36

Tattersall’s building, Chicago, 6771, 73, 84

taxes, x

exemptions considered, 185

relocation to Connecticut and, 202

state income tax, 173176, 185

war tax, 199

Taylor, F., 15, 16

Taylor, Robert, 72

technology

as attraction, 5657

inventions, 45

mechanical stake-driver, 124, 124125

tents

blow downs, 48, 9899, 122, 127

canvasmen, xix, xxxxi, 72

collapse of, 20, 48, 74

dining tent, 95

dressing room and trapping room tents, 182

erection of, xix, xxxxi

fires, 180

handbills advertising largest tent, 75

interior, xxii

lowering of, xxii

mechanical stake-driver, 124, 124125

motion pictures in “black tent,” 76

sidewalls, 98

size of, 29, 31, 48

stake pounding, xx

use of, xv

Texas, 103, 104

Thayer, Stuart, 5, 54

theatre, see Al Ringling Theatre

Thomas, Richard, 205206

Thuerer, G. T., 176, 204

ticket department, 72

Topeka, Kansas, 9596

train wrecks, 59, 102, 128

transportation

circus as model of efficiency, 188

employees in transportation department, 72

pre–Civil War circuses, 5

railroads as, xviii, 40, 4142, 59

Ringlingville as portable city, 183

see also wagons

Trinkouse, William, 13

Turnour, Jules, 85, 86, 8687, 128

U

“United Monster Shows,” 29

handbill for, 29

V

Van Amburgh, 40

Viet, Charles L., Sr., 6

violence, 35, 48, 111

W

W. B. Reynolds Circus, 74

wages, for employees, 51, 54, 64, 128, 155, 187, 197

wagons, 120

bell wagon, 56, 56

“cottage” wagons, 83

parade wagons, 104, 106, 106

pipe organ wagon, 118, 119

teamsters, 73

train transport of, xviii

as transportation, 40

wagon shows, 21

Wahpeton, North Dakota, 99

walruses, 8889, 235236

Walters, C. E., 99

wardrobe department, 72

Washington, D. C., 91, 94

water buffalos (bovalapsus), 44, 46

Watertown, Wisconsin, 102

Waupaca, Wisconsin, 58, 174

weather, 98100, 107

blow downs, 9899, 122, 127

lighting strikes, 99

rains and mud, 21, 33, 57, 8283, 103, 127128

sandstorms, 99100

Weatherby, E. S., 13

weddings, 102

Weldon, William F., 54, 72

westward expansion, 45

Whitewater, Wisconsin, 48, 174

Wilson, Woodrow, 196197, 202

winter quarters, 92, 93

Bridgeport, Connecticut, xvi, 104, 181, 200202

communities offering facilities as, 175

Delavan as, xvxvi

map, 186

Sarasota, Florida, 210211

see also Baraboo, Wisconsin

winter season activities, 9293

Wisconsin as home to early circuses, xvxvii

women

ballet dancers, 128, 199

employees of the circus, 43, 128

suffrage movement, 175

wages for, 128

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 185, 242n47

World’s Columbian Exposition, 61, 61

“World’s Greatest Shows,” 50

World War I, 190191, 196198

Y

Yankee Robinson and Ringling Bros. Great Double Shows, 1822

Yankee Robinson’s Double Show, 15

Young, M. A., 13, 14, 15

Youngstown, Ohio, 111

Z

zebras, 93, 111, 170171

Ziegfield Follies, 161, 163, 163

Zingaro, Thomas, 184