The Neighborhood Kids’ Backyard Circus

All day last Tuesday, the air about South Second street was full of little boys and horse hair. Every kid within a mile and a quarter of Smith Henderson’s residence was on hand to take hold of the great work before them. The parade was headed by a bareback rider on a black Arabian stallion. Next came Queen Ann on a mule, dressed up in an oriental costume, consisting of a few yards of yellow mosquito bar and a straw hat. Then came another bareback rider, also on a mule, with a blind bridle and his tail trimmed down to the size of a paint brush. Next came a chariot, drawn by an educated dog, the clown driving. On the way the dog came very near getting into a fight with a dog on Alder street, but some bystanders interfered and the procession moved on. After this came the menagerie, consisting of two young pigeons, an educated rooster and Widow Masterson’s tom cat, followed by a Swiss bell ringer leading a little Jersey cow. The procession got as far as Alder street, where some one told the ring master that if they went up Main street they would all be arrested. They returned to the circus grounds, where Mr. Park Winans and Mr. Smith Henderson had pitched an extra tent. The circus was in full blast until one of the mules took a notion to roll and landed in Charlie Chabot’s irrigating ditch. This accident threw cold water on the entire evening’s entertainment, and during the excitement, some dastardly tramp came along and stole the gate money.