COLE'S CIRCUS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 20 December 1880, Page 2

COLE'S CIRCUS.

The advent of this circus caused quite a commotion in town, a large number of people congregating near the railway reserve, where the circus is located, while hundreds followed the caravan with the band, and drawn by two white horses and six dromedaries through the principal streets. Some idea of the extent of this circus may be gleaned from the fact that its transport from Timaru required 50 trucks and three carriages. The greater bulk of the immense concern was brought on by a special train, leaving Timaru at 11 o'clock last night, and arriving here about four o'clock this morning. Within a short time after arrival the two immense tents were erected and everything in readiness for the afternoon performance. Large numbers of country people came into Oamaru to attend this performance, and many Oamaruvians also availed themselves of the opportunity thus afforded for taking the children, the result being that there was a very large audience. The majority of people, however, postponed visiting the show until this evening, when there will, no doubt, be an immense gathering of spectators of '' the world's greatest wonders," more especially as arrangements have beeu made by the railway authorities for bringing in country residents and taking them home again when the performance is over. We have not time to speak in detail of this afternoon's performance, and will therefore content ourselves with referring only to the more instructive portion of the concern—the menagerie. This contains a large number of animals of many kinds. Taking the monarch of the forest, we found no less than six lions and lionesses, three of them performers in the ring with Mr. Conklin, who has charge of the menagerie, and is a daring performer with the monsters. The two-horned rhinoceros is only one of many animals at once strange and interesting to the majority of visitors, for looking round we found an American silver, a brace of tigers (a Bengal and a Brazilian), an Albino deer, a pair of sealions, a wild yak from Tartary (the animal that provides the yak laoe, &c., for the ladies' use), an East Indian antelope, a hippopotamus hog from Africa, a oouple of leopards of different kinds, a pair of young hyenas, a. zebra, and a number of elephants and dromedaries, Besides these denizens of the wilds of the several continents, there is a cage of serpents, and two cages of small animals. The first of these, designated the happy family, comprises monkeys, coons, a badger, and an ant-eater, while the second, made known to visitors as the quarrelsome family, consists of Chinese dogs and ring-tailed monkeys, including a couple of baby-monkeys. There is also a large monkey that goes through a number of wonderful performances. These animals make up a highly instructive menagerie, well calculated to impart to the young a greater knowledge of natural history than'they could obtain from hundreds of pages of books upon the subject, and it should prove more than ordinarily interesting to those who have not visited the Zoological Gardens or other kindred collections of wild animals. As we have already said, we have not time to give a detailed account of the performance in the arena, but we may remark that it inoluded many novelties and most of the best items usually found in periormanoea of the kind. Attached to the circus is a side-show, accommodated with a separate marquee looated on the vacant space at the corner of Tyne and Wansbeck streets. Herein is given one of the best shillings' worth ever obtained here. A couple of dwarfs go through a variety of performances ; a living skeleton and a troupe of American Indians are shown, together with one of Edison's talking machines ; an educated organ that answers all manner of questions ; and a variety of other novelties well worth witnessing.