Fitzgerald Bros' Circus and Menagerie.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4881, 20 November 1894, Page 3

Fitzgerald Bros' Circus and Menagerie.

The following intcrcstini! account of Fitzgerald Bros' big Circus ami Mentigorie, which opws in Mosterton on Saturday evening, is from au Australian coulempor' ary:—

Find &m Is a capital band, under thi iblotliiMlionof Hcrrvon detMjhdcn, and the Importance ot this it isunnecessoiy to comment upon, 03 nothing is more conducive to Hint placidity of mind whioh is essential to the onjoyraent of any good thing than Hist, class music In this connection n stor. It lold how, ehortly alter tho Fits! Golds' circus first opened, away back in a little Quccnsliind town, the orchestra consistc-.l ol ono violinist-Tom I'itz Gerold-who became so interested in the performance that hi forgot his duty, and dropped his violin t< gazo upon his brother (Dan) putting tho 11011 celebrated pony Commodore through hit clover net. Mr. Dan Fibs Gerald, of course, is tho leading figure in tho combination, and breaks ami trains all the horses. Tho leadci of these h the oforosold Commodore, a hand tome piebald pony stallion, wboso sagwitj is remarkable. He can walk on his hind legs, and play see-saw with another ponyloin—and he even ploys leap frog with t!w down, while, by means ol a shako of the head, he will answer questions put to him, Tom, a pony gelding, 12 hands high, conitia next to Commodore, and, besides hoiog n capital trick peny, is romarknblo for hi jumping powers, currying 10 stone Ribs, in the person ot Mr. F. M. Jones, over hurdles with tho greatest ense. Tom also gallops round on tho top ot the riiiß enclosure, which Is about 18 inches wide, awl, while doing so, be jumps over bars and through hoops, with as much ease as j( ho wero on an ordinary road, The sis white bronchos come nc.<L Tllnv mmi.ni- in »in rin.r vi11i,,,,!

bridle or bit, form in line at the word of command, waltz to order, and leave tbeir plnces iviien their names arc called out, and they arc required to go through any specialty of their own. Ucsides these there are the Itonhanit fillies, "Wilga" and "Swing," imt the jumping horses" lien" and" Curio," Bpncc will not permit otfurthcrdctailsbeing given as to the horses, but it is sufficient to say that they alouo nro worth going a long way to sec. t

ill a previous issue we referred to Captain W. E, Itaphrcys, whoso ncta of courage . with the three pen'orming lions nro sllli fresh in the memory ot Sydney sightseers. The captain's pluck has been recognised by Mr. W. Liirmonr, of tho Coohco Aquarium, frho on August (ith prcsenteil him with a'handionic koH mcilnt; on Wednesday, August 9th, the Messrs. I'it;: Gcroltl publicly gate 'aim n gold medal, and on August 20th Ml, 11. Anderson presented him with another, In wognitiio of his services. Miss Maj*ie Commrs anil Miss Nellie Ijjndhurst are tho leading eqiuvstricnuea, *nd both ladic?. besides being comely to look ■pon, are bare-hack riders in the front rant of their profession. Miss Oonnars goes through what is styled an Olympian net with llr. W. E. Jones, one ot the oldest eiroii! identities in the colonic;;, and Miss Nellie Lyndhurst distinguishes herself by standing on tho bare back ot one horse while she drive« llireo ethers at full gallop round the ring. The two ladies alio lake part with other members of the company in an tiitm act, Id which <i quadrille on horseback, and other mancenvres arc gono through in a manner which would compnrj favorably with a cavalry regiment. Mr. I'. M. Jones is a man of wan» parts. To begin with, he is a first-class iIJ-round athlete, besides being a daring barebp.;.k rider.ffllt is he whoper/ormj the feat of turning a somersault ov«r P <jrsu», sner winch ut does likcuiso over s(i mm. with (juris and bayonets used. Mr, [ones is also a clever comedian, and is first slown, besides which his "Mike McGulness" in the steeple chase isono of thebest interpretations of the Irishman, with brogue complete, which It has been onr lot to witness,

Then llicro is the llidgway family. Geo. Ridgwny, the father of tho family, wan originally the Wing member of the "famous [.cnton troupe of gymnastsand acrobats, who performed in Sydney Do years ago. Ho relnins all his old anility, and at the present lime iicrfon.;s on tho flying trapczo feats clever enough to wise s, feeling of envy in many a younger man. His daughter, Nellie, besides being a dancer and trnprzisl, gives an attractive exhibition ol the I'iiLuicing on the high wire, while a younger sou, nine years of age, is also an equilibrist, his performance on tho running globe being very clever. An older brother and a younger sister also take parts in the ilmw, Charles llogan, and tho boys Georgle Collier and Harry Cardello, are nnirjuo. in regard to horsemanship. Tho first named thinks nothing of jumping from the ring, clear on to the bare back of a horse galloping round tho arena, and vice verm ; while both the lads arc acrobats as well as riders. < Captain" Happy Jack" Sulton deserves a special paragraph all to himself. He is-ror, rather, was—a Mexican cowboy,'and, if any doubt were cast upon this statement, the manner In which he can throw a lasso, or snuff a cmidlo with 5 revolver shot at 30 paces, quickly dispels 11; and on acconnt ol those acquirements alwio, tho good tempered captain will always bo respected. A revolver in the hands of a dead shot, not to mention the lasso, is suDicient to ensure respect to that man, whoever he may be. Finally, there is the menagerie. Amonj the interesting exhibits in this department nro two full grown tigers and a tigress. Ons tiger Is a pure Bengal, being a magnificent creature. Tho other is a liurman, and the tigress, who," by the bye, is the most vicious ol all tho animals, is equally beautiful—when looked at through the bars of a cage. The. lioness and her progeny, three lusty minds (two lionesses and n lion) come next, and perhaps no creatures in the whole collection have done more in the way of advertising the 6how than these three, although the process occasioned considerable discomfort to the trainer, Captain Humphreys. The next in order is a cheetah, which is about to be trained to perform in the open ring with two moro lions (which the proprietors hare recently purchased), and with a couple of St. Bernard dogi. When they aro trained the act should prove tallying and exciting enough for any ordinarily constituted person. The silver lion, which has just been imported, Is a novelty, as it ii believed to be the, only one which has yet (ome into this country. Tho collection 0! inimals also includes dingoes, wallabies, Donkeys of all ages and sizes, an English !OX, A'C. :■ In dosing this brief sketch of tho circus, we can only say that it is a credit tt> the land it its birth—Australia; and oil patriotii natives hope that as this great country advances in prosperity and wealth, oni undertaking will progress with it, and tuM indcrlakiig Is the Ma Gerald Biglhtr;' lircui. \ '■