The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 1, 1901, Page 2

RUTALITY was the characterizing feature of the old school of juve- nile training among the showmen The speaker was head of a well performers, of the past.” William Martell, known family of acrobatic hand, either in correction or coercion. “I have accom- that have delighted the public, and never vet have I raised my remarkable l"our-h:gb S i (& s and blows are the necessary lot of aspiring acrcbat, 1 believe by the scientlfic, and certainly more approved into shape, as it were, and that euffings the more method, a higher standard of excellence decline and that there are none to co who were whipped , ficiency almost from infancy. may be attained, although many believe that the profession of acrobat is on the pare with those of the old school—men into wonderful pro- egainst the l‘tle ones whom I have “As for myself, T may that I, (oo, trained to do the most difficult feats. In was hammered into = &. but By ro fact, in spite of the preveiling Continental means as tally ag many that I have notion that juveniles must be hammered known. It may be thati recollectign.of the / / \// OWNS in Oklahoma were nearly all made in one day, but the new town of Lawton was bogp in ap hour. Lawion has set the pace as an up- to-date frontier village. It will be @ifficult for others to follow. Where but a few weeks ago stood a bar- ren waste of buffalo grass, sloping toward a small stream, to-day 10,000 souls have made their resting place. Perhaps they may make it their home. On the border circumstences govern how long a man shall stay in one town. While Lawton has been in reality three weekigaccumulating its present population, which distinguishes it as the metropolis of the new Kiowa and mapche country, it was but an hour in starting. On July 26 the nmews was sent from ‘Washington that a tract of land adjoin- ing Fort Sill had been chosen for 2 land office, where regisration papers could be made out. On the townsite, which com- prises a ha]f section of Jand, 5t0od noth- ing but a tall building—an Indian agency. This was the gathering place for Indians ef the Kiowa, Comanche and Wichita tribes, when the redskins felt that the Government was in debt to them. The towmsite was named in Washington after General Lawton of Philippine fame. On July 29 the registration closed at El Reno and Lawton. It was then and not until then that white people were legally Hslen DVeals, ) Dienner of Szeond Cho *Okiate LZottery LY J‘fi\rt: me Land allo to enter the reservation. Prior to that time soldiers had camped ' on the townsite of Lawton and kept the squatter outside. But every one of the 167,000 people who registered had a right, after July 2, to tramp and settle, tempordrily at least, any place on the refervation. Whereas they had been forced to walk inte the land office, have their papers filled out for the land drawing, then march off the res- ervation again, now they could squat at any place on the townsite they chose. So on July 20 the birth of Lawton was announced to the world. Five thousand people had squatted-on town lots in less than an hour; in three hours 7000 souls . comprised the population.' ‘And every day since then prairie scheomers filled with their human freight had trekked across -the piains en route to Lawton, the border city, risen as if by magic. Just why the boomers should choose Lawton for theif resting place no one could tell. It isilocated high-and dry, so miich 50 that water'has proved scarce. A government well wae dug 100 feet, but no water was found. The thirsty boomers drank the Cache River dry, then a well was dug twelve feet deep in the lowlands, and g continvous stream of cool water has been found. Perhaps the reason that Lawto: border metropolis is the fact llu!nb\l:.t : SUNDAY CALL. N TRV IIllfill|lIllll|||||lll||\!l|ll||| rohnn_g the Little Girl barbaric methods has made me more leni- ent, and at least more enlightened in the training of juveniles to-da; “At 5 years of age 1 was a German turner, at the age of 10 T was so proficient on the bars and trapeze that a showman immediately offered to train me for the profession. It was against my pareuts’ wishes, but the glamour of the showman' life, ever aliuring to the juvenile, mind, encouraged me to win my'xparems' con- sent, and 1 was taken in {hand by my tralner for better or for whrse: W “1t was some years before I became ac- complished enough to -make. a pablic WS move,” and bitter years they were. But with my first public performance I took on a new lease of life, as it were, and felt myself on the high road to wealth and fame. “When I married and little ones came into my care, it was my one thought to make them accomphshed acrobats, and to do this by a method radically opposite to those conceived by showmen to be the sovereign method—infinite patience wpainstaking. ildren are marvelously susceptible. The first thing necessary is to makelthem Jintergated in thelr work. This is done by showing them the rewards of success and by ingpiring absolute confidence. The con- onl L T P o DA G jence ol a chila .. a wonderful -thing, and_ well worth cullivating. By the old method, when a child made a slip hie got a blow with a stick as well as a hard fall. This cither took the cour age out of him or drove him to despera- tion so that he made daring leaps and plunges through sheer reckiessness. By the new method, to avoid accident is th main feature. In all my training ofjuve s I cannot recall a single accident o! any seriousness, for the reason thal [ atch every move and take every pre- caution, thinking of many things at once. When a child jearns to stand erect on my shoulders as I go wh!rllnf around in.a circie on the high wheel, if'I see that re is going to be a fall, I let every- ng go In order to save the child. The little acrobat soon learns that this guard- fan eye is ever upon him, and he gains confidence with every effort. “There are many devices for the saving of limh and life, of course. These are used in training, even when there is a reasonabie belief that proficiency might be attained without their use. “One of these is called a ‘mechanic.’ It is a sort of body haruness which leaves the arms and legs free, and from which a rope ex- tends to a pulley on the ceiling; thence along some distance to another pulley and down into the hands of a strong manipu- lator. “When the child 1is standing on another's shoulder and whiriing around in the ‘three’ or ‘four high,’ as we term the acrobat upon acrobat trick, if he wavers or falls, the man at the rope has but to pull the rope, suspending him in midair or_letting him down to the floor goftly. The ‘mechanic’ is then a very valuable aid to juvenile training, and aids in inspiring complete confidence in the young mind. ““‘Another safeguard In training is. to have cfficient assistants ever at hand. Some of the tricks that are accomplished —for instance, the aforementioned ‘four bigh'—are exceedingly difficuit and dangerous. “A fall would mean serfous things—the breaking of Hmbs.iand perhaps somethin aven more sdrious; an utter loss of cor- fidence on the part of the child performer. Hobls "flll few Wiles away lie the Wichita Moun- tains. These hills are said to centain gold. The citizens who would have things run on the “wide-open” plan are many, but there are also others who wish for “civ- ilization.” - It is these two factions that have already created a bitter feud, il to cause no end of trouble.The “Wide- cpen” faction is supported by the noted Bat Carr, who wishes to open everything by a gun-shooting solree. TLawton had men among the first who understood city government. They knew: it was necessary to have streets. Ac- cordingly’ the tents were pitched in rows, a space one hundred fect wide being left between them for streets. The two main thoroughfares were named McCoy street and Goo-Goo av- enue. The latier became the Midway, the scene of gay revelry at night and Tkaly... quick trading in daylight. Dance halls, gambling tents and real estate and law offices comprise the {urinelpal places | of attraction in any frontier town, and Law- ton had it share of them. There was no cessation to the noise in Lawton. e crack of the six-shooter was jhst as-frequent at noon as at midnight. Abput the only" peaceful time was about d: ‘;1!- break, whem all the cowbovs and toughs were dead drunk. Then one could stand on a corner in Lawton and see hundreds 4f ‘men piled in the dust and dirt, Some slept there begause beds elsewhere could not be had; others did it because their reason had fled when liquor ‘entered. | August 6 was the day of the town lot siles. In a small bufiding the commis- sioner appointed by Secretary Hitchcock offered Jots for sale. In front of the doors great crowds surged. Men grew hysteri- cal because they cquld not get inside the rcom and buy ever¥ lot in town. Some of the choice corner business lots sold for as much as $3000. Others brought After .the little fellow has . learned . to olen in/Ou Y Lawton, Oklabama ) prang Vi l : (@ less. J. R. Hampton was in charge of the sale. He required every man to pay cash. On the first day of the sale something like a hundred thousand dollars changed hands on real estate. A man had no soon- er bought his lot than he was, of course, trying to sell it for a profit. The center of town was said to be Mc- Coy street and Goo-Goo avenue, but town lot speculators changed it half a_dozen times the first day of the sales. Things became so uncertain that no frame houses have been started, and as the climate re- mans warm in this section for some months to come few houses will be con- structed. Or_the first day that Lawton was offi- cinlhy organized—August 6—a bank man- aged by Dennis Flynn, Territorial Dele- gate to Congress; a daily newspaper run by W. E. Kimber, and a District Court, presided over by Judge McAtee, were among the enterprises of Lawton. The bank and newspaper offices were . moved in an wheal&, The court was held PR RN €/ /8 AA - % T balance himself aloft without calling toe much upon the man at the rope, ‘mechanic’ is di¢vensed with. and two trained helpers forlow the act round the tage with hands ready to seize the wav- ering figure with the first sign of a fall. These are never once call until the child has mastered thoroughly and confidently the difficult art of balanc- ing aloft. Jiven in moments of completest self-reliance there i anger of a lapse and only days, weeks and months of training upon A single ditficult act can insure that proficiency which justifies a rerformance. h the first public exhibition all dis- couragements and illusion that the labor did not pay and that the-acrobatic art ie not worth the cost is at once dispelled. The music. the lights, the glow of a thousand faces and the deafening ape plause with which the finest feais are greeted—all these All the infant mind with a new inspiration, He begins to see that after many months of hard work amid many dangers he has atcomplished some- thing which the marvel not only of those of his own age, but of his elders. ““He becomes enthused, and a natural emulation inspires him to even better work. He begins to regard training as a pastime rather than a season of penance, and when the following pay day he opens a little bank account all hig own, starting on the highway to independence if not, indeed, wealth, he is thankful to those ‘who havé spent such efforts in his behalf, and shows it by going back into training with delighted zeal. Indeed, in- stead of driving them to work, as a father drives s son into the pqtato patch with his hoe in hand, I am constantly repress- ing my little performers, watchful of the first signs of fatigue and overexertion. Often, while traveling through the coun- try, when. an opportunity oceurs for a holiday, I say, ‘Which shall we do—try that new feat again, or go on the excur- sion?’ The answer is always the same— ‘The new feat! Then, if we have time, the excursion.” It is needless to say that I encourage every legitimaté recreation, but upon the children’s ownjchoice it is always the mew feat first. “And while the body is thus trained you may be sure that other accomplish- ments and graces of mind are not neg- lected. ery morning there is an hour oF two of hard study over school books, and I find that the perfect physical con- dition of the child makes for wonderful of the menta vicissitudes of at rcus lite, know the t th son of the year, performers are well known to keep them- selves in the prime of condition, eschew= ing the commonest di taining a high standard of conduct. “This is absolutely compulsory. Of course many pleasures common to the ordinary man are missed. - But when one meets 2 retired acrobat—as was my pleas- ure a few days ago—a man who in his eighty-fifth year could lift a bullock or climb a rope hand over hand, clean to the peak of the main fent—one sees the re- ward of a life of absolute temperance in all things, of outdoor labor and constant strife to excel. This veteran of the circus ring, I must say. was the best preserved specimen of humanity it was ever my de- light to meet, sound as steel ‘with the physique of a man of forty still, and jo- vial as a freshman.” ipations and main- —— in a tent. Thirty-one grocery stores blos- somed forth on the first eighteen restaurants had already been in full swing and sixty-nine gambling densswere count- ed long before the town was officially or- sanized. 3 The new City Marshal, Bat Carr, stood talking with me a few days before the sale of town lots. He twirled his six- shooter affectionately. He was master of the situation, so he told me. He proposed to run things wide open, and yet he would quell the bad men. “Tll put some of the cowpunchers to sleep,” he said with a gusto. T will make them bite the dust, you bet.” Now, Bat reckoned unwisely. He pro- sed to collect and retain all the revenue f?fim the gambling-houses. Judge Mec- Atee differed with him. A scene in Police Court followed on August 6. ““Mr. Carr, you will please turn over the fines collected,” said the Judge. “T refuse to do so until I have been paid my salary,” replied Mr. Ce:r. who took Puilor *M ?utd}m six-shooter and wiped the barrel ondly. “You are discharged, then. What Carr said would not leok well swore vengeance. Lawton, & - The citizens were up & tr speaking. Then they called on.‘hm was tendered the place. 3 - Tas Beals’ answer. with_a six-shooter. Her first act was i nerves, print. But he took his disecl town, was without police protection. tie Beals, the Wichita girl who duu prize claim adjoining the townsite. “¥or the good of the town this, but only temporarily, She is an athletic maiden of 23, a plonese in free land openings and fln."hnndy persen run Bat Carr out of town. Then she Fye- signed. The strain was too great for hes Now a tall Texan presides over the des- tinies of Law’ He has effected a come n. prom! tead of allowing the ling-houses alone full sway, he gave sa= loons licenses. Then for the first time Lawton quenched her thirst over bottles at 50 cents apiece. Prior to ti only bad whisky and ‘“tin top’” were smuggled in through back ways and sold under cover. After the saloons came to be a factor im Lawton all the scenes of a real minii camp were found here. I was astonishy to see a man with a silk tile step on to & dance platform and go swirling across th 1 floor with a woman. Had thai been in Dodgé City he would have sufiered _for his impudence, but silk hats have come to the border, It seems, to Stay. Young men hirt waists were there, too, and they were not so much as “in- lted.” Arm in arm with fellows wear- ing high-heeied boots they went. The smell of the ranch was blended with the scent of the drygoods store. It was @& ood natured crowd, all jolly mixers and ard drinkers. Some of the sure thing gamblers at Lawton have games so rank that even the Indians, whose gambiing proelivities are notorious, stand around them and say, “Heap pale face fools. But the new: comers seem to be anxious for a game they have never seen bLefore, and never were gamblers in richer clover. Towns along the line of the Rock Island Rallroad adjoining the new country are pressed to furnish conveyances to carry things to Lawton, Hobart and Anadarko. Groceries take first and lumber last. Men in new towns must eat and drink, but they would just as soon live under blue skis Notwithstanding all the wildness and seeming untamability of Lawton the min- isters and evangelists have appeared. Three pioneer ministers of hings, O. T., have opened a “gospel tent” alongside the gambling ‘dives on Goo-Goo avenue, and the strains of the hymns sometim: sound even louder than the drunken yell~ ing ana cursing of the rounders. Early in the game society took hold on Lawton. There is already a “Four Hum- dred.” a middle class and a lower elemant, Miss Beals is the acknowledged leader of the “Four Hundred.” Wives of trades- men and Government officers are her fol- jowing. The saloon and gambling crowd are second in rank, while the hard work- ers are the substratum. According to the local newspapers Law- ton is planning already to have a number of “real swell balls,” ice cream soclals and church suppers. The saloon crowd has advertised a cock fight, a wrestlin match and what not. About all the lows element can do is fo take a few drh and start a shooting scrape, which they are doing regularly and quits well. x choice, beer second -