The
Cortland News, Friday,
May 21, 1886.
TRAIN ACCIDENT.
Forepaugh’s Circus Train Broke in Two—One Man
Dead.
After leaving Binghamton
and when near Chenango Forks last Saturday morning, in route to Cortland, the
train conveying Forepaugh's Circus broke in two severely injuring several persons,
and badly damaging some of the wagons belonging to the circus.
The
wrecked train was composed of an engine and about thirty large flat cars and on
account of the heavy grade another engine had been detailed to help push the train
up the heavy grade near Chenango Forks. After the "pusher" had been
detached from the train a link broke, causing one of the cars to jump breaking
down in the center and immediately several cars were piled up in an inextricable
mass. Several of the canvass men were sleeping under the wagons on these cars
and all were more or less injured, William Shaw, of Southbridge, Mass., and
"Jack" Williams having many bones broken. The injured were taken to
the Stowe House, at Binghamton, and attended to by physicians.
Shaw
died shortly after twelve o'clock Monday morning and his remains were sent to
his home in Massachusetts. The others are in a fair way to recovery.
As a
consequence of the accident the circus train did not reach this place until after
ten o'clock Saturday morning and before things could be straightened around it
was too late for a street parade, thus disappointing an immense crowd from the
out towns who had gathered to see the sights. It was after three o'clock before
the large tent was erected and four [o’clock] ere the afternoon performance
begun.
On
account of the short time, the performance was necessarily cut short but what
was given was of the best.
CIRCUS SHARPERS.
Get Away With Another Old
Gentleman’s Money—The Cash Refunded With Interest.
A little game that was played while
Forepaugh's Circus was here last week shows that all circus attaches are not strictly
honest.
An
old gentleman, Stevens by name, was on the grounds Saturday afternoon waiting
for the ticket wagon to open in order to procure one of the pasteboards
necessary to gain admission.
Long
before the ticket wagon was open one of the "scalpers" by the name of
Jordan, commenced selling tickets, but as his price was too high the old
gentleman concluded to wait. He had taken out his pocket book and Jordan saw
that it contained a good sized roll of bills of large denomination. Jordan
wanted to give small bills for the large ones, as he said it was a nuisance to
carry so many small bills around with him. Stevens concluded he would take
small bills for a twenty and the two stepped into a small tent adjoining to
avoid the crowd. Jordan counted out eighteen one dollar bills and took the
twenty.
As
they were handed to him, Mr. Stevens placed the small bills on top of the large
ones and in order to count them over, laid his pocket book down upon a box. In counting
over the money he discovered that only eighteen dollars had been given him and
so informed Jordan. The latter expressed surprise and asked Stevens to let him
count them over.
Accordingly
Mr. Stevens handed the whole roll of bills to him. Jordan counted them over,
and, sure enough, discovered that there were only eighteen. He expressed sorrow
that such a mistake had happened and said he would have to give him silver for
the other two dollars, at the same time putting his hard in his pocket and bringing
out two silver dollars. As he placed the silver on top of the bills he said:
"Look out, old man, some one will be taking your pocket book," upon
which Mr. Stevens stooped to pick up that article, and as he did so Jordan
deftly slipped the large bills, amounting to $85, from under the small ones,
handed the latter to Mr. Stevens and went out and commenced selling tickets.
This
little piece of sleight-of-hand was so neatly done that Mr. Stevens did not
notice it and placed the money in his pocket book. He discovered his loss
Saturday evening and made up his mind where the money had gone to. Accordingly
a warrant was sworn out and Sheriff Van Hoesen and Mr. Stevens went to Syracuse
on Monday and arrested Jordan, who said that he did not take any money, but
would rather settle the matter than come back to Cortland. The Sheriff informed
him that he could settle nothing with him. Jordan was locked up.
Some
of Jordan's friends sought Mr. Stevens and by paying him $105 induced the old
gentleman to believe that he could scarcely identify Jordan as the man who
changed the money for him. Altogether it was one of the neatest and cleanest
little bunco jobs that we have seen, and Mr. Stevens may deem himself lucky
that he recovered his money.
TOWN CORRESPONDENCE.
Preble, May 19, 1886.
There
was a light frost Monday and Tuesday mornings. The climate is very cold in
Preble but the people are very warm-hearted.
The
chances are that those who planted corn so early will have the pleasure of
repeating the exercises.
Many
of our citizens were cheated out of the [circus] show on Saturday last at Cortland.
South Cortland, May 20, 1886.
Rev.
J. L. Robertson, of Cortland, will preach at the White church in this place next
Sunday at 3:30 o'clock p. m.
Very
sudden and shocking came the news to us last Saturday of the death of Andrew
Sheridan from typhoid fever. The funeral on Monday was very largely attended,
which was held at his sister’s in Lafayette, Tompkins county, where he had gone
to work in a cheese factory. The deceased was an honest upright young man and
is sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends in this place. His age was
about 30 years.
Harford, May 18, 1886.
There
was a temperance meeting at the Methodist church Sunday evening, the exercises
of which were quite interesting. An essay by Mrs. W. H. Bradley and one by P.
Nealy were the principal features of the occasion.
Harford is to have a brass band; that is, we have one sprouted and if we
don't have a frost it may live till Fall.
Dr.
Perry, of Whitney's Point has decided to locate in Harford. He has purchased
the medical effects of the late Dr. Knapp, and may be found at Dr. K.'s old
office.
Virgil, May 20, 1886.
Mrs.
S. K. Jones has returned home from Syracuse where she has been under medical
treatment for some time; her health is much improved.
The
lecture by our Rev. Mr. Farley Smoot at South Cortland last Friday evening was
largely attended and is highly spoken of.
TWO BALLOON STORIES.
An Hour’s Ride That Turned
a Man’s Hair White.
In a talk with John Forepaugh I heard several
interesting stories of adventure with hot-air balloons.
"We used to inflate the balloons and send them skyward at every
stopping point of the Forepaugh show," he said, '' and I remember now one
incident in regard to these balloons which occurred in 1874 at Chester, Pa.
There was a large crowd on the grounds and a man we called Big Smith was inside
the bag while it was being inflated. At last the balloon bulged out, nearly full, and
Smith crawled from under. Twenty-five men were holding the balloon, and Smith,
after he got outside the machine, saw a candy butcher named Mitchell standing
near him. Before anyone could count five Smith grabbed Mitchell, threw him into
the basket, and yelled, 'Let go!' The men dropped the ropes, the balloon shot
aloft like a rocket and the ten thousand people strained their eyes as they saw
it grow smaller and smaller, until it was out of sight.
"When
the balloon was first skipping toward heaven Mitchell's head could be seen over
the edge of the basket as he yelled, ‘Help, for God's sake!’ When the big bag floated
beyond the range of vision a dozen men started northward—the way the wind carried
the balloon—in teams. They drove eight or ten miles and they found the balloon with
the wretched Mitchell lying helplessly in the basket on the bank of a creek. Mitchell's
hair had actually turned white from fright in his hour's ride in the clouds.
"Several
years after that, in another town, Big Smith was inside another balloon while
it was being inflated. After it was full of hot air he crawled over the edge of
the basket and another man got in for a trip through the ozone belt. Someone
yelled, ‘Let go!’ The ropes were loosened, but one rope, on the side on which
Smith was getting out, took a torn around his leg, clutching him tightly and as
the balloon shot skyward it took Smith with it by the ankle. His terrified
companion in the basket, who heard the cry of horror that swept over the crowd,
could not help him, for, if he changed his position, the chances were that the
basket would upset or that the rope would uncoil. After about ten minutes the
balloon came down with Smith unconscious and his head full of blood. However,
he recovered and is yet in the show business.”
Cortland
News, Oct. 1, 1886 [Narrator unidentified—CC editor.]
