It was on this trip into Missouri that we met with a very serious loss
which almost crippled us for a time. The baggage train had passed en
route to the city where we were to exhibit, leaving the performers, the
band and ring horses, as is the custom, to follow in the rear. We had
about twenty horses and ponies of great value, and of invaluable use in
the show. One morning, just at daylight, the men who had charge of
these horses were attacked by a gang of horse thieves, and the entire
lot was taken from them. Our men were left wounded and bound with
cords, lying by the wayside. Meanwhile, the tents and other
paraphernalia were already in the village, awaiting the arrival of the
horses. The time for the show to begin came, but still no horses
appeared, and the crowds, assembled to see the performing animals, were
growing impatient.
While we were in this embarrassing predicament, a citizen came riding
up in hot haste, stating that he had seen and released some men who had
said their horses had been stolen and who begged him to come into town
and report the loss to the managers. When this news was received, it
was immediately communicated to the expectant, impatient audience; but
being naturally suspicious of all mankind, and especially of circus
men, they thought it was a "sell" and a "Yankee trick"; but when once
they were made to believe the true facts of the case they rose as one
man and mounted their horses to overtake the marauders and punish them.
But the thieves, having had several hours start, escaped, and after
several days' search the chase was finally abandoned, and we were
obliged to proceed on our way without our horses. Horse thieves in
those days were very common, and were a continual annoyance to the
planters and farmers, and had our thieves been captured, they would
have been summarily dealt with.
Naturally, we were very much crippled with our loss; but soon the
fertile brain of some of our performers secured us a means of
recovering from this calamity, and we were provided with other horses
which we used as substitutes for the beautiful and (for those days)
highly-trained animals which had been stolen.