The evolution of the circus press agent has been comparatively brief. Originally the man who wrote up the show bills prepared copy for the newspaper, contracted for the advertising and performed numerous other duties, ad interim. In recent years had been the policy of all big shows employ three or four of these publicity promoters, each acting in a different sphere to cover his assignment.

The contracting press agent has his business duties, while the scribe who prepares the copy, interviews the editors and tells the stories in print is quite another individual. After him, like the deluge, comes the "press agent back with the show," to welcome his guests and see that everything is done to make the newspaper men and their families feel perfectly home, enjoy the show and give it proper attention after it departs. He believes that Hamlet's injunction, as the players, should be applied to reporters: "Better a bad epitaph when dead than their evil report while living."

I shall not attempt to pass upon merits or demerits of any of those whom I have met and became more less familiar with. Neither shall undertake to enumerate them all; but I can safely say that I have, undoubtedly, handled the copy of more men who have attained an exalted position in circus press work than other individual in or out of the show business. This condition is possible because of my position as a sort of managing editor of all publications, advertisements and prepared press notices, including illustrations for at least four of the biggest shows in the world, and this, for a period of over forty years. With no desire to be invidious, I must go back to the first circus press agent with whom I became personally acquainted, and that was some time before I entered the tented field, being at that time employed as an advance agent with a theatrical company.

W. C. Crum.

W. C. Crum was the gentleman, then traveling with the P. T. Barnum Great World's Fair, and from what I had heard and knew, he was then considered perhaps the best press agent in the business. Being possessed of a brilliant education and a fluent writer, he could handle the classics to perfection. I believe that he was the first writer to issue an advance courier setting forth the attractions of the show he represented. He was one of the most skillful manipulators of circus adjectives I have ever met, and in my early acquaintance with him I became greatly impressed with his ability and complete knowledge of everything pertaining to the circus world.

Unfortunately for him, as I afterward learned, he had a faculty for creating the enmity of others, particularly in his line of work. I don't know of anyone in the profession who had more personal enemies on this account. He was, however, a true genius and, if left to himself, could turn out some of the most interesting copy, as I have reason to know from personal experience with him in connection with the Forepaugh and other shows, but on account of his antagonistic traits he finally retired from the show business and started a newspaper at Tampa, Fla., which he conducted with more or less success until he encountered the enmity of some local politician who laid in wait for him on his way home from the office late at night and in true "white cap" style seized him flogged him and cut the beard from one side of his face and left him by the roadside groaning with pain. His letter to me describing these indignities was really pitiful and I was not at all surprised to hear of his death, in the course of a few months, as he never completely recovered from the shock.

W. W. Durand.

W. W. Durand was the next old-time newspaperman and all-round good fellow with whom I came in contact.

I remember meeting him in a newspaper office some time before I entered the circus business, and we formed a very agreeable acquaintance. "Billy" Durand, as he was usually called, was one of the most genial fellows I ever happened to meet, and I shall never forget the kindly manner in which I was greeted by him when I first entered the circus field and came in contact with him in opposition work. Long after when he and I were thrown together with the Adam Forepaugh show, I found his true value as a most brilliant writer and thoroughly good fellow. For years he had been connected with the Barnum, Bailey and Hutchinson shows, and the exploiting of Jumbo was largely due to his convincing arguments and attractive writing. Always genial and home-like in personality, he made friends everywhere and was absolutely indifferent to his surroundings, no matter how uncomfortable or disconcerting.

His early schooling as a newspaperman was under the tutelage of George B. Prentice, of the Louisville Courier-Journal, and Durand seemed to inherit all the congenial spirit and characteristics of his early Southern training, from which he never departed, and strangely enough he died very suddenly while on the train en route from Louisville to Indianapolis on his way home to Bloomington, Ind., where his family resided.

Charles Stowe.

Charles Stowe was another of my old-time acquaintances and lifelong friends. Up to the time of his death nothing ever appeared to disturb our personal relations, although it is a matter of record that he had decided opinions of his own, and frequently encountered the displeasure of others.

"Charlie" Stowe was a genius in his way, and could write prose, poetry or blank verse, ad lib, under any and all circumstances. I have known him to sit on a baggage truck at a railway station, while waiting for a train, and turn out as brilliant a piece of poetry as one is likely to read. Again. you could give him any subject to write upon, or a certain space to fill and his copy would come back complete and perfect to the last word and letter. His paragraphs were always pithy and direct. Many of the quotations attributed to the great Barnum were from his own pen. He seemed to be able to harvest the whole field of thought in a single sentence, and, no matter whether he had ever seen a locality or not, he could describe it to perfection on a mere suggestion. When he came to write of the Wild West and its environments, without having ever visited that locality, his "Wig-wam Wisdom" was true to life and far better than any denizen of the wilderness could ever write.

During his career he represented many different shows and interests, and at one time was editor-in-chief of the Cosmopolite, a weekly paper published by Dan Rice, the old clown, at Girard, Pa. Many or his poems and paragraphs are now being read by thousands of people who have never known the author or guessed their origin.

"Tody" Hamilton.

R. F. ("Tody") Hamilton must next come in for most honorable mention, as, without doubt, "Tody" is the best known circus press agent we have ever had. His long connection with the Barnum & Bailey show and nearly all of his life spent in New York as a newspaper man, has given him a prestige well worthy of the man and the genius he has displayed in his newspaper work. If one were to speak of him as Richard F. Hamilton no one would know whom was meant. I will call him "Tody," therefore, which is more familiar and quite characteristic of the good fellow that he is. There is no question in my mind but that he has turned out more good copy and invented more schemes to feed the press and attract attention to the shows that he has represented than any other living man. I have sat beside him at the desk and worked directly with him for many years, and he was always the same congenial, convivial "Tody;" always alert and quick to perceive an opportunity for a good story. When nothing else presented itself he could start a controversy with the "freaks" or the living human curiosities, and get them to protest as to their being called "freaks" or anything else but human beings, no matter how deformed or lacking in their mental or physical make-up.

The next incident would probably be a test of strength between an elephant and a bunch of husky canvas men in a tug of war. At another time he would take a carload of newspaper men down to Bridgeport to see what effect musical instruments would have on a cage of lions or kangaroos, and then again he would lead them over to the elephant house to see a timid mouse, attached to a string, chase the elephants out of the building. All of these items made good stories. They helped to entertain the newspaper men who were always glad to have a little vacation and a round with "Tody," and if there was an editor, reporter or journalist of any kind on Park row or Vesey street with whom "Tody" Hamilton was not in touch I never knew it.

Major John M. Burke.

Major John M. Burke, the hero of many Indian wars and the lifelong friend of Colonel Cody - "Buffalo Bill" - is also one of those congenial fellows who can wield a pen, tell a story, and is, perhaps, able to plan as much Interesting material as any press representative I have met. His acquaintance among newspaper men all over the world is probably greater than that of any other man, as he has always managed not only to come in personal contact with the leading editors and writers in all countries, but carries with him a fund of stories and anecdotes that are always interesting. It is seldom that he fails to find some local attraction or event on which to pin one of his stories, never failing to make the Wild West or "Buffalo Bill" the principal feature.

His personal appearance in a newspaper office is a strong asset for the show which he represents, as he is usually known by everyone from the office boy to the editor-in-chief, and it would be a pretty hard job for him to get through the line without obtaining a column or more in the way of a good story on some subject with which he was familiar.

Charles H. Day "and his pen" were so well known in their time, it is hardly possible to add anything to his reputation as a writer of show history or tell anything new of his many achievements in newspaper work. It was Charlie Day who suggested and promoted the $10,000 beauty scheme for Adam Forepaugh, which made that feature a great attraction for a number of seasons and, in all probability the scheme drew forth more free newspaper comment than any other ever offered. Charlie Day was a prolific writer, "and his pen” was ever busy on all subjects pertaining to amusements, as he covered the field completely in both the theatrical and circus lines, and was always quoted as the best authority on biographical sketches or history of the show business.

Whiting Allen.

Whiting Allen, known to a multitude of newspaper men throughout the country, was also a brilliant, clever and concise writer. He had the faculty of covering almost any subject in a clear and comprehensive manner. He was equally at home on musical, operatic, dramatic and circus subjects, and once within his room and left to himself, would turn out as good copy as one ever read. His services were always in demand, whether on the road or permanently located on the staff of some leading paper.

Frank L. Perly was also one of the best writers and newspaper workers I have ever known, as he had a happy way of supplying the most interesting material and getting it placed with the managing editors in such a manner as to insure its publication.

Perly was a pupil of W. C. Crum and his work was always very effective, especially "back with the show," as he made friends everywhere and took particular pains to treat the press and others in the most courteous manner, always furnishing ample items of news and going into such details as he knew would interest the publishers and the public.

There is no better writer and all-round "story man" than W. D. Coxey. Himself a publisher, he has probably turned out as much literary matter as any traveling correspondent known, as several of his published books will verify, while there are hundreds of his poems straying into print from time to time. It is a very cold day in the good old summer time when he does not succeed in landing three or four good stories with local color and subject matter bearing upon the show which he represents.

Clarence L. Dean

Clarence L. Dean is one of those quiet, clear and concisive writers that has made his mark in the world. He originally hailed from Kalamazoo, Mich., where he graduated at one of the local colleges, and I recall that at the time when I was a printer, setting type and doing press work, Clarence Dean was the editor of a college publication issued through our office, and I was the man who did most of the work. In latter years, after serving as editor and journalist, he also became connected with the show business, and in due time we found ourselves working side by side, or in close touch with each other. Eventually he became general agent of the Barnum & Bailey and Buffalo Bill shows while they were touring the continent.

Fred Lawrence was also one of the old school of press agents, and in many respects one of the best descriptive writers in the business, as he usually confined himself to plain phraseology and covered all the details in simple language that everyone could understand. He served under the banners of Forepaugh, Bailey and many of the old-time showmen, and was always in great demand for the winter write-ups of the publications and descriptive matter to be used during the road season. Fred always had a hobby for basing the price of advertising on the circulation of the various newspapers with which he dealt, and unless a country weekly would make an affidavit that its circulation was equal to the New York or Philadelphia papers, he was usually ready with a long argument to convince them that their rates were too high.

M. J. O'Neil, Dan Fishel and Frank O'Donnell were also men of brilliant ideas and good stories, who made names for themselves and were frequently on the publicity staff with me, and their writings and press work were Invariably satisfactory to a great degree. O'Neil was particularly aggressive in his work and aimed at the enemy with sledge-hammer blows.

Walter K. Hill and Frank Winch were both men of great literary ability. They came from a practical newspaper training, as correspondents for amusement papers, and took particular pride in turning out the most original, interesting articles on any and all matters pertaining to amusement work.

These gentlemen, who both came to me from the New York office of the Billboard, had entirely distinct methods of procedure and were prolific in their ideas and execution. It was always a decided pleasure to handle their copy and obtain the benefit of their suggestions or knowledge, which usually succeeded in securing pages of well-illustrated texts on the subjects in hand. It was apparently much easier for them to write a book than to boil an article down to half a column, and they rarely failed to be successful in landing the effusions of their pen.

Harvey Watkins, P. S. Mattox and Lester Murray were three more of my able press agents and car managers, who for years did the newspaper contracting and furnished a great deal of interesting copy while attending to their other duties. It is fitting that they should have proper recognition as men who came in daily contact with editors and the business office, never failing to leave the most favorable impression and conveying the impression of sincerity and familiarity with their subjects. Harvey Watkins was for years private secretary to J. A. Bailey, which made him a valuable assistant, and as he was apt and well informed on everything in connection with the operation of the show, I finally persuaded Mr. Bailey to shift him over to the advance department in charge of the newspaper advertising, knowing that he would make good, and I was never disappointed in this respect.

Dexter Fellows and J. Rial, who are still connected with the Barnum and Bailey Show at this writing, are probably two of the most popular press agents traveling today. By reason of their arrangements each of these gentlemen makes it a point to remain in a town from the time he commences operations until the show arrives, thus enabling him to get thoroughly acquainted with the local newspaper men, be on hand to receive them when they put in an appearance at the main entrance and carefully attend to their wants and wishes until the performance has been reviewed and reported. This also gives ample time to prepare interesting stories and to meet the editorial staff on a most friendly footing.

Peter S. McNally, of the famous family of McNally Brothers - including J. J. McNally, the playwright, as well as Hugh and James, the amusement critics of Boston - was one of the most enthusiastic writers ever in my employ. He took particular delight in working up or relating sensational stories to attract attention. Aside from his ability as a journalist he was an all-around athlete and long distance swimmer, having performed feats that would have put Horatius, Caesar and Byron to shame by swimming the Tiber back and forth like a duck.

Charles A. Davis and his brother Thomas were both active members of my staff at different times. "Tom" Davis was equally proficient in excursion work or handling an advertising car and took particular delight in pulling off some good newspaper stories, while "Charley" found his depth in writing and working up interviews with his stars or proprietors. When it was discovered that Adam Forepaugh and Chauncey Depew bore a striking resemblance to each other he was in his glory, and never failed to have the Forepaugh Indians on Chauncey's trail, knowing that the famous after-dinner speaker would have to make a speech or lose his scalp. Charley also traveled with Bob Ingersoll for several seasons, and each told good jokes at the other's expense.

The First Back With the Show.

There has always been more or less controversy as to who was the first press agent to travel back with the show and with what show. From all information obtainable, I am convinced that David S. Thomas was the first press agent to travel in that capacity, as I have the story from Mr. Thomas himself, and others who are familiar all the circumstances. I am prepared to say that sometime in the spring of 1871 Mr. Thomas was stopping at the Sherman House in Chicago when Dan Rice was running his famous "Paris Pavilion Circus in that city. Mr. Rice, realizing the advantage of continuous newspaper publicity, even after the show had arrived in town, concluded to have a man stay back with the circus and devote his whole time to entertaining the newspaper men.

Securing Mr. Thomas for this position, the circus started on its Eastern tour, and the scheme proved a great success. A liberal system of dealing with the press was adopted, and representative newspaper men visited the circus in carriages and were royally entertained.

This method of procedure soon attracted the attention of Mr. Barnum and his partner, Mr. Coup, and they succeeded in inducing Mr. Thomas to transfer his services to them for the next year, putting into effect the idea of calling at the offices of the different newspapers early in the morning of the show, paying the bills for the advertising and supplying press tickets at the office instead of compelling the editors to send to the ticket wagon. Furthermore, a carriage would call, with Mr. Thomas as escort, to convey the writers who! were to "cover" the exhibition to the grounds, and they were never left unattended during the whole performance.

This mark of attention always insured the very best reports, and, there was nothing within reason that could be asked for or suggested that did not find its way into the amusement columns while the show remained in town or after it left. Mr. Thomas became one of the best known and most popular press agents that ever traveled "back with the show."

A Fatal Balloon Trip.

During the season of 1874-75, while Mr. Thomas was still with the show, the Barnum people introduced a series of balloon ascensions to take place two or three times a week in one or two week stands and at all principal points when on the road, and Prof. Washington H. Donaldson, the aeronaut, whom I knew very well, and who had already gained considerable fame as an illusionist, wizard. and high rope walker, was the man selected for these performances. They were given solely for the purpose of advertising by attracting crowds to the show grounds. Newspaper men were invited to make a trial trip with him which would often cover a hundred miles or more and occupy several hours.

Mr. Thomas often joined in these experimental flights and when Donaldson and Grimwood, the Chicago newspaper reporter, made the ascension in the face of a threatening storm and were lost in Lake Michigan, never to be found, Mr. Thomas volunteered to make another balloon ascension on his own account at the end of the week while the show was on the lake front in Chicago. He had never made an ascension alone, but was confident of his success and Mr. Barnum finally gave his consent to the venture. The effort was successful and the balloon landed some twelve miles in the country without any danger of meeting any incident worthy of mention.

When Mr. Thomas retired from the road he left behind a retinue of newspaper friends covering the entire country east of the Missouri river, and for years afterwards it was impossible to meet a newspaper man who did not inquire about Dave Thomas. It was rather a difficult matter for the press agents who followed in his wake to leave such favorable impressions. On his retirement he became interested in a small printing establishment in New Haven Conn., often repeating his balloon experience by giving private ascensions from the college campus in that city on the Fourth of July or fete days. This kept him more or less in the public eye, and he continued his business with considerable profit up to the time of his death.

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