British Defeat Laid to Enemy's Showmanship
By Jack Jarmuth
THE sun had long since risen over a distant hi!! as
troops moved forward. It still was early morning
the dew of night had dried upon the ground and
choked the soldiers as they marched.
Then "halt!" was called; the men rested. But there
no relaxation in their movements; if they sat their horses
or crouched upon the ground, a note of ex
pectancy prevaded their ranks.
William the Norman was moving into Eng
land; William the Conqueror held back his
troops against the British awaiting only his
own pre-arranged signal for the battle.
Taillefer the juggler moved, on a white charg
er to his chief's side. They conferred a moment;
the great King William nodded, the juggler
rushed forward.
Pulling rein before the British, he first sang
the songs of Charlemagne and of Roland. Then,
casting his spear three times in the air, he
caught it as often by the iron head. On the
fourth time he threw it among his enemies, one
of whom he wounded.
Then he drew his sword, also tossed it three
times on high and caught it with such dexterity
that the enemy became frightened; cries of
"witch" and "enchanted" filled the air; the Brit
ish lied!
And thus the first juggler, the first showman
to employ psychology of his calling, used his
prowess to win a battle!
ONE of the most dramatic real life plays
ever staged, both in plot and colorful set
ting, occurred in a quiet hour before dawn in
San Diego bay.
In this case the chief character was the richly
laden treasure ship, the "Santa Ana."
Captain Germeno was a brave but cautious
commander, and feared for the safety of his
ship and its" treasure. He chose a black and
moonless night to drop a long-boat over the
side, man it with trustworthy sailors six care
fully chosen confidents and load the frail craft
with three heavy chests.
The long-boat put out for shore, oars muffled,,
small gray-blue waves following in its wake.
Finally it scraped the white sands of the inlet;
six powerful Spaniards waded to dry land, pull
ing the boat after them. Silently they lifted
brass-bound chests from the bottom, trudged
with their fabulous burden through the trees to
a level plot of land deserted by the natives. Here
they dug a pit, not deepv for they must return
Exposition Manager Describes
Task Of ' Entertaining Public
I it x -w-i t - f TT-i t 11 f:mm w A .-. -'Si I
LJr i ask Uf' Entertaining rublu Jf - : - p .
? ' y J 1 f A corner of the Exposi- "
J VjC 1 0 l r M l00' PaUce of Foods n.
ft ' 4, i t t I 1 1 t ani Beverages, show ing
f vr r'i " ,he Exposi,ion' I ' TO ll 1
W . " -iI W7; 11 -!. rS-Cldij (left) and the Cafe of the World
1 J . mSA JJ , JS!L- JjK V 'f wL 1 f (right) reflected in the placid waters
I j '(t-,3?, 4 V"jF4tt"- 7 I vations required for the Kxposition buildings
. I I gltaag' I l'Ni-if I hav 1,01 "ealet the biding place.
valued in millions of 4 1 1
Another view of the Palace of Foods and Beverages. The riot of flowers and shub
bcry surrounding the palace and other buildings has proved one of the outstanding
attractions of the Exposition.
to sail with the tide. Into it they lowered pirate
loot worth the ransom of several modem kings
treasure of Cathay, gold and jewels from
New Spain, emeralds and rubies from Hindu
temples. For a moment these men stood over
It, gazed out to sea an Instant, remembering
permanent land marks against the uncertain
hour of their return. Then they pushed rocks
and earth over what was to prove the lost grave
of hard-won earnings
American dollars.
The time was in the iSSO'i; the place what
Is today Balboa Park, site of the California Pa
cific International Exposition. Not many feet
under the ground it lies, waiting for some for
tunate adventurer to appear with an ancient
parchment map of its exact location. No such
map has so far come to light; even the exca-
Evrn Ben Bemie succumbed to the Spanish
influence during his recent visit to the
Exposition,
THE sea rover never returned. Followed by
atorm and an inevitable fate, the "SAnta
Ana" was finally captured and pillaged by Cap
lain Woods Rogers and Captain Tom Cavendish,
English sailing men bent on capturing Spaniards
and whatever treasure they found aboard.
They searched the "Santa Ana", found a small
amount of gold but not the three great chests,
of which nothing was seen again.
The play had ended, the curtain fell upon one
more lost treasure.
Wayne W. Dailard, who runs the fciggekt show
on the Pacific coast this year the San Diego
Exposition admits there i very little new in
show business since not alone the time of Charle
magne but way back into the centuries before
Christ.
BUT he doe insist there's a difference In the
manner in which w show Is dressed,
"It's a crar.y business," he says, "but don't for
get for a moment it't a great business; there's
more genuine fun pleasing people than anything
I know."
An item which might poastbly have appeared
one summer morning in th Athena Ught, 500
years befon Christ, eould easily have read:
"There were 27,500 people at yesterday'
opening performances in the Rinnyaiae theater
to witness th first tomedy of the an. The
audience was, of course, purely stag."
Which very plainly meant, if any citizen had
hi doubts, that the theater wa for men only.
It wasn't until more than a hundred years
later, in the fourth century, that women were
admitted to the performance and then only to
the tragedies. When the ladies of the day rtormed
and protested, over the years, they finally were
permitted to see what were known as the
"middle comedies," not the good old ribald: high
or low dido. Performance then lasted from
dawn until dark, with time out for meal.
Why doe an exposition, or a fnlr, or even a
camlvsi, have banners floating in the street?
Mr, Dailard explained:
"It an inheritance from the very early days
of London, when thai city's slums were fairly
tawdry districts.
"The banner were spread from house to house
to hide the drab and dreary fronts as visiting
monarch and potentates came to town. They
were gay and festive; they became an insepar
able dee&rative touch to every fair since those
days.
it L HY showman wit! admit, if he is an honest
f showman, there i really nothing new
under the aun in thi peculiar bunmea of enter
taining people," declare th exposition direc
tor, It is only the manner is which we dress what
ever i being presented can the new he found,
"Of course we have scenery today which thef
didn't have in the day of Greece; f course we
have modern building, am! air-conilltitming, and
great orchestras, though the music of Athens
wa also great.
"But the shows themselves, the type of per
formance, the variety, all rcsulvps itself into
something which ha been don and seen age
ago."
"What a!ul the most modern acts,; lie wa
asked. "What about Sally Jiand, for instant J
Mr, Dailard laughed,
"It ! a pity you didn't eatch th opening per
formanr of Salome. They say sh wa great!"
h replied, a he walked away down the fhswr
tined Avenida d In Palacisi of lh California
Pacific Internationa! Exposition . . to atsg a
"brand new how."
Pi Thrw-B