Imagine traveling alone on a lonely, shadow-darkened, uphill road and suddenly coming toward you – is an elephant in a hurry. It was no rogue elephant intentionally terrorizing rural residents.
To the contrary, it was a perfectly respectable, performing pachyderm, which often pushed
wagons in between performing sites. That day in 1907, it was surely the only elephant in Houston County, which before crossing the county line earlier that morning, had been the only elephant in Fillmore County.
Imagine being only eight years old when an entourage, including a lion in a cage and an elephant on foot, stopped for a lunch break in front of your farmhouse. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, pioneer entertainment was mostly homegrown – before movies and radio (1920s) and television (1950s). However, during warmer weather, entertainment might make its way to you.
Area historian Sumner Sheldon, born 1910, heard his grandmother had taken her children on a lumber wagon from Mound Prairie near Hokah down to Brownsville to attend the first circus in Houston County. Later, one-ring circuses traveled by horse-drawn wagons from town to town in Houston County.
There must have been several wagons involved in transporting such a self-contained community – equipment plus food and dining essentials and no telling what else for the performers. There were clowns, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, musicians and whoever else helped keep the show on the road.
A Master of Ceremonies was a “genius at instant arrangement,” explained Sheldon, “filling in, adding on, covering up, anything to keep the show moving.”
Transportation was truly by horsepower. There would also be a dog-and-pony show plus a menagerie of more exotic animals and their cages and provisions. Large dangerous creatures, such as lions and tigers, were not often present due to the expense and inconvenience of large iron cages. “Sometimes, an old flea-bitten, muzzled dancing bear was star of the show,” noted Sheldon.
But an elephant was an exceptional crowd-pleaser and worked well with the dog-and-pony act.
The large animal was also essential for travel. Before paved roads, a large elephant was the only means to push wagons through sand or mud.
On September 12, 1907, The Great Melbourne Show stopped in the road in front of the Sheldon farmhouse on a dinner break and a rest stop for the horses. The menagerie featured a wildcat, baboon, monkeys, several Shetland ponies and many dogs. There was the obligatory elephant and even a lion. They were on their way to an evening performance at Hokah after departing from Rushford at 4 o’clock that morning.
Then eight-year-old Lois Sheldon long remembered that day, “Their horses were so tired and underfed that papa gave the circus three grain sacks of oats that all the horses and ponies might have a good dinner before starting for Hokah.”
The roads were in poor condition, especially with a lot of sand. With horses pulling the wagons and the elephant pushing, the troupe managed to get through several soft sand washes and reached the hill at Yellow Banks about mid-afternoon.
One wagon at a time, with two teams of horses and the elephant, made it up the hill. And finally, it would be mostly downhill into Hokah. But being behind schedule, the elephant and his driver were sent ahead to hold the crowd until the rest of the circus could get there.
On that same warm September day, Ellen (Mrs. Tom) Lynch had driven her horse and buggy to Hokah. After visiting and shopping, she and her well-behaved horse were on their way home for supper. Somewhere west of Hokah, on a lonely, little-used, tree-shaded road, Ellen was shocked to meet an elephant hurrying toward her. Likely, it was Ellen’s first encounter with an elephant; it certainly was for the horse, which quickly reversed direction. With the tipping of the buggy, Mrs. Lynch was thrown onto the ground.
On that day, she wore a large, knitted shawl around her shoulders. As was the fashion for affluent ladies of that era, the ends of the shawl were crossed over in front and held in place by a large, ornate brooch. Her only elephant-induced injury was a minor mishap with the brooch pin piercing her breast.
Nearly 11 months later, Mrs. Lynch died following a lengthy illness. However, there were some who conjectured that her medical demise had started with that tip-over injury to her breast.
Not all roadshows were large enough to require an elephant. Most were traveling one-man or small group shows with far less fanfare, baggage or warning. Entertainment being a rarity for the early settlers, street entertainers provided impromptu excitement as they traveled from village to village. Performing outdoors, they made a living from the coins that were donated by their audiences.
Hokah historian W. L. Langen recalled some of his most memorable. There was a small Italian ensemble, featuring a violinist and a 12-year-old lad playing a bass violin. One man played a flute-like instrument by blowing into a few tubes. There once was a Swiss couple singing and yodeling while accompanied by a guitar. A German trio entertained with brass instruments.
Not uncommon was a visit by an organ grinder, usually accompanied by a monkey, which would collect contributed coins in a tin cup. One music-maker had his monkey chained to the organ and the tin cup fixed atop the organ. When the monkey received a coin, it would climb up the chain and drop the donation into the cup. “Sometimes, the monkey was quite busy,” recalled Langen.
One enterprising entertainer was lame and had his organ on a small wagon, from which he also sold pencils, shoestrings and small songbooks.
One showman brought along a brown bear that was trained to stand and dance on his hind legs.
The not-dainty dancer was on a chain and wore a muzzle.
As technology advanced, one traveler enthralled the throng with a phonograph. For a nickel, you could put a tube in each ear and listen to a record. No monkey needed.
Sources: “Now and Then” column by Sumner Sheldon in the Houston Gazette and Country Journal, April 16, 1987; Just for Old Times Sake; History of Early Days of Hokah, Minnesota, by W. J. Langen, 1948.
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