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Show DRAMATIC REVIEW. A Reminiscerica. Salt Lake, ily 5&:h, ZS'O. j Editors Herald: But few youu pertons of emotional j temperament, wbcee fairy g&dmQthers ; permitted them to open their eyes' within reasonable dUunce of a theatre, have passfcd the adolescent! period without experiencing the sensation, sensa-tion, more accurately than elegantly' termed, 'V.aga struck." To ua itj came early, whether for the reason, that we were peculiarly favored in having an actor for a father, aj maternal guardian who would "rather ; have u difc" than follow in his foot- ' step?, or a diepoeition embodying all the tltmenta of a stage hero's mentality, we cannot tay, though tLat iheaa united agencies were ail active in moulding the bent of our inclination is not improbable; but certain it io 'hat at an age when tbs tendriU of the character begin to climb alter the deilioiea of life, we were thoroughly imbued with an ardent love lor the dramatic profession. It : was at a time when the drama here was young, when dried peaches vied with the orchestra in killing time and tune between tne acts, and when the good old fashioned audience expected little and were never humiliated with a disappointment. This equivocation will not be understood aa reflecting the least discredit on theold Salt Lake Dramatic Company; its reputation is ; too wtii eitabii-bed to admit of such; an inference, but it is due to the democratic modesty of tboee daya to eay as much in sober sense, leaving; the irony to such as cire to appropri- j ale it. Passing over the many minor inci! denta common to the career of the j embryo tragedian, we come to the eubjRCt of our reminiscence. With a number of associates, likewise like-wise enflamed with the Promethean tire of the histrionic torch, and a burning desire to rival the glory,iol 1 our eldera in the profession, we set about the organization of a theatrical combination. George B. Waldron, at that time, was the star of the dramatic zenith and among other "palpable "pal-pable hits" had set the town ablaza with his hair-Btirriug, blood-curdling impersonation oi the Jibbsnainosy in the celebrated border drama, " Nick of the. Woods." Of course, we had all seen it, lor, though doorkeepers in those days felt more the dignity of their office than now in their minds, excepting the city council, there being no higher authorities in existenceand exist-enceand were even cruelly punc tilious in tho obaorvanco of their duties aud email boys, yet, when obstacles intervene to the ac complishment ot a cherished object, boys as well aa men, though at first "made upright," will " soek out many inventions " to effect their purposes. pur-poses. The result of seeing was ft desire to imitate, and with a zeal felt but once io a lifetime, we Bet about the arrangement of preliminaries. Knive-s, guns aud tomahawks were the properties needed and to supply which we made a raid on the old sawmill saw-mill at the mouth of City Creek Canon. Finding no etamps on the lath and shingles there, and knowing, therefore, that if apprehended, Hol-liater Hol-liater at least would approve our conduct, we attached and attacked the property with enthusiasm and jack-knives ; and, with Roman fortitude, forti-tude, gashed our fingers to secure, in the absence of paint, the mostdesirabie color for the gilding of our weapons. We had no written parti in those daj-B. It would have elevated the project lo a scientific basis we weie not prepared to standjupon; basides, each iuvemle Rosciua, either through the.telephonio current connecting the suge with the home ol " the gods," or mformation transmitted by his fellows fel-lows who, by carrying water, bad been permitted to witness the piece upon the " big etae," was well up in his heed and eager lor the fray, 80 that the only thing remaining to prevent the immediate production of "Nick of the Woods " by a company strictly of home talent, was the want of a suitable arena for action. The Widow G bbs' barn was centrally located, and in various ways well calculated for a performance of the character we wiahed lo present, there being, besides a number of old benches, a loft, which would make an excellent dressing room, and a large double door on loo west which, as we played in the afternoon, when thrown opou to the beams of the setting sun, admirably conveyed the idea ol a burning Indian village. After ma-lure ma-lure deliberation, it was decided that a committee wait upon tiie lady to ascertain the lowest po.'sible ternn on which the barnyard premises of her estate might bo eocurcd iu the interests inter-ests of proi ess and the drama. Io consideration of the object represented as in view the encouragement ol home talent and the desire to cultivate a taste for the legitimate drnmt, we were informed that ttie matte-r ol rent was merely nominal, a ball of carpet i rays, two tlv. irotn and a "creepy" j hen being ample compensation for ouo perfirmauce, but a necessary stipulation was, that a cow, which occupied oc-cupied that part of the stable we deeigued using as a stage, should be allowed to remain in uodisturbed possession of her situation. This was a poser. Remonstrance proved vain; the widow proprietor was deaf to any modification of the troaty, and notwithstanding not-withstanding tho plot of tho play made uo possible allowance (or the appearance of a cow iu any of the scenes, we were compelled to submit, but did eo under Bclemu aud united protest. The occasion was tho benefit of our head tragedian, a boy called "Bub," who personated Bloody Nathan, liio Jibbcnaiuosay; a sort ol enthusiast iu thorouh'y b&sids hrrseif, broke from ' ner fd;icnings aL.a piow:ng through ; the curtain, leaped over the reserved iesta and male a hasty exit by thej Iron, door; tae tickel taker aliowing her to paj-a with as much readiness j ad if sue had been tne editor ot a newspaper. The overture was o! course completely drowned in thej pandemonium which attended the! bovine leat, or would have been had the performers attempted to finish, it. But the yells and acreamB were of short duration; quiet once more usurped the place ot the reign ot j terror, and all bpbind the scenes felt I considerable ra::fiod that the event ! had taken pice, tiL.ee we were now rid of a serious emtHrssment, in the absence ot th.- o--w and the conse-qusnt conse-qusnt enlargement of our stage room. Everybody was of course anxicua to 1 learn the cauee of tee murderous! yells which h.vi been the indirect! : source of uch a blessing, and when' it was ascertained thAt it emanated ; I from a red-headed boy, brother to I the star, who in dressing up as an ! Indian had got aome paint in his left leye, which was nyw swollen to the I Bizs of a large apple, the gratitude of the management and the condolence of the entire company was as beart-ful beart-ful and sincere as it was atlecting and sublime. Alter the orchestra bad been induced to complete the overture, over-ture, eo unceremoniously brought to a finale, and tne dramatis persona were all unnGunced as "ready," three distinct chords in G, amidst a stiilnesa as of death, was the signal for the rise of the curtain. Up went the carpet, disclosing a picture which was left for the imagination of the audience to convert into a forest. Tnere were no trees to be seen, either in natural growth or painted oanvaa, but it was the best that could be done, and tne mental dressing of this 6cene was not . the most difficult task required of the ! intelligent public, since all the sue iceeding ones whether of water, trees or bousee, would have to be supplied in the Bame manner. We will paas over a few of the first incidents, merely mentioning, en passant, the snicker which rippled over the eur-face eur-face of the sea of observers when the red-headed Indian made his appearance, appear-ance, and the torrent of mirthful appreciation ap-preciation whioh burst forth when , young Kauarro, a real Piute whom we had enli-ted on account of his tawney color and ferocions aspect, refusing re-fusing to be slain with a wooden knife, insisted on admininstering blow for blow with his white pine tomahawk on the peraon ol the Roaring Roar-ing Ralph Stacdpole, who finding that, instead ot the redskin, he was simply "killing the audience," Bbouldered the obstinate young Piute and carried him off the stage, and describe the more leading events in the aeries of catastrophes which befel our enterprise. The scene where the Jibbenainosay makes his "terrific descent of the falls iu a fiery canoe" was a difficult one to present with anything like proper effect, under the beat of cur limited lrcumstanceB; out to aaa to me in-1 convenience, just as the curtain rose aud revealed the place of the desperate desper-ate undertaking, the widow G bb'a boy Frank, who lisped and had justi returned from pursuing the runaway j cow in the rain aa far aa the Nineteenth Nine-teenth ward pasture, came bolting-1 into the stable with: "Mothah thayth thith cow can't thtand out in the waiu any longer." We had again met the inevitable, and choking down the wrath which swelled for utterance, we permitted the good aon to lead his cow through the audience, take her up on the stage, and fasten her to the waterfall, which w-8 ia the eamo place she had before occupied'. The difficulty of enacting the scene, as said, was now considerably enhanced. The cataract was a long, emooth plank, which had been well greased to insure the lightening apeel of the descent, and placed at the back ol the stage, slanting from the opening in the loft at the right to the outside of the left third entrance. The head tragedian, who had to essay tne ieat, i had rehearsed it repeatedly and waa ! quite perfect in the buainees; all it; required, since no canoe was used,! being to squat down upon the plank j abova, cry "I am the Jibbenainosay" and let loose, "and as swift aa medita-1 tation" ho waa at the other end of, the plank, unseen but not unenvied1 by the assembled multitude. But now the actor felt some trepidation; he knew that on his appearance the Indians just about to mnasacre the whiles who were on their knees imploring mercy would full paralyzed par-alyzed to the earth, as in duty bound, but the action of the cow who bad already given evidence of a roaianlia and playful spirit he was not bo well assured of. Tue audience, however, were becoming impatient for the sacrifice, and with his heart in his mouth and hie eyes on the cow, who with ears alert aud herns outspread, out-spread, glanced upward with trembling tremb-ling anxiety, the "Nick of tho Woods" prepared to descend. Every thing was roauy, me emigranis it:r elill on their knees and tho Indians with touching forbearance bad been waiting in the altitude of a massacre for nearly five minutes. "I am the Jib " HI Like lightning from the rifted thrnder cloud, or the unexpected unex-pected peal of heaven's artillery at noonday, the Jibenaioosay came down. Half the length o( the plank wna described in a millionth part of the time it takes ua to do it, when the cow, frightened out of her witi by the falling redskms aud tho screeching screech-ing friction on the greasy plank, gave a loud bellow and darted toward the alls. Bloody Nathan screamed in terror as the horns of the dilemma approached him, and turning over idewise, fell to the ground a lifeless mass of rgs. The curtain, net to be out of fashioD, fell aUo, and while the united etlortsof those behind the scenes were being exerted to reconcile the cow and resuscitate the scared trage diaD, the auditorium, waa rent with a ftorm of applause that shook the , building from pit to dome, and causing caus-ing a few more bushels of dust to descend, like the dews f Carruel into 'the necks of the audience. In due aL.d capc-rins around the stake, and are ordered away by tne cmef, wo wisnes to "taik with the Jibbenain-oeiy." Jibbenain-oeiy." After a short cohequy, in wnicn the wnite prisoner darea his redsbinned foe to unue his bonds and meet him Sace to lace, tne chief, accused of cowardice if he refuses, does so, with the words, "I am Wen-onga, Wen-onga, the Black Vulture and have no heart." Bioody Nathan immediately ; spriogs upon Wenonga, erjatch&s a j knife from bis belt, and in tbe used- 1 to-hand combat wnicn ensues, slabs him to the heart, just as the settlers attack the village, kill all the Indiana and set fire to their wigwams. Tuw was how it ought to have been done, but we have yet to tell bow it was done. Tbe eun waa just setting. The Indians bad quit dancing and gone 00; the stage carpenter car-penter was waiting to throw open the doors to admit the red sunlight lor the burning o the ' wickiups," and Wenonga had just concluded his speech, " 1 am the Black Vulture and have no heart," when his mother, Mrs. K U, who lived next door, came striding through tbe audience with a broom, and letcning the heartless heart-less Wenonga a terrific whack over !the head, exclaimed : " Albert, what !did you go away for without cutting me eny wood ?" Wenonga broke lor the dressing room, followed by his mother, Bloody Nathan Blood petrified, with horror, the actors all stared with jopen mouths at the unexpected de nouement, the doors were opened, I the dying sun smiled broadly over the I picture, and amid the ehouts and roar of laughter which frighteued the cow ao that she dropped upon her 1 knees, tbe curtain of the stage at G bbs' barn fell never to rise again. Review. |