WILD WEST EXHIBITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11924, 24 December 1900, Page 5

WILD WEST EXHIBITION.

The Wild West exhibition- given by Broncho George's Company at .the Caledonian ground on Saturday afternoon attracted a very respectable " gate." There was a fairly numerous assemblage in the grand stand, and the part of the grounds immediately below was crowded. The performing members of the company are only two in number, but they gave the spectators a good " shilling's -worth." The exhibition, for the most part, was on the same lines as that given by the cowboys connected with a circus that visited Dunedin some years ago; but " buck-jumping" is ever attractive to most colonials, and the feats of horsemanship of that character which were included in Saturday's programme were watched with keen interest. A long delay took place in getting the business of the day started, and the crowds manifested their impatience by cries of ' Bo something, George." However, the fault did not entirely rest with the management, as the Caledonian Society's officials delayed the proceedings somewhat in satisfying themselves that the. equestrian exhibition was not going to destroy the turf. Three-quarters of an hour or thereabouts after the advertised time the first item on the programme was commenced—namely, " An exhibition of the method of lassooiug, as used in the Wild West of America; picking up coins," etc. The performer was Broncho George himself, who, prior to starting, explained that ha had broken a. small bone in his leg at Timaru,but would endeavour to go on with the programme "as if nothing had happened," in which determination the crowd encouraged him with applause. Broncho George then proceeded to demonstrate his skill with the lasso. As two horses were galloped past him he leisurely brought them up by throwing his xope at them with unfailing accuracy, sometimes catching them about the legs, sometimes pitching it over the animals' heads, and occasionally binding up horseman and horse together. Broncho next mounted an animal himself, using an American saddle, which is not unlike a, colonial pack-saddle in general appearance, and, putting the animal to a hand-gallop, picked up objects from the ground, such as pieces of rope and paper. Ho also picked up a small coin which was wrapped in a piece of paper. The performance, all through, was a decidedly clever and interesting one, especially considering that the ridor suffered from an injured limb. A three-mile race between Broncho George and a cyclist (A.' Sangster) next too place. .Broncho George had two horses, which he changed at the end. of every second lap, and Sangster was paced by A. F. W. Hill, A. C. Handell, G. A. -Bell, and A. E. O'Connor. A flying start was effected, and from the first it was seen that the cyclist had "no show.' First of all the horse- | man did not nearly cover the same distance, as he rode on the turf, a good bit away from the track, and necessarily cut pretty big corners off to safely negotiate the turns. At no time, in fact, was the issue in doubt, although when the changes of mounts took place the cyclist was sometimes half a lap ahead. Broncho won fairly easily by a full " length." A one-mile race between Broncho and .A. F. W. Hill also took place, and again resulted in a win for the horseman. The conditions were the same, and although Hill rode very gamely, he was beaten by Bft or 10ft. The buck-jumping competition was then proceeded with, and it-was decidedly the best thing of the afternoon. A spirited young horse was first brought out, and a local rider mounted it. He rode him gamely and well, but got dismounted in an apparently vesy simple fashion, when the animal's movements did not appear to be nearly so violent as when the rider first mounted it. Broncho's colleague—a young, slender-looking man with flowing yellow locks that many a damsel might envy—next "got on" and—stayed there. The horse appeared to readily recognise that he was a fixture, and after giving one or two violent kicks of disgust, resigned himself to his fate. The next horse that was brought out was a still more spirited animal, and the way in which , the young fellow—whose name was not mentioned on the programme—stuck to his mount -.vas a treat to see. The animal leaped in the air, and did its best to tie himself into a knot, but the rider appeared to be in no way disconcerted or inconvenienced. It took furious gallops which it terminated with a leap into' the air, coming down with its head between its forelegs, but all to no purpose. In one of these galiops it fell heavily on its side, but it was up in a moment with the man still ■on top smiling serenely. The animal then took to running along the grounds, and it tried to dislodge the rider by rubbing him against a. pole. Failing in this, it ran towards the gate, which stood open just sufficiently wide to permit of a person to pass through. It stood there for a moment, and as Broncho George rode up to catch it by the head it plunged through the aperture out into the road. The rider's head was dashed heavily against the top corner of the gate, which shook with the force of the concussion, and great fears were expressed that if he had not been stunned the man's leg would have been broken and the horse would get away with him. However, although his face and head were bleeding profusely, the young fellow still maintained his calm demeanour, and, alighting quietly, held the horse till it was taken from him. Dr Coughtrey, who happened to be near, had him brought into Blaney's Hotel, and found that he had escaped with some severa cuts about the head and a. bruise on the face. A quarter of an hour afterwards, when the young fellow made his appearance with his head bandaged up, he was deservedly rewarded with a warm round of applause. The exhibition then, closed and the gathering dispersed.