51

THOUSANDS SEE THE WILD WEST.
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The Ducal Party and the Naval Officers Divide Honors with the Show.

In the rebound of the masses from the closed gates of the Exposition more than 18,000 persons found their way into the big wooden pavilion of the Wild West show to witness its afternoon performance. The congress of rough riding was in session before 3 o'clock, opening with a grand review that took the shine of all the three ring circuses extant. Miss Annie Oakley had broken a basket full of glass balls with her rifle, and a cowboy in buckskin had won a spectacular race in the arean against a Cossack, a Mexican and a [Choctaw?] in war paint, when there was a commotion in the great grand stand crowd. The Cossack was disappearing through a distant mountain that was painted on canvas when the ducal party arrived. The Duke of Veragua, the Duchess, ther son, the Hon. Christobel Colon y Commissioner, and Commander Dickins entered and were shown seats in a box by Manager John M. Burke.

As they took their places a great many of the spectators arose out of respect to them. This courtesy was returned by the Duke, who bowed and smiled blandly right and left. Then he gave his eyes to the sights in the big area. A pony post-rider delivering the mails, a train of prairie schooners allowing itself to be attacked without fatalities by marauding Indians and a group of Syrian horsemen, each had its turn in amusing the descendants of Columbus. Then the visiting naval officers, in a party of seventy, entered the amphitheater and attracted much attention. In this party were Admiral E. G. Howard, short and blonde in a dark cape coat; Admiral Magnaghi, and Capt. Whtie of the English Royal Marines. The modest citizens' attire of the officers was in striking contrast with the gorgeous gold

Chicago [???]

lace which they wore Saturday. But all the time during their entrance the cowboys were lassoing horses and setting the spectators wild with their evolutions on bucking horses. A dozen Cossacks mounted on yellow ponies paraded around the inclosure singing a weird native humn which had all the swing and charm of "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay." Many persons were inclined to believe that the two airs were identical. At all events the song of those red-gowned Cossacks seemed to be the original version of the popular tune, and before the gentlemen from the Caucasus had ended their musical ride the man who has been charged with having written "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" was proven an impostor.