The Fort Dodge Messenger: Aug. 6, 1904

The Lions Take a Fast Ride

Horses Run With Cage Holding King of Beasts

Big Vehicle Gets Start of Team and Driver And Dashes Down Hill Leading to Round Prairie

A runaway with a cage of lions is an exciting thing at best and when the danger of a steep hill is added to the event, the affair takes on a form that involves considerable danger.

This is the very thing that occurred this morning as the pageant of the Norris & Rowe show left their grounds on Round Prairie to the Third street viaduct, the big vehicle proved too much for the brake and the horses were unable to hold it back. When the predicament dawned on the driver, he let the horses run down hill until they struck the level of the viaduct, where the big wagon was slowly brought under control. It dashed clear across the viaduct, however, before the driver could regain control.

The rapid rate of travel and the bouncing he got, proved a matter of considerable concern to his highness, the king of beasts, who was the single occupant of the cage, and he dashed against the bars of his prison in a manner that threatened it with destruction.  He had quieted down fairly well, however, by the time the procession reached Central Avenue, and was only walking back and forth in a manner that denoted the rapid ride had gotten on his nerves. The parade got back to the show grounds without further accident.

(Editor’s note: This article was published on a Saturday. At the time, The Fort Dodge Messenger published Monday through Saturday. There is another article, published on Aug. 8, 1904, which details an incident later the same day as the parade, when the lion escaped during the circus performance and severely injured a horse belonging to Charles Dayton.)

Tags: 1904, Dayton, Norris, Rowe