Hi Cousins; Part III of "The Amazing Dan Rice" Business was very good for Dan Rice and his circus. Among his friends and admirers in those pre-Civil War days were Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. So many of his political associates came to his benefit performance in Washington, D.C. in 1850 that Congress adjourned for the day! Later this year Dan�s good luck took a change for the bad and he developed yellow fever thus forcing him to cancel the circus boat tour for the remainder of the year but while recovering in a New Orleans hospital, he met presidential hopeful Zachary Taylor who was visiting a friend that was a patient. This marked the beginning of a long and faithful friendship between the two and this alliance proved to be beneficial for both in their future aspirations. After Dan recovered and returned to his circus, he became an active supporter of Taylor beginning each performance with a campaign speech. It is widely believed that this active campaigning from the circus ring was most instrumental in Zachary Taylor�s election to office. President Taylor named the clown an aide with the title of Colonel and this resulted in Dan�s career flourishing more than ever, but Colonel Dan Rice was beginning to become egotistical and temperamental. Dan began to feud with Dr, Spalding who had owned the Nichols Circus that had been the jester�s first circus job and he would especially bad mouth Spalding anytime that their circuses appeared near each other. Spalding won a slander suit against Rice and the clown was imprisoned but the ambitious Colonel Dan Rice used this time to work on his act and he composed a song titled "Blue Eagle Jail which presented Dan as a martyr that was wrongful jailed. Once released from his cell, he was given a hero�s welcome and this was his most popular request in the circus ring. In 1853 Dan purchased property in Girard, Erie Co., PA and in 1856 he added to his Girard real estate holdings resulting in him owning a whole city block in this township. Rice would winter his shows for the next twenty years here attracting many other circus folks and in course of time it became known far and wide as a "show town." Included in the list of well known show people who relocated to Girard were Dr. James L. Thayer, who got his start as an employee of Rice's; Charles W. Noyes, one of his pupils; Abe Henderson, Agrippa Martin and Seymour Pease, all at one period of town owners or part owners of extensive circuses. Besides Dan Rice�s Circus there were at least four others organized in the small township of Girard being Thayer & Noyes' Circus , Rice & Forepaugh's Circus, Anderson & Co.'s Circus and G. R. Spalding & Co.'s Circus. (Note: I believe this circus atmosphere may the impetus that influenced so many of my WALDO family members in their joining the circus industry!) Despite his continued success with packed audiences, it was about this time that Dan�s list of critics was beginning to grow. Newspaper men (especially Horace Greeley) considered the clown "unlearned" and a "language destroyer" as they did not like his slang and his making parodies of the high respected Shakespeare�s works and they verbally flamed him in their publications. In reality it could have been professional jealousy, but whatever the reason it was nevertheless painful for the clown to hear. When Dan became charitable and gave special performances for orphanages (something unheard of at this time) he was branded as egomaniacal maestro. Dan fought back against their hurtful remarks by being even more outspoken in the circus ring. He decided to make his act even better by adding more dancers, singers, and other performers- making his show the best with the most acts ever seen in an American 1 ring circus! To be continued�. How will the Amercian Civil War effect Dan? How will he deal with his friends (of opposing sides) Yank Abe Lincoln and, Southern Sons Robert E. Lee and Jefferson ? Can he be all to everyone? Enjoy�Patti Sources: 1)"Circus Days Under the Big Top" by Richard Glendinning, 1969, Garrard Publishing Co., Champaign, IL USA 2)"Circus Heroes and Heroines" by Rhina Kirk, 1972, Hammond Inc., New York, New York USA 3)"The Book of Clowns" by Spearight, 1980, MacMillan Publishing, Los Angeles USA 4) "Two Hundred Years of the American Circus, from Aba-Daba to the Zavatta Troupe" by Tom Ogden, Facts on File Publishing, New York USA