Hi Cousins; Part IV Dan Rice�s Circus was better than ever and the show was sold out to packed audiences along the river every evening. Since the show played Hannibal, MO., it is generally presumed that Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens used it as a model when describing the circus in �Adventures of Huckleberry Finn�: "All the time that clown carried on it most killed the people. The ringmaster couldn�t ever say a word to him but he was back at him quick as a wink with the funniest things a body ever said: and how he ever COULD think of so many of them, and so sudden and so pat, was what I couldn�t no way understand. Why I couldn�t �a� thought of them in a year." Even though Dan was fiercely loved by his many fans his enemies hated him with as equally a passion. Performances were interrupted by hecklers who didn�t agree with his Republican views as they hurled garbage and insults at him. The clown became even more outspoken and this along with the threat of war caused the attendance to wane forcing Dan to play in buildings only in the largest cities. Audiences had more on their minds than the circus as the North and South were becoming more divided. Dan�s friendship in the South with Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee was causing his Northern audiences to accuse him of siding with the Confederacy, resulting in near riots during 1861 and 1862 but despite the controversy Dan�s good friend Abe Lincoln managed to find time to come to the show when it was appeared in a Washington, D.C. theater and visited with the jester afterward. But in spite of this demonstration of diplomacy and vote of confidence, Dan�s circus was not attracting the packed audiences it once did. There were rumors that the North had seized a steamship from one of Rice�s competitors and was using it as a floating hospital. Where was this country headed? Where were Dan�s fans and what happened to all his famous friends that were always there in the past toasting his success? Rice was soon bankrupt and subsequently his wife left the broken clown. After the war, the clown seemed to be regenerated and he quickly formed a new circus packing the stands once again. During a visit to his new wife�s hometown Dan paid $35,000. to have a monument built to honor the fallen war heroes. Dan�s popularity had returned and he seemed to be able to do no wrong, but our clown made a very poor business move and entered a disastrous circus association with Adam Forepaugh his friend and Girard neighbor. Dan was once again financially ruined! To be continued Will Dan�s seesaw luck tip up again? Where is a talking pig when you need him? Stay tuned�� Sources: 1)"Two Hundred Years of the American Circus, from Aba-Daba to the Zavatta Troupe" by Tom Ogden, Facts on File Publishing, New York USA 2) "Circus Heroes and Heroines" by Rhina Kirk, 1972, Hammond Inc., New York, New York USA