The Circus Comes to Stillwater!

I think there’s a misconception that county historical societies are 100% and entirely focused on their small narrow pieces of local histories. And while, yes, we will chronicle the lives of our communities’ farmers, politicians, wives, and doctors…these men and women didn’t live in a vacuum.

There are plenty of opportunities to tie historic Stillwater to the big picture of American history. Dan Castello’s Great Circus and Egyptian Caravan’s visit to Stillwater in October 1870 is perhaps one of the most fun.

Now, you may have not heard of Dan Castello (pictured to the right), but he had made a name for himself the previous year by being the first circus to perform on both coasts of the United States in the same season. The endeavor was enormously successful and earned him a reported $60,000 (about $1 million in 2016).

Stillwater was actually one of his final stops on his Egyptian Caravan tour. The whole operation spent the year traveling aboard the 152 foot long Benton, loading and unloading the entire operation at water adjacent venues along the Great Lakes and Midwest. Naturally, this included the highlight of the “Egyptian Caravan”, the 8 camels purchased from the Army after they proved to be unsuccessful replacement mules in Arizona and Nevada.

A staunch Unionist, Castello’s performance also concluded with a satirical depiction of a Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony. It’s not hard to imagine Stillwater’s Civil War veterans enjoying this jab at the inheritors of Confederate-ideals.

1870 would be the only year Castello would tour with this group, for he was destined for bigger and better things.

In 1871, Castello and his co-investor William C. Coup entered a partnership with the legendary P.T. Barnum. The three revolutionized the circus-industry and would eventually develop the “Greatest Show on Earth”.

Stillwater Republican – October 4, 1870

Dan Castello’s Circus and Egyptian Caravan, are advertised for this city next Saturday afternoon and evening. This is the first circus that has visited us this season, and from all reports, we believe it to be the best show traveling. At all events, they understand the value of printer’s ink, as attested by the flaming advertisement on this page, and their mammoth posters around town.The last are a good show themselves, and triumphs of the art of printing.

There is connected with this show a first class ballet troupe, which is a new featured, and attractive, in the business. Those desirous of seeing a show of this kind had better tend out on this one, as it will, in probability, be the last.

The above information about Dan Castello’s life is from “Grand Entree: The Birth of the Greatest Show on Earth, 1870-1875”. Available online.

Some Whys and Wherefores of Stillwater Prison

from “Thru the Mill” by ‘4342’ – George Bartlett

No changes have been made in these rules for a number of years, to my personal knowledge, as I have seen copies of them dated as far back as 1905, the same as these given here which are quotes from the 18th Biennial Report of the prison for 1913-1914 recently published.

Changes in conditions have not in any manner affected the rules themselves. A good example of this is found by noting paragraph 12, under Shop Rules, just quoted.

Any inmate found with a pencil in his possession, unless he had special permission from the Warden or Deputy, was reported for breach of discipline. But, any prisoner who had the money could purchase a fountain pen from the Steward’s Department, which he might carry and use as he liked. As far as I could learn regarding this ruling, the carrying of pencils was prohibited some time ago in order to keep prisoners from writing notes to each other. When the fountain pens were permitted, the rule regarding pencils was still kept in force, and officers were reporting men for breaking the pencil rule when I left the institution. This is one of the many such rules that make it harder for the poor devil obliged to obey them, with no real advantage of benefit either to him or the institution but a source of worry to both.

An officer said to me one day, “You better not change that,” when I spoke of a short cut I might make in the keeping of my records, “We have been doing it the old way now for 20 years, so we had better not change it.”

It is also stated in the rules governing Guards and Officers, that no prisoners shall at an time be allowed in the yard at night unless in the custody of an officer. During the summer of 1913 a convict affected with tuberculosis received permission to sleep in a tent in the prison yard. When his work was done for the day, he reported to the Cell House with his regular crew, got his supper and went to his tent, in the upper part of the yard, escorted by an armed guard, where he was left the rest of the night unguarded. In the morning he reported to the Hospital Building, near which his tent was pitched, and the officer accompanied him to the Cell House.

Though this prisoner was left all night in an open tent with no guards on the walls and no one to watch him, it was deemed necessary to have an officer go with him and from the tent to see that he did not run away. This was according to the rules, and though the officer who used to walk with him through the yard often told me how foolish he himself used to feel when taking this prison to and form the Cell House, he realized that any deviation from this method of procedure might be cause of his dismissal.

To impress upon the prisoner the necessity of saluting an officer at all times, and in all places, the rules is referred to twice in the Shop Rules, paragraph 4 and 9, and also in paragraph 8 of the General Rules. This was important and punishable by a severe reprimand and mark, or the loss of tobacco privileges for thirty days. When a convict walked through the shops, to be on the safe side, he had to keep his arms waving in all directions like a windmill, or he was liable to a report for “not saluting an officer.”

The tobacco was passed to the cells by the Cell House Captain, Sunday morning just before chapel. No outside tobacco of any kind was permitted. Third grade prisoners at the old prison ate all their meals in their cells, which were dark and gloomy, located in the Dark Block, behind the Library, and shut off from all light from the front windows. At the new prison they eat in a separate portion of the regular dining room, but are given only stipulated amounts of food at each meal, the same in quality as the upper grades. No tobacco, papers, mail or privileges of any kind were allowed third grade prisoners, except bathing and chapel. Letters and papers received fro them were kept until they were advanced to the second grade. Their hair was kept clipped short, and wearing the striped clothing they were marked as bad men and their every move watched.

A list of 43 offenses is given in the rule book, the same list appearing in the 18th Biennial Report, as follows:

Altering clothing, bed not properly made, clothing not in proper order, communicating by signs, defacing property, dilatory, dirty cell or furnishing, disobedience, disturbance in cellhouse, fighting, hands in pockets, hand or face not clean, hair not combed, insolence to officers, insolence to foremen, insolence to fellow prisoners, inattentive in line, inattentive at work, inattentive in school, laughing and fooling, loud talk in cell, loud reading in cell, malicious mischief, not out of bed promptly not at door for count, not wearing outside shirt, not promptly out of cell when brake is drawn, out of place in shop or line, profanity, quarreling, shirking, spitting on the floor, staring at visitors, stealing, trading, talking in chapel, talking in line, talking in school, talking at work, talking from cell to cell, talking in corridor, throwing away food.

After a prisoner has spent his first 30 days in the Silent City, he discovers half a hundred more offenses not mentioned above. These he becomes familiar with, generally by either receiving a severe reprimand, or being reported and sent to court for breaking them. Ignorance of the law, especially in Stillwater prison, is no excuse for the offender.

Note the 22nd offense on the above list, “Loud talk in cell.” I never heard an explanation for this ruling, as it was an offense punishable by solitary confinement to even read aloud or talk to one’s self in the cell. This rule was probably in force years ago when two men were permitted to occupy one cell, and has never been changed on the records.