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Wm. D. Naylor Page 14
--Earl Bowman
Mr. Naylor's Story of
"The Dancdtg Turk egs
(Unedited)
"Whea a man's in the carnival business its a good deal like
when he's playing the races; he s either in the mamma big
or he s on his heels and washing his own shirts. There
doesn't seem to be any half-and-half spot he can land in. He's
either broke or flush; he either makes fit fast or don't
make it at all.
"But that don't mean that a real carnival man is ever on
the town. he keeps a front and eats...not because it is
handed to him from a back door or in a bread -line, but
because he figures out some way to make it on his own./
"You don't see any genuine old-time carnival bird working
the street for a dime, or picking up crumbs from a kitchen
back door. They're in and even if they're down to
the last two -bits you'd never know it by looking at them, or
hear it from their own lips. They might do a lot of
cussing in private, to themselves, but never a hard -luck story
to the outsiders•••
"They've always got some kind of an idea tucked back in
their head that they can pull out and turn into ham -and -egg
Wm. D. Naylor Page 15
--Earl Bowman
money somehow.
"Even if the show goes flat, they'll raise tickets to the
next burg someway and that wit/Out passing the public
collection plate.
"And they'll raise it on the square...according to the
'ethics' of the profession which is: 4Iszatitive the 'suckers'
nothing...larbadataxxximaximatictxrAmitiumax for their money, but
when you give them nothing...you give theml something:" Just
tail
like Barnum with his tuaxx 'horse with its kmad where its
head
katk ought to bet (with its head at the back of the stall
and its tail in the mangers) gave the suckers nothing and still
he gave them a dimes worth of 'experience' for looking at
the broncho in reverse:
"That s the way a carnival man is; he don t give theta
any thing, yet he gives them Isomething'...amitmzbutot entertainment,
expeelence, or amusement for the chicken feed he takes away
from them at his rack, or wheel or ring -board. And if he
has a run of imua4uckl he always finds a way to get out
somehow, raise a stake and climb back into the game.
"Thatits the way it was when I invented the 'dancing turkeys'
when I got into the carnival racket after quitting Doc Porter's
ma= Medicine Show.
"It was down in the Oxark 11i11 country of Arkansas at a
country fair and it was one of those I dry haulti None of us
were dragging in enough to even pay ground rent.
"I was running a rack but none of the yokels kit in that
Wm. D. Naylor Page
Bowman
neighborhood seemed to have ambitions to be big league
baseball pitchers and they'd just stand around and look at
my babies, grin and never spend a dime for a handful of
balls. Even when I' d paid= spield-il free throws' they'd
back off, look suspicious and hang onto their dimes..,.
nit got under my skin and I figured there mast be smiumag
something they d go for if I could only frame it tp.
"Well, I finally got my inspiration.
"The town was one of those backwoods places like there
used to be along in rill virimancx late 11190's where there
wasn't any stock laws', and cows hogs horses, chickens
and turkeys„.and hound dogs...ran around without restraint.
"The turkeys wandering around the street, gawky and dumb
looking, gave me mg big idea I'd invent 'dancing turkeys!*
The natives ought to go for smax that sort of a show...
They did.
"I got a big dry goods box, about four feet square, fixed
ifs up with a wire cage on top; the back of the box open;
bought a couple olcuScsaurx turkeys, a Tom and a hen; put 'ea
in th e cage and was ready farx to exhibit my 'dancing turkeys.'
"Those natives fell for it in droves...at a dime a piece.
And it was a good show!
"I'd spiel a crowd in --had en roped off so they couldn't get
too close to the cage, then start the performance. The turks
would be standing or squatted there as sleep and stupid as
common' turkeys are, then I'd start playing on a tin flute,
sduaething like an Indian snake charmer, sort of slow and soft
Wm D Naylor Page
--Earl Bowma
at first. The turks would pork up, as if listening to the
up
music then they tit start to step around, jerking mum first
on then the other just as if they were keeping time to
A
the tune" I'd watch em and as they stepped faster I'd play
faster and pretty soon those darned birds would be doing a
regular tap dance or...maybe you ought call it a 'turkey trot'
around that cage/ Then I'd ease down on the music, shoo the
crowd out, and fill the tent with a new bunch of suckers..,
"Pretty soon I had plenty of' dough. And my dancing turkeys
was a senstation!
"How'd I train' em so quick?'
"Simple: I just had a tin bottom in the cage and a big
coal oil/ lamp under itAticaimuitta a negro kid inside of the
the box to turn the lamp up when I'd start to play, and turn
it down when lid kick the side of the box after the turks
had danced long enough
"It was worth the money and the natives got all they paid
for... You know a turkey can lift his feet awful quick when
he's standing on something hot; and Aux he looks darned funny
while he's doing it...."
(more Naylor to come)