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The Sharpshooter and the Showman:
May Lillie, Pawnee Bill, and their Wild West Show
The storm that overcame Bloomington, Illinois, on August 28, 1895, started slowly, the peripheral winds rustling the trees. The large crowd at the McLean County amphitheater attending Pawnee Bill’s Wild West show paid little attention to the light drizzle tapping on the ceiling of the canvas enclosure. Their focus was on May Lillie and her mustang. The “Queen of the Markswomen” had coaxed her horse into a gallop, and she was shooting glass balls strategically placed around the performance arena. It wasn’t until the conclusion of her act when she stopped firing her gun that the sound of a large clap of thunder could be heard. Patrons recognized the weather had taken a serious turn.
A torrent of rain fell followed by strong gusts of wind, testing the resolve of the tent’s roof and walls. The wind screamed around the heavy flaps of the covering, pulling hard at the stakes keeping the tent in place. It was clear the unrestrained gale was determined to take down anything in its path. Pawnee Bill urged the audience and the program’s cast and crew to find alternate shelter. Many of the 5,000 plus patrons didn’t heed the warning and refused to move. Only when the wind began tearing the tent in pieces, blowing it down in the process, did the people scramble to find a way out from under the sheets of canvas.
Every person who was able to run picked up their pace, holding futile hands skyward in an attempt to protect themselves from the torrential downpour. Moments after the canopy collapsed, the stadium seats came down with a crash. Further chaos ensued and a general stampede followed; women and children were crushed and walked upon. By the time patrons made their way out of the muddy fairgrounds they were soaked to the skin, but no one had been hurt. People took refuge under ticket wagons, in box stalls, and the tents still standing that belonged to the Indians in the show.
All the property, sets, and equipment belonging to the Wild West show was drenched in the storm. Pawnee Bill and his players gathered the meager remains of the program that could be salvaged and left for the next scheduled engagement in Champaign, Illinois.
The early days of Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show’s 1895 season were plagued with unfortunate incidents such as the powerful rainstorm in Bloomington. Performers were injured after being thrown from their horses, some cast members suffered with various illnesses, and inclement weather hurt ticket sales. What helped improve business along the way were the daring cowgirls who joined May in the arena. Women performing tricks most thought only men could or should attempt were a major draw. Women such as equestrian Mexican Rose, the charming senorita and the most daring and reckless horsewoman in the world, and cowgirls Nadine White and Bertha Smith who rode at breakneck speeds around the arena retrieving items placed in the dirt and climbing under their horses and up the other side while the animal raced along, were astonishing.
To learn more about the Lillies read
The Sharpshooter and the Showman:
May Lillie, Pawnee Bill, and their Wild West Show
I’ll be at a variety of locations throughout Oklahoma from May 5 through the 12th giving book presentations.
Visit the Events Section of the www.chrisenss.com site for more information and to enter to win a copy of The Sharpshooter and the Showman.
