The Mapleson Memoirs, 1848-1888 Volume Ii Part 17

Notwithstanding my all but insurmountable difficulties the performances never stopped, an announced opera was never altered, and the whole of the promised representations actually took place in each city; the press notices, which I still preserve, being unanimous as to the excellence of the representations.

I may mention that the travelling on these lines averages some 25 miles an hour only, there being several very steep gradients on the road. In some instances the train goes up over 3,000 feet in 57 miles, and down again; whilst the height of several mountains traversed by the train reaches from 7,000 to 8,000 feet.

CHAPTER XIII.

DEL PUENTE IN THE KITCHEN--SCALDING COFFEE--CALIFORNIAN WINE--THE SERGEANT TAKES A HEADER--THE RUSSIAN MOTHER--I BECOME A SHERIFF--A DUMB CHORUS--DYNAMITE BOMBS.

When the Company started for the steamer which was to ferry us across to the railway station, further trouble arose in consequence of the increased sums demanded (now that the rates had been got up) for the Pullman cars which I had ordered for the princ.i.p.al artists; amounting to a considerable sum. But this difficulty was ultimately surmounted, and we left early on Wednesday evening for Omaha, where we were due on the Friday following.

My private car, moreover, had been let, and I was forced to engage an ordinary Pullman, with no facilities whatever for cooking or even heating water. Hasty purchases had now to be made of wine, coffee, etc., and a few tins of preserved meats; and a start was made for Omaha.

I was obliged to make arrangements not only for provisioning my princ.i.p.al artists, but also for cooking their food. I bought, when we were on the point of starting, a couple of hams and some cans of tinned meat, wine, and several gallons of whisky; the latter being intended not for internal consumption, but simply for cooking purposes. I found that there was no kitchen in the train, and I was obliged to improvise one as best I could. Del Puente, besides being an excellent singer, is a very tolerable second-rate cook; and I appointed him to the duty of preparing the macaroni (which I must admit he did in first-rate style), and of acting generally as kitchenmaid and scullion. I myself officiated as _chef_, and saw at the close of each day that the eminent baritone washed up the plates and dishes and kept the kitchen utensils generally in good order.

Early every morning I prepared the coffee for breakfast; and I believe no better, and certainly no hotter coffee was ever made than that which one day just before the breakfast hour I upset, through a jolt of the train, over my unhappy legs.

The fresh invigorating air of the mountains and of the s.p.a.cious plains may have had something to do with it; but to judge from results, I may fairly say that my cooking was appreciated. My eight princ.i.p.al artists were, moreover, in charming temper. All professional jealousy and rivalry had been forgotten, except perhaps on the part of Del Puente, who did not quite like the secondary position which I had a.s.signed to an artist who had previously refused all but leading parts.

At most of the princ.i.p.al stations we were able to purchase eggs, chickens, tomatoes, and salad. There was generally, moreover, a cow in the neighbourhood; and wherever we had an opportunity of doing so we laid in a supply of fresh milk.

While on the subject of cows, I must say a word as to the cruel fate which these unhappy beasts meet with at the hands of the railway people.

In front of every train there is a "cow-catcher," which, when a cow gets on the line, shunts the wretched animal off and at the same time breaks its legs. I begged the driver more than once to stop the train and put the mutilated animal out of its misery with a revolver shot, but it was not thought worth while.

When a cow is destroyed by the "cow-catcher" the owner can claim from the railway company half its value; and it is said that in bad times when cattle are low in the market, or worse still, unsaleable, they are driven on to the line with a view to destruction. I have often in a day's journey perceived hundreds of the bleached skeletons of the animals killed outright by the "cow-catcher," or maimed and left to die.

An inspector, appointed by the railway company, pa.s.ses from time to time along the line and, after settling up, marks in the left ear and at the tip of the tail the dead beasts for which the company has paid. The former owner disposes of the carca.s.ses and hides; the latter alone possessing appreciable value. The former are left on the ground to become food for the crows; though the Indians will sometimes cut away portions of the meat when they come upon a beast which is still fresh.

During our eight days' journey I acted not only as cook, but also as butler; and our various wines, all of Californian growth, were excellent. They cost from 8d to 10d a bottle, and I was not alone in regarding them as of excellent quality. Singers are not great wine drinkers, but they are accustomed to wines of the first quality; and I may say in favour of the wines of California that they were appreciated and bought for conveyance to Europe by artists of such indubitable taste as Patti, Nilsson, and Gerster. The cost of carriage renders it impossible to send the wines of California to Europe for sale. But someday, when, for instance, the Panama Ca.n.a.l has been cut, there will be a market for them both in England and on the Continent. They are, of course, of different qualities. But the finest Californian vintages may be p.r.o.nounced incomparable. I remember once being entertained in company with some of my leading artists by Surgeon-General Hammond, at his house in Fifty-eighth Street, New York, when some Californian champagne was served which we all thought admirable. Our facetious host disguised it under labels bearing the familiar names of "Heidsieck" and "Pommery-Greno;" and we all thought we were drinking the finest vintages of Epernay and of Rheims. Then under the guise of Californian champagne he gave us genuine Pommery and genuine Heidsieck; the result being that we were all deceived. The wine labelled as French, but which was in fact Californian, was p.r.o.nounced excellent, while the genuine French wines described as of Californian origin seemed of inferior quality.

On arriving at Cheyenne I found it would be impossible to reach Omaha in time to perform _Carmen_, which was announced for the following evening; or Burlington, where _Lucia_ was billed for the Sat.u.r.day; or Chicago for our Sunday concert, for which every place had been taken. All had to be abandoned. Our special train was consequently diverted off to the right in the direction of Denver, where I telegraphed to know if they could take us in for a concert the following Sunday. On receiving a negative reply, I telegraphed to Kansas City, where my proposition was accepted.

I consequently wired the Kansas manager the names of the artists and the programme containing the pieces each would sing. Through the manipulation of the telegraph clerks scarcely one of the artists' names was spelt right, whilst the pieces they proposed to sing, as I afterwards found, were all muddled up together.

In due course our party reached Denver, where we took half an hour's stop for watering the train and obtaining ice for the water tanks in the different cars, after which we started on our road to Kansas City.

Shortly after leaving Denver one of my sergeants belonging to the corps of commissionaires--several of whom I had brought from London--was taken ill and reported to be suffering from sunstroke received many years previously in India.

During our brief stoppage at Denver one of the other sergeants had purchased him some medicine which he was in the habit of taking. About two o'clock in the morning he became very violent, and it was found necessary to cut the bell-cord running through the carriage in order to tie him down. I then gave orders to the sergeant-major to place him in a bed and have him watched by alternate reliefs of the other sergeants, changing every two hours.

About four in the morning, in the midst of a terrific thunderstorm, accompanied by torrents of rain, I was alarmed by the sudden entry of the sergeant-major, stating that the invalid under his charge had opened the window and taken a header straight out.

There was great difficulty in stopping the train in consequence of the absence of the bell-cord; but we ultimately succeeded in doing so.

Numbers of us went out to look for the poor man's remains, the vivid flashes of lightning a.s.sisting us in our search. As the water on each side of the railway was several feet deep, and as the sergeant was nowhere to be found on the line, we concluded after three hours' search that he must be drowned, and again started the train, leaving word at the first station of the misfortune that had happened.

In consequence of this delay we did not reach Kansas City until half-past ten at night, when a portion of the public met us to express in rather a marked manner their extreme disapprobation. It was afterwards explained to me that nearly every seat in the house had been sold, and that had we arrived in time we should have taken at least 800, which, in my straitened circ.u.mstances, would have been of considerable a.s.sistance.

We prosecuted our journey straight through to Louisville, Kentucky. But here, too, we failed to arrive at the proper time. The train being so many hours late, we did not reach our destination till eleven o'clock at night, when the audience, who had been waiting some considerable time, had gone home very irate. Minnie Hauk having rejoined us the following evening we played _Carmen_ to but a moderate house, in consequence of the public having lost all confidence in the undertaking. In settling up with the manager he deducted the whole of my share of the receipts, stating that they would partly compensate him for the losses incident to our non-arrival the first night, as well as on the previous night, and for the general falling off in the receipts caused by these mishaps. We afterwards went to the station to take the train for Indianapolis; but on arriving there I found that the Sheriffs had seized and attached, not only all the scenery, properties, dresses, and everybody's boxes, but the whole of my railway carriages; and it was only with the greatest possible difficulty, by giving an order on the next city, that I got the train released. I had, of course, to pay the Sheriff's costs, which were exceedingly heavy.

On arriving at Indianapolis very meagre receipts awaited us, these being absorbed entirely by the railway people on the order which I had given from Louisville. There were likewise sundry claims from San Francisco.

During the whole of my stay in Indianapolis I was unable to obtain even a single dollar from the management. I, however, arranged by antic.i.p.ating the coming week's receipts to clear up all my liabilities and get under way for Cincinnati, where the results of our engagement were something atrocious. The theatre was almost empty nightly, the public, by reason of the threatened riots, being afraid to go out in the streets.

I was now forced, in order to meet the large demands for railway fares, to drop at successive stations scenery, costumes, and properties. At one place an immense box, containing nothing but n.i.g.g.e.rs' wigs, mustachios, and beards, made by Clarkson, of London, pa.s.sed from my hands into those of the Sheriffs, who held an attachment against it. When I found it necessary to part at one station with _L'Africaine_, at another to separate myself from _William Tell_, and at a third to cast away the whole of _Il Trovatore_ and a bit of _Semiramide_, I felt like the Russian mother who, to secure her own safety, threw her children one after the other to the wolves.

I cannot, however, say that the wolves of the law are worse in America than in other countries. They bear the same honoured names that one is accustomed to among the members of the profession in happy England. I was interested, moreover, to learn that the Levys, the Isaacs, the Aarons, and the Solomons of the United States are all related to the Levys, Isaacs, Aarons, and Solomons of our own favoured land. I had so much to do with them, from the beginning of the retreat from Frisco until my arrival at New York, and the eve of my departure for Europe, that they ended by treating me as their friend, and made me free of their guild. They entertained me also at dinner, and gave me a badge; and when my health was drunk I was a.s.sured that in future I should be treated like a brother: for, said the speaker, referring to the fact that I myself was now a Sheriff, "Dog doesn't eat dog."

To return to my story, contracts having been given out for repairing the roads and repaving the city, in consequence of some league amongst the various contractors all the streets had been left unpaved at the same time; and as soon as every paving stone was up a general strike took place. It was impossible for a carriage to pa.s.s along anywhere without getting upset by the hillocks of stones. Suddenly we heard that the anarchists were rising, and now the city was filled with State militia accompanied by numerous Gatling guns for the purpose of clearing the streets. These things in combination so injured the business of the Opera that the theatre was empty every night. In many instances choristers were afraid to go through the streets to fulfil their duties.

We were now rejoined by Mdlle. Fohstrom, also by Mdme. Nordica; but all looked very unpromising. Our previous mishaps had been so much written about, telegraphed, and in every way exaggerated by the various papers, that all confidence seemed to have been withdrawn from us, and it was with the greatest possible difficulty we could carry through our performances.

As if in imitation of the paviours of Cincinnati, portions of my Company now began to strike. First the band struck, then the chorus, then the ballet.

One night, when _Lucia di Lammermoor_ was being played, a delegation of choristers notified me that unless all arrears were paid up they would decline to go on the stage. Argument was useless. The notification was in the form of an ultimatum. The choristers would not even wait until the close of the performance for their money, but insisted upon having it there and then.

I therefore had to begin the opera with the entrance of "Enrico,"

leaving out the small introductory chorus, which was not missed by the public. We thus got through the first act; also the first scene of the second act. The curtain was now lowered just before the marriage scene; and negotiations were again attempted, but still without success. I felt it necessary to improvise a chorus for the grand wedding scene, and it consisted of the stage-manager, the scene-painter, several of the programme-sellers, the male costumier, the armourer and his a.s.sistants, together with several workmen, ballet girls, etc., who, elegantly attired in some of my best dresses, had a very imposing effect. I gave strict instructions that they were to remain perfectly silent, and to act as little as possible; at the same time telling the princ.i.p.al singers to do their very best in the grand s.e.xtet.

The result was an encore and general enthusiasm. Everyone, too, was called before the curtain at the close of the act, and one of the leading critics declared that the _finale_ was "n.o.bly rendered."

Finding how well I could do without them the chorus now came to terms.

A concert was given on the following Sunday night which closed the engagement. The whole of the receipts had been absorbed by lawyers, sheriffs, railway companies, and the keepers of the hotels at which the princ.i.p.al members of the troupe put up. The hotel-keepers, moreover, had seized all the boxes. The train was drawn up at the station; but after waiting two hours the engine was detached and taken away into the sheds.

In the meantime dark groups of choristers were congregated in different parts of the city, and things did, indeed, look gloomy. During the night I succeeded in paying the different hotel bills; and ultimately in the small hours of the morning the train was got together and started for Detroit, I remaining behind to make arrangements for paying off the remaining attachments.

On the Company's arriving at Detroit it was discovered that Minnie Hauk's boxes containing her Carmen dresses had been left behind. As they could not possibly reach her in time I had to arrange by telegraph to have new dresses made for her during the afternoon. It took the whole of my time to release the fifty or sixty attachments that had been issued against the belongings of the various members of the Company, and I arrived in Detroit early the following morning with the things which I had at last triumphantly released. The whole of a Pullman car was filled with the various articles I had set free, including the _Carmen_ dresses, sundry stacks of washing, various dressing bags, and piles of ballet girls' petticoats, beautifully starched.

Our artistic success in Detroit was great, and, after performing three nights, we left after the last performance for Milwaukee.

We pa.s.sed from Detroit to Milwaukee, where but a few days beforehand the mob had been fired upon, with some eighteen killed and several wounded.

The whole town was in a state of alarm; neither Fohstrom's "Lucia" and "Sonnambula," nor Minnie Hauk's "Carmen," nor Nordica's "Margherita" in _Faust_ could attract more than enough cash to pay the board bills and fares to Chicago, for which city we left early the following morning.

The scenes that had taken place there must be fresh in the mind of everyone.

Bombsh.e.l.ls had been thrown by the Anarchists; numbers of people had been killed, and the public of Chicago was in the same frame of mind with regard to the opera as so many of the previous cities. It preferred to remain indoors.

Our musical operations were seriously interfered with by the strike, which was promptly responded to by a lock-out. The clothing manufacturers closed their shops, throwing but of employment nearly 2,000 superintendents--"bosses," as the Americans call them--and 25,000 hands. The hands had demanded ten hours' pay for eight hours' work, with 20 per cent. advance on trousers, and 25 per cent. on vests and coats.

The "bosses" demanded an advance of from 35 to 50 per cent. on all kinds of work; and it was resolved by the employers not to reopen until all the firms had made a successful resistance to these claims on the part of the workmen. The metal manufacturers and furniture makers had been threatened in like manner by their men; and they also refused to yield to the strikers. At the same time from 30,000 to 40,000 men were on strike at Cincinnati, where the suburbs were occupied by a whole army of troops. It now appeared that the disturbances at Chicago were closely connected with those at Cincinnati. Some of the Socialists on strike were armed, to the number of 600 or 700, with effective rifles, and they controlled the manufacture of dynamite sh.e.l.ls. The sh.e.l.ls which the rioters had been using at Chicago had been made at Cincinnati, and it was said that the Chicago Socialists had on hand for immediate use a supply of these infernal machines. At Milwaukee, some seventy or eighty miles from Chicago, nineteen Anarchists and Socialists had just been arraigned on a charge of riot and conspiracy "to kill and murder." In the streets of Chicago placards were posted on the walls announcing that groups of more than three persons would be dispersed by force; so that a husband and wife proceeding in company with two of their children to hear _Il Trovatore_ or _Lucia di Lammermoor_ ran the risk of being fired into by Gatling guns.

CHAPTER XIV.

SUBTERRANEAN MUSIC--THE STRIKER STRUCK--TUSCAN TAFFY--A HEALTHY "LUCIA"--I RECOVER FROM THE UNITED STATES--A BEKNIGHTED MAYOR.

We opened our Chicago season with a grand concert prior to the commencement of the regular performances in order to let the public know that all the Company was present in the city after the conflicting reports that had been circulated.