"I recall my father saying that the first time he ever saw this trick done was by Hugo Schmitt in the act he brought over from Germany to the Ringling Show in 1948 however after crawling over, it simply went on about it's business.
I also saw the show that year and don't remember this at all but did see my first one-foot stand and hind-leg walk and was mightily impressed.
He had just taken over the Bailey Bros. elephants and immediately added it to that act but had the elephants pass over, return and mount the prone elephant to complete the trick.
He called it "Over the garden wall" which I think it is still called today."
Buckles
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Saturday, June 14, 2014
2014 Cole Bros. #12
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3 comments:
Buckles, you seem to be implying that the hind leg walk was a rather scarce trick back in the day? Please tell us more about the trick's evolution! Any idea who first did it or how far back?
Dick Flint
Baltimore
That's a good question.
I don't have any pictures of that trick being performed prior to "Snyder" on the Floto Show but I'm sure it had been done long before.
I think I've seen a stereo view (at CWM?) of Mogul on O'Brien's Menagerie doing a hind leg stand and I might be able to come up with another or two but have no idea if these are hind leg walks or merely standing tricks. Can you run the pictures of Snyder and tell us how you know it is a walk. Also what is the year since I recall Snyder was on Sells Floto a number of years. Many thanks as I think it is important to record the history of the tricks themselves as well as the biographies of elephants.
Dick Flint
Baltimore
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