Continuing to roam around the late nineteenth century American frontier, where a surprising number of newspaper descriptions of leap year balls originate, here are some excerpts from a burbling account of a ball in the small town of Douglas, Wyoming. Like Sun River, it was founded in 1867 and was probably extremely small. The 1890 Wyoming census recorded only 2,988 people in all of Converse County. The ball was described on page five of Bill Barlow's Budget on Wednesday, February 8, 1888, as having taken place the previous Friday evening. The newspaper title is interesting; more about the paper and its colorful founder, Merris C. Barrow, may be found at the Wyoming Historical Society's Wyohistory site.
The ball was held at the Douglas opera house and was described as "the most successful and enjoyable affair of its kind in the history of Douglas." Balls are generally described in newspapers as successful unless some sort of disaster occurs, but in a town whose history stretched back only two decades, it might actually have been true.
Leap year elements:
- the committees were all-female: five married women for invitations, five for reception, three unmarried and two married women for "floor", and two married women for finance (the ball had a $5 surplus)
- invitations were issued to ladies for "yourself and gentlemen"
- ladies "attended to every detail of the ball and supper"
- no gentlemen ("male biped") was allowed unattended on the floor
- a gentleman suggesting refreshments for his lady was given a "stony stare"
The official number of participants in the grand march was recorded as thirty-eight couples. The attendance at supper, held at a local cafe, was listed as one hundred people, presumably including the late arrivals and spectators mentioned in the article. The author raved about the spread:
Poems in roast turkey, chicken and ham, and symphonies in cake and other toothsome delicacies adorned the tables, which fairly shown in their garniture of crystal and silver.
Two bands were mentioned: Mecum's Orchestra and the Douglas Cornet Band. The latter seems to have played either before the ball or early in the ball, including for the grand march. Having two bands was not unusual (they often alternated) but I'm impressed that they managed it in rural Wyoming.
Once again, a program of dances was included, this time in easy-to-read list format:
1. March Grand
2. Waltz
3. Quadrille Plain
4. Polka
5. Quadrille Lancers
6. Quadrille Waltz
7. Tempest
8. Newport
9. Quadrille Plain
INTERMISSION.
10. Schottische
11. Virginia Reel
12. Galop
13. Portland Fancy
14. Waltz
15. Fireman’s Dance
16. Polka
17. Quadrille
18. Racquet
GOOD NIGHT WALTZ.
This is a nicely balanced mix with nine set dances and seven couple dances, plus the march:
- a Grand March at the beginning
- five quadrilles (two plain, one Lancers, one waltz, one unspecified but probably plain)
- the Virginia Reel and the contras Tempest, Portland Fancy, and the Fireman's Dance
- two waltzes, two polkas, a galop, a Newport, and a Racquet (Racket)
It's interesting that the Tempest (which is not La Tempête) keeps popping up. And I'm pleased and impressed to see a Newport and a Racket on the program, both couple dances that were new and not that common on dance programs. That's a surprising level of sophistication for a frontier town. I started looking into leap year balls for descriptions of amusing leap year customs, but I'm finding plenty of basic dance information as well!
It's not clear whether supper was held at the intermission or at the end of the ball, recorded as "one plus two o'clock".
The original description of the ball may be found online here.
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