Social Victorians/1887 American Exhibition/Indigenous and Arabs

Logistics

• 31 October 1888

Related Events

• The American Exhibition, which opened on 6 May 1887

Prior Events

• 18 April 1887: The "Wild West" show moves to Earl's Court.

The Event Itself

Lowe describes an event involving the Indigenous performers of Buffalo Bill's Wild West and some Arabic performers from the Paris Hippodrome who were in London:

It only remains to be said that the close of the Exhibition (31st of October) was marked by an incident which fittingly pointed the moral of the past six months' fraternising between England and America.*

* A curious feature of all this "international fraternising" was also furnished, toward the close of the Exhibition, by a meeting between some "dusky denizens of the East" and the Wild Indians of the West, which Mr. Whitley had contrived to arrange at Earl's Court, and which was certainly the first meeting of the kind that had ever taken place — a troupe of Arabs from the Paris Hippodrome, then performing at "Olympia," and "Buffalo Bill's" Braves. Mr. Whitley had them drawn up in two lines, one hundred Indians and one hundred Arabs. They shook hands and dined together as his guests, and then spent two hours together sight-seeing in the Exhibition. "This visit," said a chronicler, "excited considerable interest, as the Frenchmen were accompanied by a large troupe of Arabs, and all present were anxious to see the meeting between these Eastern 'children of the desert' and the Red Men from the plains of the Far West. About two o'clock the Olympia company arrived, with the Arabs in their picturesque native dress — white burnous, baggy trousers, red leather boots, &c., and proceeded at once to the Indian encampment. Here they were received by 'Buffalo Bill,' Mr. Nate Salsbury, and all the cowboys and Indians. Much shaking of hands took place between the Red Skins and the swarthy Arabs, the latter entering the wigwams of the Braves and generally making themselves at home. It was a curious sight, this mingling of races in the narrow avenues of the camp — French men and women, Americans, Mexicans, English, Arabs, Nubians, and Indians. The Red Men, after their manner, spoke little; but the rest of those present helped to give one a good idea of the confusion of tongues at the building of the Tower of Babel. After a general fraternisation, the Arabs, with the rest of the Hippodrome troupe, witnessed the performance in the arena, which seems to interest and afford them considerable amusement."

This was an enthusiastic meeting of representative Americans and Englishmen, including the Marquis of Lorne (who presided), Lord Ronald Gower, Sir Henry de Bathe, Sir John Heron-Maxwell, Colonel George H. Moncrieff, Mr. J. S. Jeans, Professor Leone Levi, Dr. Gladstone, Dr. Pankhurst, Mr. A. B. Scott, City [115/116] Chamberlain, Mr. Whitley, and a large number of others, to consider the question of arbitration as a means of obviating recourse to war for the settlement of international disputes.

Who Was Present

• 100 of the Indigenous performers from the show
• 100 Arabs from the Paris Hippodrome
• John R. Whitley
• William F. Cody
• Nate Salsbury
• Marquis of Lorne
• Lord Ronald Gower
• Sir Henry de Bathe
• Sir John Heron-Maxwell
• Colonel George H. Moncrieff
• Mr. J. S. Jeans
• Professor Leone Levi
• Dr. Gladstone
• Dr. Pankhurst
• Mr. A. B. Scott
• and others