By Ken Edwards and Richard Gorby
(Editor’s Note: The “Horribles,” a group of fun-loving Prescott men, had fantastic, outlandish costumes and put on hilarious literary and musical presentations. Their performances were greatly anticipated each Fourth of July on the Plaza. The following is a continuation of their antics as presented previously in Days Past articles by Ken Edwards and Richard Gorby.)
After parading about the Plaza, the troupe proceeded to the north end of the Courthouse where the literary exercises took place. Uncle Sam recited, in fine style, the Declaration of Impudence, which was interrupted on numerous occasions by rounds of applause. This was followed by music from the Horrible Band, and then a reading of poetry created especially for the occasion. Then more band music followed by the Horrible orator of the day whose presentation convulsed the audience.
Among the other characters who paraded about were two men who portrayed an Indian and his squaw, who “almost excelled the wild Apaches themselves.” There was a cowboy who would have made a Texas desperado ashamed of himself, a jockey on an untamed ox, a magnificently attired Grand Marshal, and a number of nondescript characters who added to the general merriment.
“The ten foot giant” was M.E. Marin. “The Commodore” (in HMS Pinafore) was E.W. French, Probate Judge and County School Superintendent. Two years later French was deposed from both positions, charged with embezzlement and forgery. After a lengthy trial, French was finally cleared.
Dick Jeasen was the “Rooster.” The “Lost Child with Rattle in Hand” was Joseph Tiernan, owner of a dairy and a fireman. He may have been chosen as a “Lost Child” because of his weight – 300 pounds!
Joe Roberts, who led the procession as a policeman was born in Australia and was the owner of the O.K. Meat Market in the basement of the Hotel Burke.
The Miner declared, in summary, that this was the grandest “whoop-up” that the community had ever known and one that would be long remembered in the annals of Arizona fun and frolic.
In the years that followed the 1881 parade, many further farcical presentations were performed in Prescott for the Fourth of July. Generally, all characters, male and female, were played by men, with the exception of the Goddess of Liberty who eventually was portrayed by a young woman. In 1882, two men in a boat were described as fishing ichthyologic curiosities out of a tub. Their sail was inscribed, “When fishing in Arizona, use water for bait.” Another vehicle carried a ponderous wench “whose avoirdupois threatened annihilation of the frail vehicle.”
A wagon contained a barrel surrounded by blocks of bullion, each labeled with the name of one of the principal mines in the area. A “professor” was engaged in trying to replace the bung in the barrel. At each stroke of his mallet, a youth hidden inside responded by throwing out a new bar of bullion.
Similar nonsense was engaged in each year the Horribles performed. Although some years were missed, the Horribles were a feature attraction of the Fourth of July celebration until 1894. In 1882, 1884, 1886, and 1891, the local newspapers gave detailed coverage of the Horribles and their antics. For most of these performances, Joseph Dauphin was the organizer and creative artiste of the assemblage and he received high praise from the local writers.
The final impressive display of the Horribles was in 1891, at which time they were described as eclipsing everything of this kind ever before presented in Prescott. After that year, the parade received only brief notice in the newspapers. In 1892, the Journal-Miner reported that a gang of fresh and overgrown kids attempted to impersonate the Horribles, to their discredit. They only created an expression of disgust and “ought to have been run in.” In 1893 and 1894, the Horribles became a children’s presentation with costumes created by Mrs. Zora Morgan. Although the costumes were much praised, the performances were not. In 1893, Mrs. Morgan was credited with creating 94 costumes for the parade and, in 1894, received a request from Flagstaff for 50. Perhaps from exhaustion, she died later that year, and nothing more was heard of the Horribles from that time on.
(Ken Edwards is a volunteer and tour guide at the Sharlot Hall Museum. Richard Gorby was a volunteer at SHM until he moved out of state a few years ago.)
The Fish-Horn Band played “horrible” music, led by Bert Lincoln with John Doyle as the drum major (Photo Courtesy Sharlot Hall Museum – Call Number: O-138pl. Reuse only by permission).
Anton Emanuel was “The old woman carrying a man on her back.” He fought in the Franco-Prussian War and came to Prescott under the command of General Crook (Photo Courtesy Sharlot Hall Museum – Call Number: O-138pi. Reuse only by permission).
By 1893, the “Horribles” became a children’s presentation with many of the same costumes created earlier, as well as many new ones created by Zora Morgan. By the end of the next year, nothing more was heard of the Horribles (Photo Courtesy Sharlot Hall Museum – Call Number: O-138pn. Reuse only by permission).