The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1854-11-23
DAxSUMrs Speech ON nUMBUGs.
Deliysred al Stamford on The OCCASION Of The
Agrnuhural Fair. sSs

II ias ~ cf -stas -. H.ia H
"It seems 10 be most unfortunate circu m :
stance that I should be selected 10 speak on
Humbug, as looking on ladies whose pro-
fession II pee uliary is, ] find il hard 10 ex
press myself in. their presence. Everything
Is huubug except our Agricultural Society
--,hat alone isnot.
"Hambug is generally defined deceit
or imposition.' A burglar who break. into
your house, fofger who cheats you of
your properly OF a rascal, is not a humbus
a humbug is not an impostof; but 10 my
opinion the true meaning of humbug is
management-lact TO take an old truth an
put il in an attractive form.
saBut-no humbus is great without truth al
the bottom. The woolly horse was reaIi.
ty. He was really born with woolIy coat.
bought him in Cincinnati for $500, and
sent hum on 10 Connecticut, but for long
lime I doubled what I sh ould do with him.
and feared that he would die on my hands
Just then, in ls49, Col Fremo n. and his
party we're reporlsd to have been lost a.
moug the Rocky Mountains the public
were greatly excited, but shortly news came
that he was safe. Now came the chance
for the woolIy horse.
"lt was duly announced that after three
gays chase upon the borders Of the river
ella, an animal bad been captured By the
quarter master Of Col~Fremont's party Who
parlook in a singular degree Of the nature
OF the buffalo, antelope and camel. This
story was so far true, thatI was myself the
quarter master master. who captured him
aud charged quarter for the sight. The
piciue outside ths exhi brtion depicted the
animal as jumping over ledge Of rocks;
I now if the animal had really leaped, as
shown in the picture, he must have passed
over space Of five miles. To have be.
lieved that he could have survived spch a
leap, would have been the grossest humbug.
"Bnl Col Benton, who understands no
humbug but his own, arrested my scheme,
and prosecuted me for obtaining money nn.
der false preIences, as the horse was not
what professed 10 be but think wrongly,
as the people who saw il was satisfied. and
| they got the woah of their money. sii,
snow the scientific humbug should know
The presise moment 10 act as did. or The
work. would never have been blessed with
sight OF the woo,ly horse.
hen ;he woolly horse. arrived at Con-
neclicui, he was put in a stable near Love-
joys HoieL One OF the boarders who came
TO see hi IN recognized him as an animal he
had seen at Bridgeport. Good heavens ? he
cried, 1 have seen that animal before; il
is really an extraordinary humbug!' He took
friend from The same hotel. and after he
had seen the animal, let him inio the secret,
and in succession thiry-seven persons were
carried up, all of whom took the humid og-
ging in good humor except the last man. .
"My ambition TO be the Prince OF Hum
bugs will resign, but hope ihs public W i'll
take The will for the deed; can assure
them that il had been able TO give them all
The hum dngs have thought OF, they would
have been amply satisfied.
Before l went TO England with Tom
Thumb, had skeleton prepared from va.
iious bones. # was to have been made
eighteen feet high it was to have been bu-
ried year Of SO in Ohio, and then dug up
by accident, 90 that the public might learn
that there was giants of old. The price j
was 10 pay The person who proposed 10
put the skeleton together, was 10 have been
$225. s.+ n;.,
Blu, finding Tom Thumb mere success.
inl lhanl thought, sent word not 10 pro-
Gee d with the skeleton for fifty Or seventy
five dollars. ..f,a asf
Seven years af,erward / received from
The South an account Of a gigantic skeleton
that had been found. Accompanying il were
the certificates Of scientific and medical men
az to the genuineness. The owner asked |
twenty thousand dollafs, or one thousand
dollars month; wrote 10 him il he bought
il on would take !, if 1 found il as repre-
senied, or would pay his expense il not;
found il was my own old original humbug
come back again; of course refused il,
and / never heard Of it af'erwad.n 81
Ii passes all ordinary conception that the
man Barnum should have grown rich and
and impudent upou the proceeds of his de-
cep.ions. had any individual visitor Of
"Joyce Heth" chosen to prosecute her
exhibitor he could have ,recovefed
damages under the statute agaidst obai n
ing money under false preiences Yet the
inventor of that abominabIe deception has
gone on, coniriying similar ones year after
year, and from each reapins an abundsn,
reward in money, until al last, he comes
before the public as Moralist, delivers
sermons on Man's major and minor duties |
10 Society, and finally with sublime ano-
gance announce his "Au.obiography."--
Buffalo Democracy IS
Timely Rebnke.