Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1873-12-04
What Cireuses are Worth.
Sale OF a Portion Of Barnum's
Museum and Menagerie IN AL
giers-The Cardiff Giant, Etc.

(
From the New Orleans Picayuae.
About q year ago there visi-
ted this city, with flaming bills
and windy agents, a portion o.
or what purported to he
Barnum's Great American Cir
lcus, and took up position on The
vacant square at the corner OF
st. Charles and Calliope streets.
Here it remained for 3 week, hut
"a succession Of terrible rain
storms and similar disasters nos
rendering the position q pecun-
lary success, the whole concern
bundled up in disgust and star
ted somewhere up the coEntrY
we think for the Techc. Here
it remained for a while, but not
drawing as largely as was ex-
pected, returned to the-city and
disbanded-a portion Of the an
. imals being sold here, while the
others, with the stuffed whale,
etc, were taken. back ,Norlh
though a large portion of the
"plundef," consisting of wao-
ons, tent-po!es, stuffed animals,
ETC., were left stored at Algiers
1t having been announced that
these would De sold ct auction,
and it being stated thnt fabu-
ious prices woEld be obtained. 9
Picayune reporter was.on hand
to note the sale, which was cor
Quoted by Messrs. Montgomery,
the apctiOneers Of this city.
1t having been a popular idcn
that circusses cost 4 mint OF
money, the surprise was really
great at the prices Obtained
The sale opened with a lot of g.
bout twenty wagons, which ap-
peared in the ''grand parade" as
"a vast cavalcsde Of caravans
purchased at an enormous ex-
Uense." Upon these .the bid
ding opened quite lively, but no
tably failed, the lot being par
chased by various parties at an
average of about sixty dollars
apiece.
The next lot put up was 2
collection of stuffed animals,
announced in the show bills -
q "rare assortment Of animals
exhibited by no other show. -
No one in the crowd apparentlr
wanted these at all. aud thcv
were finally knocked down toan
astonished bidder for five dol
lars.
This was certainly astorish-
ing, but the lively auct;oueer
announced "Now, gentlemen.
| would desire to show Won one
of the greatest cuE7siiics OF
modern times, which il calcula-
ted to have cost not more than
ten thousand dollars. look ar
it!' And public attention waa
directed 70 the large stone fg.
ure, which all who visited ikr
circus will remember as thy
Cardiff giant.
Every one looked cn as iac.
auctioneer said: Now. geatlc-
men, how much will Won bil:"
One bidder said fifty cents, ar
other q dollar, and men a aosla..
and a half. and it was finally
knocked down to a wholesale
dealer for eight dollars. To
think Of the Cardiff giant Le,Ea.
Srought so low! 1t mightbc aL-
ropos 10 mention here that tie
buyer, alteY spending eighteen
dollars to move it froa It's place,
and not knowing Wha5 to do
with it, turned it over 20 9 junk
disgust, who Will prob
ably sell it to a colorcd dcicca-
ton as apropcr present toGrant.
With these figures it can well
be imagined the rest OF the a.
iicles sold for q mere song
Thirty robes, in which, accord
ing to the Old placards; "a gor-
geOus panoPlg Of handsome Ia
iies and gallant gentlemen will
parade through The Streets"
brought as a lot one hundred
dollars. The tent, poles, seats,
ETC, were purchased for sixty
dollars, and sundry other small
sr .'relics." for from ten to twen-
.y-fye.
The sale, indeed, proved that
ghatever really such articles as
;ircuses originally cost, they
,ould be boughtnow-a-daysyery
cheap, and at such figures that
my one could start a very res
1ectable show museum, and all
or 4 couple OF thousand dollars.
These figures must not, howev-
9r, be accepted as a standard.Ior
animals have sometimes brought
immense sums, ranging hOm
)nc to ten ten thousand dollars.
out ms sample Of the hardness