Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-10-27

ment of the chase. and that my point d
Alencon parasol, with an agate handle
the wedding gift of my beloved Arabella,
is probably marching round Blankville at
this very hour, poised IN the Lisle-thread
hand of some village belle.
Secrets of the Showmen.
HOW CURIOsITIEs ARE TURNED OUT FOR
THE MUSEUMS.
A real Circassian lady never was shown
in this country, the Snowman said. Cir
cassian ladies are the cheapest kind of Gu
riosities. The commonest female can be
turned into one in few days, and it is
wholly unnecessary according to the show
mans idea. to 90 to far-off land after an
object that domestic resources will supply.
Barnum brought out the first Circassian
lady twenty-three years ago. She was a
rather pretty creature of French extrac-
ton. and before coming to this country
she displayed herself in side-shows in
France and Germany. She was dressed in
Circassian costume. In less than month
every side show and museum in the coun-
try was drawing crowds to sse it's Circas-
sian lady. Circassian ladies multiplied
until many homes in the land were blessed
with them, and this day show is incom-
r1ofo v1if ha io o1x ~ 49,
bly, the wife of magician, giant. living
skeleton, or some other monstrosity or Gu
riosity, who can put herself to no better
use than to turn herself into beautiful
Circassian. no matter how agly she is. and
sell her pictures on platform. Every wo-
man in the country, if she is not bald
headed, may become Circassian lady if
she desires, by braiding the hair over long
pins and saturating it with stale beer be-
fore retiring at night. In the morning it
| will stand straight on the head like pnr-
J cupine's quilts. The beer imparts wiry
consistency without destroying the gloss
or leaving 1t sticky. The American girl
who became the wife of the Dahomey
giant, afterward the Abyssinian Prince
exhibits her graces as Circassian lady,
Bearded women, unfortunately for the
showmen. cannot be brought forth like Cir.
cassian ladies.
Seven hundred and twenty pounds is the
show weight of Hannah Battersby the big
| gest woman in the business. On the scales
she would probably go little above $780,
1t is an easy thing to make fat women
| look 200 or 300 pounds heavier than they
are. They can conceal an immense amount
of padding beneath their dress, about the
waist. and a hustle still further adds tc
| their apparent vastness of proportion
Mrs. Battersby, it will be remembered
carried her husband, the living skeleton
out of the old Broadway Museum at the
| time of the fire and saved his life. She
has beautiful daughter, who is living
with her father in Pennsylvania. The next
largest woman Is Jessie Waldron, six.
teen-year-old mountain of ilesh, who was
J born and reared in Greenpoint, Long
! Island. She is six feet eight inches
high, and weighs about $50 pounds. On
the bills she is put down as weighing 6O(
pounds. Emile Hill is tho lightest of the
| fat women, weighing only about $50 lbs
She is only four feet high, and it is her i'm
| mense circumference that makes her q
great curiosity. Fat women are easy tt
pick up. Showmen find women all over
the country that will do, and by adding
200 or 800 pounds to their weight on the
gorgeous canvass they awe the public with
their immensely.
| Living skeletons are the result of dis
ease, and cannot be manufactured. While
| doubtless, consumption and dyspepsia
have made few respectable skeletons the
cause of their thinness is, for the most
part, inexplicable. No skeleton of conse.
quence is shown, who has not been exam.
| ined by more doctors than all the other Gu
| riosities put together. Calvin Edison, who
died ten years ago, and who, singularly
enough, was violinist, came into promi-
hence twenty years ago, and was the first
living skeleton ever exhibited. Isaac W.
Spragus is still alive and enjoying the COM
forts of home-life in Massachusetts. He
married and became too stout for business
He has three big, strapping sons. Col.
Martin P. Avery, who died last winter in
this city. was the Adjutant of ex-Presi-
dent Hayes regiment. He was afterward
made Colonel, and was brevetted Briga-
der General for bravery. at the last
charge at Petersburg shell killed his
horse under him and tore his thigh. The
wound never healed and that was what
reduced him to living skeleton. Skele-
tons are generally ravenous eaters, but
Col. Avery, lived on ice-cream and milk.
A skeleton is made to look thinner by
dressing him in black, the same as a fat
woman is made to look fatter by covering
her frame with light or bright MATERIAL
The trunk is kept we'll covered but the
arms and legs, which are the thiunest parts
are freely exposed. Another trick is to
place the skeleton alongside the fat wo-
men. in which position he looks much
more attenuated than he really is.
Dwarfs are simply natural curiosities
which must be put in contrast with larger
people, but SIX inches or more can be add
ed to giants without difficulty. High
boots with high heels, high hats, and long
coats really contribute three inches or SO
to the actual height and foot in looks
Giants nearly always wear uniforms to
make them appear imposing, and they
raise their arms slowly to give them a
massive air. Capt. Bates, however, always