Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-04-15
THE MONSTER MAIDENS.
How They Survived the First Day,s
Ordeal at the Fat WOman,s
Convention.

When Manager Hagar, of the Ninth
and Arch Street Dime Museum, reached
his Office at half-past 8 O'Clock Yesterday
morning, he found man, woman and =
scared office boy waiting for him. ''She's
been here since s o'clock, said the latter
IN frightened whisper, land Mr..
bradenburg's run away" The boy had
hardly finished when the woman broke
out: Them fat women of yours amt had
any breakfast, and they amt goin' to get
any till Pm paid dollar apiece for each
OF their meals. When made the bargin
for them at my boarding house was
told that they wouldn't eat more'n twice
as much as an ordinary person. | laid
IN twice my usual marketing for supper
last night, and there wasn't enough milk
for the cat to lap when they got through
and my husband, when he came home
late-he's watchman-had to go to bed
hungry. No, amt going to feed them
for less than 81. ought to have another
tlfty cents for my boarders' feelings at
seeing them cormorants eat"
DO you mean to say that they haven't
been fed?' asked the manager, who had
been trying to get in word during the
TRADE. ''Feed 'em, feed 'em, good
heavens, they may shrink! OF course
We'll pay dollar meal. Go at once.
Buy out the Twelfth Street Market if YOU
want to, but feed 'em" So saving, the
perturbed Snowman hustled the keeper
OF the Ninth Street clearinghouse out of
his office to the work of rescue and then
rushed off to the place where the con-
tract was taken to feed the prodigies in
order to reassure them. Thirty fat
women had waited for breakfast for
hours. As Mr.. Hagar was ushered into
the parlor where the starved convention
waited the suburban 500-pounder known
as the Conshohocken crusher, arose and
fell weeping on his neck. AS he arose
from the floor and gracefully adjusted
the pipe of the Franklin stove which he
had carried with him in his fall, the man
ager adroitly eluded the demonstrations
of the other twenty-nine examples of
embonpoint and Strengthening out his
high hat which had been crushed into the
likeness of a blighted concertina by the
eXuberance of the Conshohocken beauty's
emotions, said: Ladies, your deliverance
is at hand. Breakfast will be served at
10 o'clock and this unfortunate occurrence
will never happe nagain." AS a matter
of fact it was half past 10 when the fifty
pounds of broiled steak, bushel and a half
of fried potatoes and four gallons of coffee
with their attendant bread, butter and
other concomitants were onthe table, but
each fat woman e at to her hearts con-
tent.
At half-past II the stairs of the
Museum creaked responsive to the gasp
ing groan of the first fat woman who
assembled them. 1t was Mrs. Maria On
derdonk, former belle of Schenectady,
n. Y, whose use and beauty on the
dancing floor were brought to an untime-
ly end by an excessive growth of avoirdu-
pois, which began when she was "a years
old and newly married, in the year 1877
She weighed 525 pounds. She moved
trippingly across the floor to her chair at
the extreme end of the crescent-shaped
row and took her seat with a gasp OF re-
lief. One by one ten fat women came
up the stairs and took their seats.
1t was l O'Clock when the last quarter
ton of FACILITATING beauty had subsidized
into its canopied stall. az hope there'll
be some nice men come to see it," whis-
pered Miss Anna Hill weight 416, Pitts
burg, to Mrs. James Peterson (weight,
1913, Elmira). " l came here to get mar
ried, l did, and if can't catch on here |
am going to get invited to rosebud ball.
They're for young girls like me, you
| know"
Further condolences were interrupted
as the crowd began to pour into the seven
and one-half-ton feast of loneliness out
spread for its delectation. BY 8 O'Clock
5000 people had passed before the thirty
canopies. By 4 o'clock the thirty triple
chins had redeemed in maiden modesty
under the glances of 8 900 pairs of eyes.
When the show closed for the after
noon, there wanted only 500 souls to
make up half score thousands of people
who had attended the convention. On
only one day before-last Christmas-has
the Museum ever done such business. Al
10 o'clock p. m. Miss Hill, the matri-
monially inclined beauty, had as yet re-
ceived no offers of marriage .-Philadel
phia Press, April Z, 1885.