The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-07
CURIOUS PEOPLE.
THE MARRIAGE OF DIME MU-
scum CURIOSITIES.
Midgets and Giants Mated-The Liv-
ing Skeleton Who Married a
Pretty Girl-The Love of
Other Freaks.

sFreaks fall in love, fall out of it, mar
ry, have children, grow jealous, wande
off to other fancies, and are happy ant
miserable just like ordinary people, "sait
a dime museum official, "and they MAKE
some of the queerest matches imaginable
It is said that in selecting life partner'
people generally choose their opposites
and it is certainly true of freaks. There
was Mrs. Hannah Battersby, one of tn
fattest of all fat women. Her husband
John Battersby, was living skeleton
No sooner were they married than she be
gan to lose flesh and he to gain it. Hi
weight increased so rapidly that he soor
became too stout to exhibit as skeleton
and, like Othello, his occupation was
gone.
"Baron Little6nger," the italian
dwarf, is only little over three feet
high, but he married woman who
stands five feet six inches in her stock
ings. They have had children, one OF
whom is already larger than his father
Dwarfs very frequently seem to fancy
people of large size. This was the case
with Che Nah, the Chinese dwarf, who
married Louise Coleman, a full size, at
tractive young lady of Brooklyn. They
had some trouble in getting married al
first, because the lady was Catholic and
no priest could be found who would mar
ry her to heather Chinee. But this diff
! fculty was overcome by finding some
other ecclesiastic or some magistrate who
consented to tic the knot.
"Just as dwarfs prefer large people, so
giants seem to find their affinity among
those of low stature. Colonel Goshen,
a man about eight feet in height, mar.
ried woman rather under the medium
size. Colonel Bates, another very tall
giant, was married to at least one or two
ordinary sized women before he welded
his present wife, Anna Swan, the Nova
Scotia giantess. This couple have de-
lightful residence at Seville, Ohio, that
is quite like giants castle out of fairy
story. The ceilings and doors are of
great height, while the beds, tables,
| chairs and other furniture are like that
described of Jack, the Giant Killer
''Quite often freaks show excellent
! Judgment in their matrimonial ventures
and marry persons admirably suited to
them in all respects. Every one knows
how happily MI. and Mrs. Tom Thumb
lived together, and the latter bids fair to
be equally contented in her second mar
riage with Count Maggi, the nobly born
| Italian dwarf. Then, there is Pat
O'Brien, the Irish giant, who married the
German giantess. They arc a splendidly
matched couple, and, with their bounc-
ing baby, are as happy as CLANS at high
tide.
stFreaks make their strongest matches
when they marry persons in no way con-
nected with the business. They appear
to have an irresistible fascination for some
people, and the more monstrous and re-
pulsive they are the greater seems their
power to charm. once saw a very pretty,
/ well-dress"d young girl giving with an
! expression of the most intense admiration
at Tom, of Tom and Hattie, the we'll
known Australian wild children, who is
driveling imbecile. For fully half an
hour she stood apparently spell-bound,
and it was only by the most earnest en-
treaties and the use of gentle force that
her friends were finally able to induce
her to leave the spot. Everybody who
reads the newspapers must remember
how a handsome Brooklyn girl of good
family was completely fascinated by
"Charlio," one of Barnum's blackest,
most repulsive ZuluS, few years ago,
and married him in spite of all her
friends could do.
"The first taetooed man ever on exhi-
bition in this country was Greek sea
; captain, said by some people to have
been pirate, who travelled with the
Barnum show, and had number of very
handsome diamonds. He had been made
o prisoner by the inhabitants of some
savage island and tattooed as means of
torture. There was not place
on his entire body the size
of pins head that had not
been treated in this way. His face was
tattooed in such manner as to make
him anything but attractive in appear
: ance, and his savage tormentors even
shaved off his hair ard tattooed every
inch of his scalp. Notwithstanding these
drawbacks he married very handsome
American woman, who was devoted to
him. Instead of the harmless pigment
generally used by tattooers the savages
employed indigo. which finally produced
blindness and other serious ailments.
Everybody will remember J. B. Gar
rison, the living skeleton we had on ex-
hibition at Ninth and Arch streets dur
ing the season of 1Ss3-s4, who acquired
such ce' e'ebrity under the sobriquet of the
Skeleton Bridegroom, from his having
charmed and married woman of West
Philadelphia. Her parents and friends
declared that she was temporarily insane,
but most probably she was only suffering
from that power of fascination which
freaks seem to have over many people.
You would have been greatly surprised
if you could have seen the large number
of love letters which Garrison daily re-
ceivcd.
"Apropos of the skeleton bridegroom,
before going into the museum business
he was merchant on South Eighth
street. Although his body was so thin
his face always continued quite plump,
and when dressed in ordinary costume
there was nothing in his appearance to
indicate that he was so very much leaner
than many Others. When dressed in a
,I: c44:.,, l>Io IL c1,;rt ,nJ f,rrbfo bow-