The Arizona sentinel., 1886-01-16
WEALTHY FREAKS.
Deformed Men and Women Who Have
 Made, or Are Making, Fortunes.

Deformed Men and Women Who Have Made, or Are Making, Fortunes.
 The first dime museum was started on the Bowery, in New York, in 1872. At first the museums multiplied slowly, but about three years ago they sprangup all over the country, and now all large cities have from one to three. It is a bigger thing to be freak than to marry rich widow. Freaks grow rich. The competition between museums has run up the price of curiosities until they draw more pay than receiver in a railroad suit. A good freak makes more money without opening his mouth than the most accomplished actor. Little Lucia Zerate, the Mexican midget, who is un- doubtedly the smallest human being ever exhibited, got S2,S00 for four weeks in this city, and now wants $500 week. Jo-Jo, the dog-faced boy, gets $500 a week. The first season he exhibited he drew S700, but curiosities, as a rule, draw larger salaries on their first tour The Greedy survivors were offered S1, ,000 a week to show themselves, but the Gov ernment Interfered. The ''turtle boy," a misfit little darkey, whose limbs are frightfully distorted, commands $75 week. The gentleman with the elastic skin, who thinks nothing of pulling the skin of the back of his neck over his face and can make neck-tie of his nose. got $500 week for his first season. and now gets $50.
 The two negro girls who figure as ''what-is-its' are paid S200 a week. Chang, the Chinese giant, won't show for less than S350 a week; Colonel Goshen, who is almost as tall and runs a farm over in New Jersey, gets but S55, but Mr. and Mrs. Bates, the well-known giants, are in demand at $500. The Count and Countess Magri Gormerly Mrs. Tom Thumb, and the Counts brother, Baron Little Finger, get $600 week. Josephine Myrtle Corbyn, the four-legged girl, gets $450 week. The Aztecs, man and woman, who original ly showed with Barnum, get $50. The Modern Hercules, who loves to catch redhot cannon balls, does about twenty minutes work day and draws $20O a week, but he is not properly freak, although he is likely to be one if he ever misses the ball and it hits him. But these are high-priced freaks The sec ond-class curiosities manage to worry along on from $50 to $50 week. Fat women are in demand at $40. Ada Briggs, who is good-looking and heavy as she is pretty, gets $60. Dave Navarro, the fiat boy," who, by the by, was not a woman, made managers pay him S125 week. Living skeletons get from $40 to $80, Ike Sprague drawing the latter figure Sprague is so delightfully."- ethereal that he can't stand without being propped up with straws. Armless men who do things with their toes are bribed not to run away for $50 week. The leopard boy," colored youth who is turning white in spots, commands $25 week. Albinos and minor curiosities that are used to fill in the bill receive $15 to $20 week. Musical families-those fami- lies where the old gentleman plays the violin, the mother the piano, and all the children some atrocious instrument chiefly drums, draw from $50 to S100 a week.
 Freaks die, and sometimes they go out of business. Captain Costentenus, the original tattooed Greek, retired upon fortune, and is now living on fine es- tate in Greece, but has become blind. Dudley Forster, "Hop-o-My-Thumb," very little fellow, made enough in two years to buy his father a nice farm.- Philadelphia Tunes.