Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-03-22
LIKE TO BE HUMBUGGED.
MANAGERS OF FAKES AND FREAKS
AGREE WITH BARNUM.


Tho Public Is Easily Guued. and the Bad
Examinations Know It-Some of the
Freaks and FolIies of Travelling Shows
The Seductive Moving Store.
"The American people like to be hum
plugged" As with p. 7. Barnum so with the
managers of the flakes, freaks and folliesn
class of dime museums, side shows and trav-
cling stores, this truism is indeibly stamped
IN letters OF gold on the corner stone Of their
existence. Were 1t not for this phase Of pub
NC character, their profession would be vain.
Bat, In addition TO this faith in the weakness
OF Americans, certain other requisites are
demanded in the make up of these men.
He needs be something of an actor In or
der to look one steadily In the face as he
asserts what he knows is utterly false; he
must be shrewd, quick and cunning In argu-
ments and especially in striking bargain
he must have a certain volubRity and fuency
Of language with the ability TO use big words
TO impress and bad grammar 10 put himself
m sympathy with tic people he expects to
victimize; he must have n plug" hat, a
snowy suit of clothes, half dozen paste dia-
monds set In ring, shirt stud and collar but
ton, and so!led shirt front-the absence or
presence of the rest of the garment is imma-
terial, but fashion has decreed in favor of
the bosom. The species is distinct and the
specimens have little in common with the
rest Of humanity. The majority of them
were born in the role, with now and then one
who has assembled from IA helper or descended
from the Legitimate" When not ION the
roadn they frequent certain haunts in the
large cities usually some fifth or sixth class
hOfal aapariv yxatrhintr ha Iat h,,,
bug and devising means of securing plant.
Even in the smaller cities and towns there
are certain boarding houses where they put
up known to the profession as well as good
begging places TO tramps. They are sure to
De dead broke" about three-fourths of the
time
SOME OF THE ATTRACTIONS.
The Legitimate as well Us the 'illegiti-
mate business Is found among dime museums
and low price shows, and there are those who
do what they advertise, and work on general
business principles, although they NAV not
appeal TO the higher tastes and do not con-
tribute TO the culture which Matthew Ar
mold looked for in vain among Americans
h Is, however, the poorer class which affect
Springfield most-the sort which occupies
vacant stores on Main street, or tents on
vacant lots when the country fairs are not In
progress A rather confidential dime museum
man in the city not long ago was easily led TO
talk about his brotherhood, and the facts
here set forth are mainly as he described
them. He had in his exposition a snake
charmer, an Abyssinian beauty, a bodiless
woman and a two headed calf stuffed The
museum was in a tent about thirty feet in
diameter, and the curios were arranged
around the sides. Two or three glaring sheets
of canvas were stretched about the entrance
70 depict what the show contained. To be
sure, the snakes on the illustration were
thirty feet long, while the realities were
about thirty inches, and the calf was repre-
sented as specially lively, but the Abyssinian
and the bodileSs woman were fairly portrayed
except for an amount of physical beauty
which the originals could never have DOS
sessed
The account of these attractions which the
proprietor gave was delightfully."- naive. The
snake charmer, he asserted, was the daughter
OF a real Indian charmer, who was brought
over by Barnum. She became enamored with
concert ticket seller, and, as he had ambi-
lions TO start a museum, married her and
their only child was then doing the snake
act" ON the Epostoffce lot in Springfield. The
fakir said that the mother really had power
over snakes, but the daughter used toothless
snakes and chloroform. "She is, however"
he said, very fond of snakes, and would
sleep with them if would let her.
The "Abyssinian beauty Princess Irymi, |
was described 23 years old, a native of |
New York, and descended from poor but |
honest Irish parents At the age of II she |
WIS employed 10 scrub floors in New York |
Bowery dime museum, and there learned the |
secret of bleaching her hair and being able TO
make IL stand upright. She was paid SIS
week for her services.
Tho bodiless woman was tho falirs wife
who had formerly been character dancer in
a variety show. The man said that there had
been time when the 'bodiless woman actn
had been whole show, and then he had been |
able TO coin money. The calf, or the remains |
OF what had once been a calf he asserted, |
was a legitimate curiosity which he had bid |
In at an auction sale of curios for $3.50. He |
said that his whole outfit cost SIS and his |
salary list was from 81 to s25 week, with |
his other expenses about $40 a week, and his |
receipts were from SIS TO s35 day.
WHY THEY DON'T LAY UP"
1--WE don't lay up nothin', though, because |
when we lay off we have to go with the boys, |
and We all buck the tiger a bit, and, of |
course, in the long ru9 that beats u.s." |
He told OF many hardships they had |
TO endure, and said that they are al |
ways afraid Of getting stranded away
from home. Very few of the 50 called |
freaks are what they seem, and are
''doctored" in a more or less ingenious way.
Men are all the time doing some strange
thing simply to get job to pose for won
der, as tEey are too lazy TO work
One of the most seductive fakes is the trav- |
cling store, and it is safe to say that nine |
times out Of ten they are swindles, one way |
or another, and still they are always largely /
patronized. They rent the stores for a short
time, and so have to pay an exorbitant rent
They oftentimes have to freight the goods
two or three times over and are utterly TIRE
sponsible. Notwithstanding these facts,
there are hundreds of people who think they
can get better bargains there than of the
regular merchants. In most cases, where
such is the case, the men come by the goods
In an irregular way; either the wares are
struggled, are imported with an undervalua-
ton or are stolen outright. The more COM
mon method is to sell goods especially manu-
for such Sales and of course made
In the very cheapest way, being for the most
part utterly worthless. This class of goods
about every article known as luxu-
ries for the laboring classes. Many of the
goods are sold at auction and the vendors al
ways have a plausible story to account for
their possession of the goods. -Springfield
Republican
Ungainly Man.
Man is an ungainly creature at the best.
His head is an irregular spherold; his ewes
are not alike or of equal efficiency; his whis-
kers won't grow uniformly. One shoulder In