The Dickinson press., 1889-04-13
LINE TO BE lIT-lIBTGGED.
MANAGERS OF FAKES AND FREAKS
AGREE WITH BARNUM.

"iNiSfN0t- -ho VT FNNCS ANU fhGHNS
AGREE WITH BARNuM.
The Public Is Easily Gullcd, and the had
Gramn,arianS Know It-Somc of the
Freaks and Follics of Travelling shows
The Seductive Moving store.
The American people like to be hum
buggcd" AS with +. T. Barnum so with tho
managers of tho flakes, freaks and folics"
class of dime museums, side shows and trav-
cling stores, this truism is indclibly stamped
i'll letters of gold on tho corner stone of their
existence Were it not for this phase of pub
he character, their profession would he vain
Bat. i'll addition to this faith in the weakness
of Americans, certain other requisites are
demanded in tho malc, up of these men.
He needs he something of an actor in or
der to look ono steadily in the face us lie
asserts what he knows is utterly false, he
must be shrewd, quick and cunning in argu-
mcnts and especially in striking n bargain,
he must have certain volubititv and tlucncy
of language with the ability to use biz words
to impress and bad grammar to put himself
in sympathy with the people he expects to
victimize; he must have "plug" hat. Il
snowy suit of clothes. half dozen paste dia
monds set i'll ring, shirt stud and collar but
ton, and Soicd shirt front--the absence or
presence of the rest of the garment is immu-
teral, but fashion has dccrcrd i'll favor of
the bosom. Tho species is distinct and the
specimens havo little in common with the
rest of humanity. Tho majority of them
were born i'll tho role with now and then one
who has asccndcd from IL helper or descended
from tho Legitimate" When not Ion the
road" they frequent certain haunts in the
large cities, usually some fifth or sixth class
hotel, eagerly watching for tho latest hum
bug and devising means of securing IL plant
Even in the smaller cities and towns there
arc certain boarding houses where they put
up known to the profession as well as good
begging places to tramps They arc Suro to
be dead broke" about thrcc-fourtls of the
timc.
SOME OF THE ATTRACTIONS.
The "legitimatc' as well rs tho ''llcgit
mate business is foundamong dime museums
and low price shows, and there arc those who
do what they advertise, and work on general
business principles, although they may not
appeal to tho higher tastes and do not con
tribute TO tho culture which Matthew Ar
mold looked for in vain among Americans
II is, however, tho poorer class which affect
Springfield most-thc sort which occupies
vacant stores on Main street, or tents on
vacant lots when tho country fairs nro not in
progress. Arathcr confidential dime museum
man in the city not long ago was easily led To
talk about his brotherhood, and the facts
hero set forth arc mainly us he described
them llc had in his exposition" Il snake
charnler an Abyssinian beauty, IL boll"Ss
,t,1 Ii,
mtSelm was in IL tent about thirty feet in
diameter, an,l tho curios wrro arranged
around the sides. Two or three glaring sheets
of canvas were stretched about the entrance
to depict what the show contained To be
sure, tho snakes on the illustration were
thirty feet long, while the realities were
about thirty inches, and the calf was repre-
scntcd as specially lively, but the Abyssinian
and tho botlilcss woman We're fairly portrayed
except for an amount of physical beauty
which tho ori5nalS could never have pos
scsscd.
Tho account of these attractions which the
proprietor gave was delightfully."- naive The
snake charincr, ho asserted was the daughter
Of Il real 1ndiap charncr, who was brought
over by Barnum She became cnamorc,l with
concert ticket seller, and, us he had anib
tions to start n museum, married her. and
their only child was then doing the "s:ialic
act" on tho postoilice lot in Springfield. Tho
fakir said that the mother really had power
over snakes, but the daughter used tootllcss
snakes and chloroform. "Shc is, however"
hc said, very fond of snakes, and would
sleep with them if would let her"
Tho "Abyssinan beauty" Princess Irymi,
was described as 2i years old, II nativo of
New York and descended from poor but
honest Irish parents. At the ago of II sho
, was employed to scrub floors in u New York
Bov.cry dime museum, and thcro learned tho
secret uf blc;p hing her hair and being abl":o
make it stand upright. Sho was paid IS n
week for her services
Tho boGiless woman was tho faiirs wife,
who had formerly been character dancer i'll
variety show. The man said that there lad
been n timo when the '.bodiless woman actp
had been n whole show, and then he had been
ablo to coin money. The calf, or the remains
of what had once been calf, no asserted,
was Il legitimate curiosity which he had bid
in at an auction sale of curios for $3.50. He
said that his whole outfit cost $1S and his
salary list was from sl7 to S2j week with
his other expenses about $40 II week, and his
receipts were from slo to s35 n day.
WHY THEY DON'T "LAY TIP
"Wo don't lay upnothin', though, because
when VIC lay Off VIC have to 80 with the boys,
and we all buck tho tiger bit, and, of
course, in tho long run that beats us -
He told of many hardships they had
to endure, and said that they arc al
ways afraid of getting stranded away
from homc Very few of the 50 called
freaks arc what they seem, and arc
''doctorcd' in more or less ingenious way
Men are all tho time doing some strange
thing simply to get job to pose for IL Won
der, as they arc too lazy to work
Ono Of tho most seductive fakes is the trav
cling store and it is safe to say tha. nine
times out of ten they arc swlndIcs, one way
OF another and still they arc always largely
patronized They rent the stores for u short
time, and so have to pay an cxorbitant rent.
They oftentimcs have to freight tho goods
two or three times over and are utterly ire
sponsblc. Notwithstanding these facts,
there are hundreds of people who think they
cun get better bargains there than Of the
regular merchants. In most cases, where
such is the case, tho men como by tho goods
in an irregular way either tho wares arc
smugglcd, arc imported with an undcrval,a-
ton or are stolen outright Tho moro com
mon method is to sell goods especially manu-
facturcd for such sales, and Of course made
in the very cheapest way, being for the most
part utterly worthless. This class Of goods
comprises about every article known us lu.l
rics for the laboring classes Many Of the
goods arc sold at auction and tho vendors al
ways have a plausible story 70 account for
their possession Of tho goods.-Springiicld
Republican.
UnEainly Man.
Man is an unsainly creature at tic best.
His head is an irregular sphero!d his eyes
are not alike or of equal efficiency; his wills.
kers won't grow uniformly One shou!elc.. Is