The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-10-11
FREAKS IN MUSEUMS.



Assut zA.ir Habits-whss Thsy Ears
..a new Thsy Lit..
"Yes, I know that II 10 the gener-
ally accepted belief, but the truth II
quite different The profession Of be-
ing freak IL far from . soft snap"
The man who spoke thus 10 the
manager Of one Of the leading dime
museums Of this city and Of the whole
United States. And he referred TO
those human oddities and misshapen
Hnonstrosities who 60 by the vulgar
.appeilation Of " freaks"
EHFirst and foremost. the period Of
usefulness for any sort Of q freak ID
very brief, not moro than . couple Of
years as rule. What they have not
made In the shape Of money during
that time they'll likely never make.
You see, It II Just like this: There
are certain number Of good paying
dime museums In this country q,
those whore anything like good wages
are paid. This number II not large
Q score or 20, says the Chicago
Herald.
when the freak has got through
with them, his or her days Of useful
ness are over. The public curiosity
has been satisfied and that's an end
70 It The show business, with It's
excitement and its easy earnings, has
spoiled the freak for any other occu-
patton and life. The freak has ac-
quired q great notion Of his or her
own importance. coupled with an
utter disinclination to work. So ! say
again, what Is o freak to do after
these show days are over2 Gener-
ally they squander their money and
then become objects OF charity, pub
lie or private, until death intervenes.
which IL, however, not slow In coming
IN most cases. For the average dura-
fion OF life for freak Ii not long.
Take the two leading features In
the freak business, living skeletons
and fat people, for instance. You see.
70 be worth anything to US In the
show business, these features must
have become very pronounced. In
other words, . thin or fat person
must be very much so In order to be
worth money to us. Now, as person
cannot be either very fat or very thin
and ct the Same time healthy,
lt II quite natural that after they
have become freaks their span OF
Ne ID short. Then they will, either
for the purpose Of heightening their
commercial value or out Of spirit OF
rivalry or vanity, often use artificial
means to become still fatter or thinner.
Thus, the moro Of . freak and the
larger the remuneration paid them
for their services, the briefer their re-
manning days, as . rule. Suppose
ono such freak IL paid 800 q week
which IL very high price nowadays,
only paid In. exceptional cases-his or
her earnings may figure up %, 900 Or
90, 1000 for two years. And that will
be the last Of It, and II IL o maximum
figure besides.
It ID queer, but quite true, that
freaks, az rule, are not abstemious.
IN fact, the hardest drinker I have
ever known was a freak, adwarf. He's
dead now these many years. and I'll
mot mention his name. He was col
ored boy. q mulatto. picked him
mp In Brooklyn, where his mother
was In humble circumstances, q laun-
dress, In fact. He measured but
twenty-nine inches In height, but was
abnormally broad across the chest
and shoulders. engaged him at
4l25 week, and he earned his money,
too, Lam free to say. He did and
sid the funniest things; but he at
once hegan TO dissipate. and In six
months ho had learned TO drink like q
Ash.
"I've seen that mite Of q fellow sic
down ON top Of these high stools In Q
fashionable saloon, and drink French
brandy In schooner glasses. His ca
pacity for the consumption of liquor
was something marvellous. He'd
drink sometimes two quarts Of liquor
within the twenty-four hous, and he'd
never get drunk. Nothing could stop
him. And nine months later he was
dead Bright's disease, Coroner
Gimms Of Brooklyn calledit
Its death, for instance, sure
death, for very fat person to drink.
remember Son Burney, whose pro-
fessional name was Cunningham, a
man who weighed close on to 500
pounds. He was killed by single
glass Of whisky-heart disease, you
know. That, in fact, is the cause Of
death Of most Of the fatties-fatty
degeneration Of the heart. As rule
they can eat next to nothing,
their power Of digestion being
sadly impaired by their super
abundance Of adipose tissue and
consequent inability OF locomotion.
Thus, you will see, II is no
fun being fat person. Neither is il
20 pleasant being q living skeleton.
Z They are 50 sensitive to cold, poor
fellows, that they are always half
freezing. And a. they mustn't wear
much clothes4 Whileson show for. fear
ofspoiling their looks. as it were, you
may imagine how they feel all day
long. ] know one who'd complain OF
the cold and ask for extra blankets in
his room with the thermometer at
ninety.
"As it is with them 1t is with every
other freak. Something is the mat
ter with all OF them. robbinR them Of