Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1894-12-15
LITTLE TOM THUMB.
WHEN THE FAMOUS MIDGET
WAS a CHILD.
ths LiiiiPutlan's Early Travels win p
l. harham-Hs Had to kiss the IaaIs.
"A Wonderfully Prscoeioas and uana.
some Boy Of Ten Years


table where he could be seen 10 adj
vantage, rs he stood still or trod hack
ana forth, initiating, ia appropriate
clvll or military costume, various ner-
sons OF distinction, as Frederick the
Great, the duke Of Wellington and
Napoleon Bonaparte. His persona
tions Of Napoleon under varying
conditions were particularly hne and
elected merited applause.
The closing act Of the entertainment
was gracefully receiving and returning
the lip salntations OF the numerous la.
dies Eho presented themselves a. he
table where his elevation placed bis
mouth and theirs Ia suitable iuxtaDo-
sition. As the last one retired ap.
preaching. banterlngly remarked
lyon enjoy a privilege beyond that Of
common men Ia being allowed 10 kiss
80 many women" lie very naiyely
and ] believe sincerely. replied. "Yon
see ] have 10 kiss them an the old
aud ugly as well as the Young ana
handsome 20 that ! d0n'i think / r,.ap
any great advantage on ihe whole.
next saw him about 4 Week later
a. the Washington house. Obra pla
street. Havana. where be. his father
and mother. Barnum and myself were
fellow boaricrs Tor Six Or eight days.
while h1 VAS On exhibition al ths
Cuban capital Hers had a. oppor.
tunlty 70 study him closely and learn
his leading characteristics lie was
a. this time just 10 years old. though
ior eiieci, falsely represented as IL
Tails exAggeraiiou evidently displayed
no great wisdom. Tor. while bis dlmin.
utlyencss WAS moro wonderful Tor
person 81 10 than one 81 10. his al.
ialnments and performance we're Ger.
tainly more remarkable Tor lad o. 10
than ~ a youth u 10,
Tho medals sold Ia connection with
the exhibitions. presenting on one side
q remarkably exact relief likeness Of
Tho general. represent his weight
ipresuinc corrccilg at fsieon pounds
Ny own careful measurement showed
his height to be- twenty-five inches.
Soft yellow hair. Wcli trimmed and
conboJ. sparkling blue eyes. fault
iesa iaoo. fair complexion. rosy checks.
shapcly limbs. body wull set. though
mAnliko beyond his years. all eonspircd
20 constitute him ~ pretty a boy as
ever brheld Wan, oi size seemed 10
b. his only defect His manners were
elegant, almost courily. a. might have
bpcn exported Of yuungstor who had
bocn csFrasci ~ al Tho sovorcigns OF
Europe Taught IN books. cultivated
BY travel and ycrscd IN various Ian.
guagcs, ho appeared unusually accom-
pliAhod for ono 70 young. AZ table he
pariook Of The savory ylauds with the
keen relish Of ono whose digestion was
perfect. He could vancouver The men
adruiily on tho chcsshoari. and APP
pcarcd 10 delight IN Tho difficult game
81 though q more pastime.
Ono of his iavori;a afternoons
rocFca,lons was TO ridu along some OF
The leading ,horouRhtares Of Havana
IN ,hc shiny coach given him by
Queen Victoria, a dwaricd facsimile
Of her own. drawn by two beautiful
hay Shc,landa. tho smallest that could
b. procured. attached by glossy silver
mounted harness Tho entire turnout
Is said 20 have cost 81 500. and was
probably Che most expensive present
ever bestowed on tho I.illiputian. In
these excursions his driver always sat
Ia front. while his valet stood up
bohlnd him. one dwarf. the other a
boy employed for the purpose. A
crowd Of tho curious always throngcd
tho narrow sidewalks opposite the
tiny vehicle when passing.
His salary OF $50 a week and
expenses enabled him TO lay
IN snug little sum for use
In later life His parents were
a little past middle age and something
above the medium size. the father
weighing probably l10 and the mother
100 pounds. They were coarse coun-
try people. who. Notwithstanding their
advantages OF European travel, con-
tinued to manifest much Of the
rusticity almost insoparablo from those
who have grown up without culture.
AZ the close OF this rcminiscence ]
wish TO state II as a singular, and. TO
mo, unaccountable fact. that dwarfs.
after remaining almost Interchangeable
In size for many years, sometimes at
later period increase TO much greater
Thus the famous jeffrey
Hudson remained stationary at eigh-
teen inches from 10 80, though he
subsequently attained tho height OF
torty-ive inches.
Tho exhibitor OF Charles S. Stratton
assured us that he had grown mono
since reaching the age OF 6 weeks, a
worry creditable assertion, since chill
dren often weigh more than fifteen
mounds. even at birth. Before his
death. at as, he measured forty inches
and weighed seventy pounds, while
his wife attained the same height and
weighed fifty pounds. win some
scientist explain this phenomenal
GROWTH
Barnum was quite an impressive
,erson, lie wore u countenanc9 80
very grave that, taken in connection
with his white cravat, should have
him, unknown, for o clergy
man. Ho was courteous and ahable'