The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-10-25
JUDGING THE UGLY
Human Frights Assemble in Bel
GUMS Capital
Prizes Offered for tho Most Hideous Spec.
linens of Facial Deformity - The
Contestants Proud of Their
Repuisive Blemishes.

The quintessence of human ugliness
sf the world is gathered here to show
itself in the international competition
for ugly men, says a recent Brussels
letter in the New York Advertiser.
Every country has sent its Callahan,
while many barbaric nations are each
represented by several Quasimodos.
Prizes of five thousand, two thousand
and one thousand dollars go to the
three exhibits which the judges decide
are the most hideous specimens in this
collection of over four hundred and
ffty-six frights. The judges have no
easy task on their hands, because the
candidates are all SO preterna turally
ugly that it viii require the incest dis
elimination to truthfully determine
which three should be returned prize
winners. Five of the foremost portrait
painters in Belgium have been induced
to serve as judges.
Meanwhile the unsightly crew wan
dered up and down the town, followed
by throngs of curious citizens Each
pne seems uglier than the other, but
they are all as proud as peacochs.
They are of all sizes and shapes. Com
pared with the least Unlocking one,
the homeliest Chinese idol is thing of
beauty. A sqratty Burmese dwarf,
scant three feet high and weighing
nearly two hundred pounds, with
head little bigger than cocoanut,
swivel eyes and a nose like a tapir's
snout, was for time by the press
awarded the palm for hideousness.
But it wasn't long before host of
others far uglier began pouring into
Brussels.
A Kaffir, whose ears had been cut off
and his mouth slit from ear to ear, after
the fashion of the ''man who laughs"
was viewed with curious favor until
Jhiji Sglingl, from Madagascar, put in
an appearance. He has but one eye,
and it is double the natural size. His
nose is of the bulbous type and his lips
are so short that the long teeth are
constantly exposed, giving his counte-
nance the look of wild beast, with a
snarl stamped immovably upon his face.
Then there is brawny miner from
Norway, whose frontispiece was fright
fully misshapen by an explosion. The
appearance of this Norwegian is more
disgusting than horrible. Seen from
behind, his magnificent figure and fine
head, thatched with crisp yellow curls,
lead most persons to guess that his
face, too, must be handsome. But
when they look upon his distorted phiz
they are struck with horror.
From Brazil comes Sam Bong, cor
pulent negro, with swinish face, the
porcine expression of which is increased
by the protrusion of an ugly yellow
tusk from either corner of his mouth.
A Malay whose face has been clawed
put of shape by tiger is another sight,
Rs is a Laplander minus a nose and
with hairless face as fat as a shingle.
Turkestan is represented by four
human horrors, brought hither by an
enterprising Snowman, who hopes to
land at least one of the prizes. The
ugliest oIe of this lot is one Ethiopian
of middle stature and slender build,
but with blubbery looking head
forty-three inches in circumference and
q face like an ogre. Asiatic Russia
sends a man whose countenance is so
thickly covered with warts that hardly
q bit of skin can be seen. Then there
are hairy men, and men with no hair
at all, fellows scanned with torture
marks and SCARED with fire, creatures
livid from disease and every other
imaginable blemish that makes the
human eountenance offensive to the
sight of man.
Women, however, seem to have the
reverse feeling toward these fearfully
ugly men. In fact, wherever these Cal
ibans go they are followed by troops of
women. Nor are these feminine dew
otees to hideous-faced mankind re-
stricted to the lower walks of life, for
women of fashion are quite as keen in
their pursuit of them.
1t Is not at all uncommon to see
women of quality stop their carriages
to make the acquaintance of the ugly
men. Some of these ladies' have
actually taken some of these manly
horrors to their homes to show them
off to visitors This sort of thing has
set all the good-looking men in Brus-
sells by the ears. If they had their
way the ugly horde would be driven
from the city. 1t is said that the hand
some wife of well-known nobleman
became so enamored of a Hollander
with double nose and hare lip that
her husband has hurried her off to
Paris to keep her out of further temp
tation.
These fellows are proud of their IA
rial blemishes, too. But men of this
sort were ever SO. 1t was squirting
Wilkes boast that he was only quar-
ter of an hour behind the handsomest
man in England. Another, distin-
guished officer, said: Il am quite
aware that l am the ughest man in
the British army, but then (and here
he used to throw his shoulders back
have probably the finest figure" The
Due de Roclore, the favorite of Louis
XIV, was very forbidding both in face
and person, but there was another no.
bleman at court who was still less
agreeable looking. This person had
killed d man in duel and besought
DE Roclore's interest with the king
for pardon. ''Why do YOU want to
save this fellows life?" asked the mon
arch Sire" replied the duke, ''if he
We're TO suffer | should be left the ugli-
est man in France"