The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1895-11-14
POINTS ON FREAKS.
GONE BORN TO THE PROFESSION,
OTHERS THRUST UPON 1T.

Giving You mn Odd Number OF limbs or
Hirsutc hGornmcnts Where They Ought
Not to BE. You Must Achieve Notoricty.
ANY ono who has remarked the
gregarious clement i'll human nature,
which makes every one eager to SEQ
what the other has seen, will not mar
eel ut tho success which notoriety han
attained III the show business" said
the manager of u popular museum.
"Notoricty, no matter how and whero
obtained, is just so much stock in
trade, and people i'll our limo of work
are willing to pay any price for it, To
make 10 account of the money value of
the advertisement, they are delighted
to know that they arc being talked
about and speculated about, and to see
their names i'll the newspapers You
sec how high that domo is:" he contin-
ned, pointing to the archcd space far
above the ropes and bars stretched
across for acrobatic performances
well, man camo i'll here, offered to
jump from its highest point down TO
the floor so as to make Il name for him
self. 1t would have been ccrtaiu death,
you know, to attempt it, but he said he
had practiced jumping, knew how to
manage and would escape injury. He
begged to DO allowed to make the jump
and was much cast down at our refusal
THAT man only expected to jump
once After having performed the feat
he felt that he would be curiosity
worth money to see.
Anyway, we business people see.
that the public crave amusement Of this
kind, and we are delighted to crafty
them.
"At the tiruo Of tho White Cap agi-
tation, when there was SO much talk i'll
tho papers about their outrages, a man
offered to exhibit himself as tarred
and feathercd victim just returned from
the west, and we let him do it, More
over, the public encouraged him to do.
1t, for they came i'll flocks to see him.
Tho tattooed woman who was paid 500
day was tattooed right hero in New
York, but tho work was marvelouslv
well done, and the fairy tale about her,
as told by the Snowman, only height,
ened the crowds interest and harmed
nobody. She was represented in tho
story as having been stranded on one of
the Sandwich islands, shipwrecked,
with her husband, who was put to death
Her life was spared, but she was put to
torture, having these extraordinary char
acters tattooed all over her body. There
were from 500 to 700 people at each
one of tho u daily performances at
which that tattooed woman was exhib-
tied, and all were pleased at the show,
for which they paid 10 cents
do many of these freaks, remark
able for various reasons, get fine sala-
RESP
"Indced they do. We paid certain
midget 500 Il week. Her father and
tho family travelled with her, and got
rich out of it, Then that wonderful
Oregon horse with tho trailing name
and tail WAS paid $500 week for sew
eral months. Tho two headed negro
girl, or gills. has made Il fortune, and!
l could mention any number of celo-
brated freaks who have prafted finan-
cially
Each day we get letters from ali
over the country--all over tho world
Offering rs freaks OF nature. This ono
sends "a photograph OF a sheep having a
fifth leg and hoof growing out of his
shoulder. This ono sends COW with a.
horn projecting from her back Here is
letter from IL handless man in West
Virginia. He writes with his toes and
writes u very good letter
That box of photographs ulearthed
from little used recesses to refresh the
Snowman mind! What IL galaxy. not
Of beauty, bat Of the bizarre and the
grotesquo! Bearded women taken in
aCcollete gowns, aheir mascmDne faces
III revolving colGrast to this feminine
neck and arms: men without legs or
arms; tremendously fat men, and men
so thin that they were photographed
prone upon II couch. limp and helpless
.aen who had starved themselves i'll or
der to live. The strong woman is there,
and her remarkable sister, with vori-
table hCrao'S mano growing upon her
| back.
That was clcTcr scheme this fol
| low dcvi 90" sai,l tho Snowman, ad
| justlng his glasses ~ as to view like
ness. He represented himself as hay.
ing gunshot wnund through ant
through the body, a:,d then ho fixed W
an optical dclrsion apparatus which
made it. appear that people could lool
straight through hi:a. Wc displayed
colorcd photograph It tho back, and thu
people conld SEQ that picture on tn,
other side of tho man. You have IL,
idea what q furore there was about it