Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-04-03
PROGENY OF FREAKS.
SOME RESULTS OF ROMANCES IN TIE
SHOW BUSINESS.
The First Real Living skeleton, His Wife
and Their Three Skin and Bone sons.
An old Mussum and Side Show Man
ager Taps His Memory Tank.


According u Manager T. f. Sackett
Of the Bijou theater, Isaac W. Sprague
was the first unnaturally CT ahnOrmally
thin skin and bones man to be- exhibit
ed 10 the public under the title Of a
Giving skeleton. 1t was during the
palmy days Of Barnum 5 Greatest Show
on Earth, and while that celebrated
Snowman was raking the continents IN
search of curiosities in 1864. Incident
ally Mr.. Sackett was in those days with
Tony Pastor. Mr.. Sackett was acting as
duurtendef manager and all around
man for Pastor. He had previously been
ont with Mile Christine, the two
headed girl. and had an eye ont for
freaks. When the Tony Pastor show
reached Florida, Stone IL Murray cir
Gus came there. The old inhabitants
Will remember Stone IL Murray show.
1t was contempOraneous with Dan
Rice's, Thayer * Moves and afterwaid
with the John Robinson circus. With
Stone d Murray was Isaac ". Sprague,
the living skeleton. Mr.. Sprague had
been discovered by Barnum III Massa
chusetts. He was the first living skele
ton ON record since the discovery of the
world by Adam. And Sprague was a
real living skeleton too. He was moth
ing but skin and bones, yet he was
healthy and jolly.
In 1865 Barnum collected several Gu
riosities, including Sprague, and sent
them for tour Of the world. Sprague
was the big card. Next to him was "a
skeleton woman, nearly as attenuated
rs SpraRue, whose name has escaped
the wonderful memory of Snowman
Sackett. Among the other freaks with
which Barnum expected to and did AS
tonish the world was Joyce Heth, the
colored woman he picked up in the
south. supposed to be l25 years old; the
woody horse, and Annie Swan, the
first giantess ever on exhibition.
Sprague, on the steamer going over
TO London, fell desperately in love with
the skeleton woman. She returned his
affection, and, according to Manager
Sackett, who was on the voyage, it was
sight for the sentimental to observe
the billing and cooling of these attenuat-
ed specimens of Pharaoh S lean kline "
The outre love affair gave Barnum a
business hint, which be was not slow 10
take advantage of On their arrival in
dear old "LunnOn" the Snowman adver-
tised and beralded the astounding fact
far and wide that on IA certain day there
could be seen at st. James hall (where
they We're showing) something that the
4
ly the marriage of two living, breath
ing skeletons. He also announced the
fact that never before i'll the annals OF
show business had such il thing as the
wedding of freaks been performed III
public This was fact too.
OF the enthusiastic crowds which such
unique announcement drew, or the
interesting conduct of the living skele
tons, welded in the presence of ''as-
semhled thousands" Manager Sackett
il silent. But he tells of a fact how
ever, which is of such interest that it
was recorded in medical works, but
never before has seen the light of news
paper publication. That was that
year after the marriage Of the skeletons
the wife bore child which also was
Giving skeleton.
Stranger still 10 relate-but Sackett
stakes his fortune on the truth Off it
two other children were also born 10
Mr.. and Mrs. Sprague, and they were
also Of the skeleton mold For many
years afterward the parents travelled
with their unnaturally thin offspring
and added TO the stock of the worlds
establishment, including both crowned
heads and those that were bald. The
original Sprague and his wife are dead,
but the three skeleton children, now
young men, are showing about the coun-
try, healthy, happy and rich.
This Is the only case or succession Of
cases in medical annals where a father
and mother transmitted the disease Of
wasting atrophy to their offspring.
Mr. Sackett also tells of another weird
case that came under his observation in
his peregrinating show days. Major
Burnell, IA celebrated Snowman Of the
sixties, found pair Of freak twins in
the south the offspring of colored peo
pie. One Of the twins boy, was black
aS Kongo stock. The other, girl, was
pure albino. The major engaged the
twins for his show and exhibited them
for years The albino girl grew up and
married an albino III the west. The
offspring Of the marriage was IA baby as
black as the ace of spades. OF course
this enhanced the showing price Of
Charley and his albino wife and Major
Burnell increased their salaries accord
ingly.
d. X. Prescott was the discoverer of
the far famed Sleeping Beauty, whom
he found in Tennessee in the sixties. He
brought her TO 81 Louis. She was Il
young girl of surprising beauty, with
but one fault discOverable. She slept
nine tenths of the time. She was the
greatest puzzle the medical men had
ever seen. 1t was one of these latter
who deprived her mother of fortune
and Prescott of one of his most popular
curiosities. The young doctor was LET,
alone in the showroom one day while
the beauty was sleeping a. usual. His
curiosity urouptpd him 10 take ont bl-