The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-09
MONSTERS TO ORDER.
A FACTORY FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF FREAKS AND MUMMlES.

Tattooed Man In Two Hours and Ossi6es
You While You wait-Egyptian Mum
mics Furnish Good Market For Wax.
There is freak factory In the 1900
block of East One Hundred and Eight
zenith street which daily adds fresh mon
strosities TO the list of dime museum at
fractions. A more grewsome place would
DO difficult TO find. Hideous anatomical
sketches adorn the walls. The human
form, frightfully distorted, is visible every
where. The dissecting room Of a medical
college has an air of cheer rs compared TO
this place. 1t is "a thorough proof, too, of
the late p. L. Barnum's assertion that the
American public loves 10 be humbugged.
Nature is not sufficiently prolific Of
freaks TO satisfy the demand of the exhib-
itors thereof. Therefore they are made 10
order, and 1t is no small tax on the inven-
tion of the creators of these objects of in
terest 10 satisfy the constant demand for
something new. The presiding genius Of
the factory referred to revealed few Sc
crets of the profession the other day,
which, to say the least, are startling.
An invention of the freak genius is that
of the man who can, snakelike, shed his
epidermis at will. After this performance
every little vein stands out in bold relief.
The freak is apparently skinless, and the
strange feature of the whole thing is that
he sheds his skin at "A specified hour each
day. The process is simple enough when
understood. The skin which is shed is con-
structed-just how the freak inventor re-
fused TO say-from the membranes of the
intestines of animals-the same sort of
nj xx-nf L. hnr hot ar,in
rean product, the bologna sausage. The
real skin of the freak is first covered with
a preparation which seems to render it
very thin but only does so in appearance.
A delicately constructed rubber stamp is
used to put the veins on, and the skin
shedding freak is complete. "Ob, it's
rare onel' the freak inventor said as he
gleefully rubbed his hands. "They amt
any of 'em in it with me on this" OF
course the false skin is put on every day,
but just how the freak man declined TO
say.
There was also in the course of prepara-
ton at the factory the other day the equip
ments of "a tattooed man, an albino and an
ossified man. Perhaps there have been
genuine specimens of all three, but that
was long time ago, and anyway there
wouldn't be- enough to go around.
The process of making "a tattooed man is
simplicity itself. 1t is just as easy as put
ting big firms name on boxes of goods
which it ships. And it is done the same
way The would be tattooed man poses in
"the altogether" while another man,
with a series of very fine stencil plates and
india ink, proceeds to make him IAN I'M
fortunate man who after many years cap
tivity among the south sea islanders has
at last succeeded in escaping To civiliza-
tion.'
The genius of the freak factory said it
was no unusual thing TO make tattooed
man in two hours
From appearances the role of the ossified
man is not likely TO prove popular. To
properly construct one is no small task. A
system of delicate steel rods, covered with
a peculiar sort of cement is the material
for making the case into which the sup
posed ossitied man enters. Once inside
and properly fastened he is, to all intents
and purposes, so far as he is concerned,
truly ossifled until he is released There
are several secrets connected with the ossi-
flcation process which the freak construct
or said it would be unprofessional to re-
veal. The facts stated form "a rough out
line of the methods pursued.
The albino is the nearest approach to
the genuine of any of the freak factory
products. 1t is absolutely necessary that !
the person cast for this character shall !
have eyes approaching "a reddish white in |
color. Thus equipped by nature, art will !
do the rest. Tho hair, which, of course. |
must be long, is bleached to the proper |
shade and then is thoroughly anointed |
with a preparation which first makes it !
assume almost a perpendicular and then /
curl at the ends. After this the eyebrows |
are bleached. This accomplished, full |
nedged albino is ready for exhibition.
The manufacture of these freaks as /
may be imagined, requires highly skilled |
labor The first step in making ancient |
Egyptian mummies is To construct the |
original body, which is afterward decorat- !
ell to suit the demands and taste of the !
purchaser. These objects are first cast i'm |
wax, and the freak factory is provided |
with complete outfit for making wax |
casts. The figures in most cases are cast |
III dozen or moro different pieces There I
are dozens of molds used for casting hands |
and feet of various sizes. There are head |
molds which turn out heads to fit mum |
mics of all ages and conditions. These |
inods are used over and over again. so |
Ohab very larBe lallllleS OF mufnmleS are |
turned out all as much alike as can be.
1t may be seen, therefore, that the work
Of constructing IA simple mummy 1000 |
years old requires considerable skill and |
ingenuity. In one corner of the little fac
tory Is stove arranged for boiling large
quantities of wax, to be used in casting
these ancient mummies The freak manu-
Iacturer buys wax 100 pounds at time
In this branch of the business it is only
necessary to cast fairly regular human
form, and the addition of the cloth wrap
ping and varnish serves to conceal all but
5he mere outline Of the original form. Gen
'rally In mummy manufacture it is neces-
'ary To leave some section of the mummy
lnwrapped to illustrate how the flesh look
ID 1000 years ago, so that this exposed |
part must be made with great care before
Is commenced
The cost of these attractive objects va
les Some of them command as high a
price AS 800 or 800, the price. of course,
varying according to the age of the num-
ny. An Egyptian mummy z, 900 years old |
IS much more difficult to make than an