The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-12


certained they were brought to this com
try about 1870 by a Capt. Hammond, who
found them on one of the small Islands in
the Pacific. he called them the wild men
of Borneo because everyone was acquaint-
ed with BOrneo as the largest island in the
world. Capt. Hammond died and they We're
taken charge of by Henry Harvey of Bos-
ton. After his decease H. A Warner Of
Waltham, Mass. took them, and he has
now become blind from age, so that his
son Ernest has 70 take them on the road,
although they sti5 live with his fathof In
spite of their age the little fellows are as
cheerful and fun of life as when they first
came TO this country. Their eyes are bright,
their hair shows no signs of gray, and The
only signs of approaching age are a slight
deafness and a diminution of their eI.or-
nous strength. When they were in their
prime one of them could lift two gJod- siz-
ed men with ease, although they stand
only three feet in hight, and weigh but
forty-hve pounds. Even now they are eX-
tremely strong and active, but do not lift
these great weights, while their whole life
is much more quiet than it used to be.
wild Men at Home.
When they were first brought out they
created a tremendous sensation and were
shown all over the country at a salary Of
$500 to $400 a week. At that salary they
had continuous engagements, running two
or three weeks in one town and then go
ing directly to another engagement. Now,
however, they have become so we'll known
that they do not command much of a sal
ary and Mr.. Warner will not take them on
the road for small one.
They have pleasant life at Mr.. War
ner's fine place, where they have the best
of care, and are given about everything
that they want Their desires are few
and simple, and they seem to find the most
enjoyment in helping to take care of the
place.
Although they seem so bright and quick
they have never mastered the English Ian
guage, but understand simple things that
Mr.. Warner says to them. In speaking to
strangers they converse almost entirely
by sign language, but they have a Ian
guage of their own which Mr.. Warner has
never been abe to understand.
The Big Footed Woman.
One of the most interesting cases of the
rise of a freak from poverty to affluance
is that of Fanny Mills, the big-footed wo-
man, who was discovered by Frank Stone.
the Boston dime museum manager. He
heard of her through the postmaster at
Sandusky, o., and after a little CORE
spondence determined 10 go out and see if
she was all that she was represented to
be- The farm on which she was living
with her parents was found to be the most
miserable place imaginable, the house and
building out of repair, the ground poor,
and everything indicating a hard struggle
for bare existence. The girl herself was
half-clothed and fearfuily thin and worn
looking. Her work was to milk the cows
and then carry the milk for a distance of
five miles to the houses along the road.
She carried two large pals slung on
yoke across her shoulders, and with her
huge feet the daily toll was so severe that,
coupled with misera BILE food, 1t had worn
her almost to a skeleton.
Mr.. Stone took her to Boston on a salary
of $85 a week. and billed her as 1.-THE big
footed woman from Chicago She created
a great sensation, and was a drawing card
for long time. When she arrived she had
on her feet a pair of boots that showed
how primitive had been her mode of life.
They were made throughout of the tops of
farmers heavy cowhide boots, and had
been manufactured al home by first cut
ting out of combined bootlegs a piece large
enough for the sole. and then sewing more
bootlegs over it from side TO side until the
foot was covered A shoe dealer took these
shoes to place in his window as an adver
tisement, and in return made for her two
of the finest pairs that he could turn out.
Fannys salary was steadily increased as
it became evident what drawing card she
was, and when she left Mr.. Stone it was to
fill an engagement at $500 a week. She was
simple and careful in her manner of liv-
ing, and in fact her living expenses were
just about paid by what she made
through the sale of her pictures. She went
back TO Sandusky as soon as she had made
enough money, bought the finest farm in
all that part of the country, and is the en-
tire support of her parents.
Big Salary or the TOcci Twins.
The highest-priced freaks ever shown in
this country were the Tocci twins, who re-
ceived a salary of $500 a week for a four
weeks engag ement. They were two boys
with but one pair of legs between them the
bodies connecting at the waist, both bod
les and legs being perfect and wen-form-
ed. They were cons family worrying about
The high price of living in this country and
in spite of their large salary spent as lit
tie as they could possibly get along with.
They now have large and beautiful place
near their native town in Italy, and are
persons of great distinction there.
Che-Mah, the Dwarf, Has "A Farm.
Che-Mah, the Chinese dwarf, has a farm
near Chicago, and is making good deal
of money out of it, as he is a thoroughly
up-to-date agriculturist. He superintends
every detail of the farm himself and it
is a curious and interesting sight to see
this little fellow who stands just two feet
and two inches in height, overseeing the
work of some twenty Swapping labOrers,
driving about the farm in his little pony
cart. or going to the city with several
wagon loads of produce
Ella Ewing, the TalIest Woman.
Ella Ewing, who is so far as is known,
the tallest woman on earth, is only "a
years old, but has already saved up a
large fortune and is the owner of a
beautiful farm near Goran, o. 1t is said
that she is growing taller and more val
liable every day, but she will not fill an
engagement except for a very large sum,
as she is married and prefers life at home
unless a great Involvement is offered.
KraO, the Missing Link.
One of the most interesting characters
among the freaks was Krao, the missing
| link. She was a Burmese, but a girl of
a good deal of refinement as freaks go.
| She always had governess travel with
| her, and was well-educated and a hard
| student, but she had certain instincts that
she could not overcome. Most of her man