River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-07-04


r r. BalnIlm said the American public
liked 10 be humbuGged, and the truth of
his words have been proven time after
time by the showmen of the country.
In his Sawdust and Spangles. published
by Herbert 5. stone d Co, Chicago Mr..
w. G.. Coup gives much interesting in
formation regarding the inside of the
American circus, menagerie and museum.
lie separates the real from the unreal
the genuine from the fake. and supplies
u narrative that should interest every
habitue Of these forms Of entertainment
The following chapter taken from his
book describes number Of freaks and
fakes with which the American public
9Vere successfully humbugged.
MO saying attributed to p. Z. Bar
" mum has been more widely
quoted than the remark that the
public likes to be humbugged" Ger
tainly this comment on the credulity
OF the masses opens up a most curious
and entertaining field, and its men
ton in company Of old showmen
is sure to provoke flood of remin-
iscences on the subject of fakes,
freaks and takers. There is scarcely
another line of experience concern
ing which veteran showmen more
enjoy comparing notes-possibly be
because it touches on the secrets Of
the craft. Though il is true that Mr..
Barnum was a master in the science
of humbugging the public, and did
not disclaim that distinction, it must
be said in justice to him that in the
course of his professional career he
gave the people more for their money
gIr s,-.r,
dead
A little inside information on this
hidden side of the showman's business
may be entertaining to a public which
has often experienced the pleasure of
being humbugged. Certainly no fake
is entitled to take precedence over
the celebrated Cardiff Giant" This
was the invention of a certain George
Hull. lie lived l think. at Bingham
ton. New York, and manufactured the
giant in a rude shop on the small
farm which he worked. Hull was
shrcwd, energetic and very persist
ent, as may be seen by the fact that
the elaboration of the idea of his fake
and its execution occupied him more
than four years. He thought the
whole matter ont, even 10 the most
minute details, before beginning work
on il. Without any knowledge Of The
art of sculpture or the science OF an
atomy. he set himself resolutely at
work to remedy these defects of edu-
cation. He had considerable aptitude
with the chisel. and gradually deve.-
opcd the skill necessary to hew out n
figure that was 10 be put before the
public as relic of an age so remote
that no person would be likely closely
TO criticise its proportions. Hull also
knew that, no matter what the age
in which a giant was supposed to have
lived, the remains must show pores
IN the skin to pass the scrutiny of
even the uniearned. The making OF
these pores required more time and
labor than all the other work of MAX
ing the Cardiff Giant" The work
occupied many months, and was all
performed in the studio or shop
where it was at last finished to Hulrs
satisfaction.
Preparations were then made for
the giants burial in order that when
brought TO public view it might show
the proper evidence of antiquity. 1t
was buried in the side OF a hill only n
few rods from the outbuilding. where
it had been chiselcd from a huge block
of stone taken from that very hill
In all this work, huge and heavy as
The uncut stone and the giant hewn
ont of it were, Hull had only the
assistance of one man, a sled and n
yoke of oxen in moving them, This
helper was green and stold Ger
man immigrant, utterly devoid Of
curiosity. and the man who helped to
bury the giant was another of the
same description.
The statue was allowed to remain
more than two years in the ground
before its maker considered it to be in
proper condition for accidental" dis
'coyery. Hun then promptly dis
covered and dug out the "petriica-
ton" and placed it on public view
10 amaze and pcrpleN people generally
and TO delight the antiquarians, who
found it an argument to uphold some
of their most cherished theories 1t
took it's name from the fact that near
the spot where ii was buried and res
mrrccted was small hamlet called
Cardiff The public career of the
Cardiff Giant" was not Of long con
tinuance, however, but was sufficiently
lengthy TO enable Mr.. Hull to make
considerable money out of his clever
conception. He declared however
that he might have made more money
if he had accepted Mr., Barnum's offer
made AT the time of the giants first
appearance in public. Mr.. Hull knew
too, that exposure was bound to come
in the end but that mattered not tc
him. For many years thereafter the
"Cardif Giant" reposcd neglected In
the very shop in which it was made;
but its owner and inventor averrct
that he was entirely content with tn,
financial result of his ingenuity
The year of 1851 is memorial,
one in the annals Of circus history
and circus men remember it as tn,
''White Elephant Year" For man,
L