Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-06-27

"Jo-Jo, the dog-faced boy" and was
resolved to place a good imitation of
this freak before the American pub
lie. He accordingly had made a very
expensive wig, which completely COW
cred the head, face and shoulders.
Dressing the man in the garb of a
Russian peasant, he advertised him
as nicola jacob, the Russian dog
faced man." So good was the dis
guise that they exhibited an entire
week at a Jersey City museum, de-
ceiving eve the astute proprietor.
Next they went to Boston, where they
played to the most phenomenal bust
ness on record. The proprietor of the
museum had a very clever c~artoonist
in his employ, and as the Englishman
and his dog-faced friend walked from
the station TO the museum they saw
nothing but pictures of dog-faced
men. In front of the museum, in a
large cage. was one of the fercest
wildcats they had ever seen, labeled,
''The pet of the dog-faced man."
They played, as l have said, to a
phenomenal business. For two weeks
thousands of persons daily struggled
for the privilege of paying ten cents
to see this amusing fake. At the end
of hat time one of the employees be-
trayed the secret to a reporter and
the attraction was rendered valueless.
Strange to relate, the success of this
flake" was the mean of bringing
from Europe the original dog-faced
boy. "Jo-io,'' who for several years
drew a good salary at the various
dime museums, but never created Sc
much excitement by virtue of his gen
uineness as the fake did.
Mile Christine, the "two-headed
nightingale" had been exhibiting in
New York city, and the public atten-
ton was called shortly afterward to
the fact hat a lady with three per-
feet heads would be exhibited on a
certain day. Now, this strange being
was really an optical Illusion, built on
the same lines as the ghost show in
vented by Prof. Pepper. Three
girls were used. and all the portions
of their figures not intended to be
shown We're covered with a black
cloth. The whole Illusion is mere
ly an effect of light and shade.
Still another fake hat not only
drew" but positively deceived the
whole New York press. was the "Da-
honey Giant About 1882 a tall spec
linen of the African race walked into
an eastern museum looking for work.
He was actually over seven feet in
height, and had never been on eXhi-
bition. knowing that his value as a
negro giant would be but little. the
proprietors resolved to introduce him
as 4 monster wild African. After con-
sulting Rev. J. G.. Woods illustrated
history of the uncivilized races, it
was determined to make a Dahomey
of the tall North Carolinian. A the
atrical costumer was set to work to
make him a picturesque garb. A
spurious cablegram was issued, pur-
porting to be from Farini, of London.
stating that the Dahomey giant had
sailed with his interpreter from Lon
don and would arrive in Boston on or
about a certain date.
The man, with his interpreter, Y
then taken by train to Boston. from
which city shey, in due time. wired
the museum proprietor of their ar
rival. That telegram was answered
by another telling them to take the
first Fall River beat for New York
city. The press was then notified, and
the representatives of five New York
papers were actually Sent to the pie
the following morning so interview
the distinguished stranger from Da-
honey. The man had been well
schooled, and pretending not to
know a word of the English language,
could not, of course, converse with
the reporters. But his interpreter
managed to fill them up very COM
fortably. At all events. long and in
teresting If the "snuff-col-
ored giant from Dahomey'' appeared
in most of the dailies, and for several
weeks this Dahomey was the stellar
attraction at that particular dime
museum. The advent of summer and
its consequent circus season closing
the city museums, the Dahomey
"joined OUT with a side show in
which, for successive seasons, he
posed as a Dahomey giant, a Maori
from New Zealand, an Australian
aborigine and a Kaffir. This mans
SuCSCSS was tl4G AuIttdIIS0 1OI d SCOiG
of other negroes, who posed as repre-
sentatives of any foreign races the
side show proprietor wished to ex-
hibit.
Krao, the missing link" as she
was called, was simply a hairy child,
and almost exactly like Annie Jones,
who was exhibited by Barnum as the
"Esau Child" A great card for nut
seums at one time was the human
faced chicken" The first one placed
on exhibition was purchased in good
faith by an acquaintance of mine, and
proved a good attraction. 4 visiting
farmer. however, declared that it was
nothing but an ordinary chicken
which had had its bill frozen off, and
so it proved.
Dancing turkeys were then intro
duced and caused great amusement.
The awkward birds would walk onto
their exhibition stage and so through
a decidedly grotesque dance, their
mode of lifting their feet being high
ly laughable. The truth was that
the stage on which they danced was
a piece of sheet iron covered with 4
cloth. The iron was heated to IN III
comfortable degree by gas jets un-
derneath. What the public accepted
as dancing was really the efforts made
by the birds to prevent their feet
from being burned.
The spread of the dime museum
craze created a great demand fO-