The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-03
.PASTIMES OF FREAKS
Side Show Attractions of Cir
Gus Live Lonely Lives

When the last performance of the cir
Gus is ended, when the chariot race is run
and won, what becomes of the human
prodigies?" How do the freaks amuse
themselves In their spare hours The Fat
lady, who is deicateIy called the "hu-
man mountain" is no more likely to
take a walk up Broadway than the "leg-
less man." The missing link may veil
her face with fabric, black as her beard
but her appearance in the street would
draw a crowd which would soon block
traffic. The human skeleton cannot
venture even to take ride, for fear the
fresh air will increase his appetite. The
"dog-faced boy is equally afraid to stroll
about the streets. He has no desire to
land in the pound.
To the casual observer the freak seems
to be an outcast. whose strange shape
prevents him from associating with the
rest of the world To such a person the
prodigy is "a sort &C human comet, visi-
BILE In the sky OF society, attracted and
swayed by the same central force, yet
the product Of unknown causes, and pur-
suing weird, unnatural mission Such
an individual pities the female Esau"
He cannot conceive how she can have any
enjoyments. Stunned both by men and
women, how can this bearded anomaly,
he asks, find life worth living?
The human monstrosity also shuns the
public for the purpose of preserving his
commercial value as an exhibit The more
he is seen outside the circus the less Curl
Osity the world will have to see him inside
of it. Yet the circus freaks have their
amusements, and some Of them appear to
enjoy themselves far more than those or
binary mOrtalS who pay to stare at them-
A visit to Barnum & Ba1ley's gallery of
freaks the other day, an hour before the
afternoon performance had begun, found
several of the Exhibits" chattering to-
gether over their favorite amusements
with especial vivacity and enthusiasm.
The "armless wonder" said that car
pentry was his particular hobby and he
pointed deftly with his big right toe to
a miniature writing desk. 1t was his own
footwork," as he expressed it. and On it
he had written a book entitled Foot
notes of Man Twenty Years Before the
Public" BY long use, he said, his toes
had become SO flexible that he could ma
nipu1ate pen, hammer serewdriver or
a toothpiek with equal dexterity. About
the house he boosted that he was a
handler man than many husbands who
possess the full quota of fingers and
thumbs. Only the week before, he added
the wall paper in the dining room came
loose. Instead Of going to the landlord
and kicking, the "armless wonder
bought several rolls of cartridge paper
cut them into the right lengths smeared
them with paste properly, and then kicked
them on to the wall. 1t was hard work,
but good deal cheaper, he said, than
footing q paperhangers' bill.
After the man without arms had finish
ed talking, his bosom friend, the "leg-
less MARVEL" ventured to say that auto
MODELLING was one of his favorite pastimes
He acknowledged that as pedestrian he
was somewhat handicapped, but when he
climbed into his motor car tucked lap
robe about his waist, and took a spin up
Fifth avenue, he was to all appearances
as complete man as the mounted po-
licemap on the avenue.-New York Trib-