The Cairo bulletin., 1906-09-13
Famous Dime
Museum Freaks

! old timer in the dime museum busi
ness, TO a Cleveland Plain Dealer re
| porter, "was Mile Christine, the two
headed nightingale.
Mile certainly could sing And
she had two heads all right enough
which caused me several times two
kinds of troubles,
"Millie was colored and highly edu
Gated. The heads would hold CONVEX
sations with each other in all sorts
of languages. She had Travelled all
over the world as freak, and she
had learned every language
she could give an entire pro
gramme by herself. First she would
sing an alto solo. and then a soprano
solo. Occasionally she would sing a
duet
she had four arms and four legs.
When II came time for the instru'
mental music She could play sim
pie thing with two hands. or she
could play an intricate composition
with four hands. Great girl, she was
The most expensive exhibit ! ever
had was Lucy Zarote, the Mexican
midget She was really the smallest
woman in the world She was about
% inches high, and played like 1T.
tie child She got $50 an hour for
sitting on the stage.
Il don't believe there ever was a
boy who hasn't heard of Barnum :
what is ito The bills called him
Zip. He was a southern colored man
with a peculiar shaped head. don't
believe anyone really figured out juF
what was the matter with him.
Living skeletons and TAI men ant
women were plentiful as the cir. The
best skeleton we ever had was Isaac
Sprague
Isaac used TO walk around with y
can of milk in his hand to keep him
self alive. He sure was thin one
We had a fellow who was almost as
thin as Isaac. who could eat any
thing and everything. / never saw
such an appetite Still, he couidn
get fat.
During one particular week We
had two fat women on exhibition.
Big Laura Wolford was the star, and
Hattie Bowen was the other Laura
was colored. Hattie, white: Laura
weighing almost 1000 pounds. and
Hattie weighed little less than 500
"A Circassian girl could be made
In few minutes. All that was need
ed was a luxriant head of hair or
good white wig Nothing else was
needed except a little bleaching mate
rial for the long haired girl.
'Jo-Jo and Creo were the once
famous hair man and hair woman
Both were completely covered with
hair-real hair, too There was moth
ing fake about them.
THE camel girl was funny look.
ing object. Whenever she walked
she walked away from herself From
the thighs down her legs were turned
the wrong way. If she stopped over
her knees would stick out behind like
a camel's.
'Ivanovitch, the Siberian exile,
was OHt "a Aut iiIbSl Nti SdNilt "a
hibits. lie was a hideous little feI
low. nearly covered with hair.
one day he would be the exile
Next day he might go into a cage and
be wild man. He got a better sal.
airy for being a wild man, but it didn't
make much difference 10 him which
he was.
IF anything he would rather play
the exile, because the wild man had
to try 10 eat raw meat Iyanovitch
didn't like that much.
"Trip was the armless wonder he
used TO travel with Barnums. Trip
was really good He could write.
sew, feed himself and do anything
else merely by the use OF his toes
We had a girl. too, who was born
without arms She went Trip littlo
further and played the piano with her
toes That is no joke.
Next TO the Circassiau girls. snake
charmers were easiest found. ANY
body could go into a cage with the
snakes.
Bill Doris had the largest one that
ever played Cleveland One Of them
died at the museum. II swallowed >
big wooden blanket and ehoked to
death.
sad end for ~im The rianke;
got caught in his teeth You know
their teeth slant backward. so that
whenever food is swallowed IL has 1
10 remain in the stomach until il il .
iigested. That is what queered this I
reptile.
The ossifed man found up in ,
Canada brought him down here (
by paying the expenses Of himself and T.
his son and giving them little I
money They stirred no the most al
tentiOn the museum ever had.
Myrtle Corbin. one of the four I.
legged girls. was a good drawing /.
card until she was married. In he +.
she found man from Ken /
lucky and married him. Now she has +,
three Of four children They live in 4
the Kentucky mountain region. and I
30 far as I know are perfectly happy
Annie Jones was the best bearded /
lady Ne ever had She married a I
lecturer with the museum. n Is 7
peculiar thing about freaks that prac-
firaIiV all pf them arc rnar-sad Tho i