Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-10-17
BARNUM's OLD PLACE
THE HIST ORIG MUSEUM THAT STOOD
IN LOWER NEW YORK,

s.5I IN LOWER NEW YORK,
Facts About the Famous Curio Han
That Brought a Fortune to the En-
ergetic Shoyyman-Forty Thousand
Persons Saw 1t Consumed by Fire.
I'VE will: ascend to the top Of st. +
Paul's skyscraper and take New York
city in at a glance" said my friend as
we passed the corner of Broadway and
Ann street. Entering the doorway and
taking the elevator 1t took but few
moments to find ourselves at the top
where from the windows we not only
'''took in the entire city, with its brick
walls and smoking chimneys, but as
far as the eye could reach we saw
water and green fields. As we de-
scended We could not help thinking that
on this spot for many years stood Bar
nuns museum, once the dream Of all
children and a place of universal in.
eerest to every one. In s#f h I.
Among the many sights and curiosi-
ties seen in the museum some are IA
:ailiar to this; day, as Niagara Falls,
with reg! water, trees, rocks, etc; Joice
Heth, the aged eolored woman, 161
years old, who had once been nurse to
General Washington; the woolly horse,
said to have been captured by The Ere
mont exploring party in the Rocky
mountains; the Indian wedding dance:
the club that killed Captain Cook;
Tom Thumb, the dwarf who drove
around the city in stylish little coach
and who married Miss Lavinia War
rem, the wedding taking place before a
vast assemblage at Grace church while
pu1titudes lined the sidewalks outside;
the living whale that was kept in a
tank of salt water pumped in from the
bay; the hippopotamus, the tropical
fish, Commodore Mutt, known as the
$4,000 Mutt; the two dromios; the
lightning calculator who could add a
square Of figures at glance, and who
became Methodist minister; the fat
boy; Anna Swan, the Nova Scotia
giantess; the tallest man in the world;
the fat woman; Pashasharend. "the
what is it." no one knowing whether it
was man OF monkey; the boa CON
strictor, seen inside large glass case;
the cherry colored cat; the happy fam.
lily, a collection Of cats, rats, adders
rabbits, parrots, birds, etc, all in one
! cage; also two vast alligators, the liv.
ing skeleton, the baby mite that
weighed only three pounds, the FISH
with legs, the Fiji mermaid, the
giraffe, the rhinoceros, with the tropi
! cal birds, parrots, cockatoos, mockine
birds, humming birds, vultures ant
eagle, and the well remembered dos
! and baby shows.
Then there were the wax figures Of
/ pirates and murderers, Franklin
Pierce, Patrick Henry, General Wash
ington. James Buchanan, General Mar
! ion, General Lafayette, James Madi
! son, Governor Morris, Prince Imperial
Of France, Nine Roland, Moll Pitcher
Nathan Hale, Poor Richard, Daniel
/ Lambert, the Yelled Murderess, etc
In many of the plays thrilling scenes
were produced, as in 1.-THE Storm al
! Sea-" where vessel was struck by
! lightning and the crew rescued by be.
ing drawn by rope up a rocky sum-
! nit and the army ascending through
the narrow defles Of the Swiss Alps.
| The museum was burned on the aft.
| ernoon of July 10. 1865. The fire, il
was thought, originated in the engine
room. it being necessary to keep up
steam to pump fresh air into the wa
ter of the aquaria and to propel the
fans that kept the heated halls cool
! The flames began in the managers
Office and extended to all parts of the
building. The manager showed great
! presence of mind by depositing several
thousands of dollars in a safe before
he escaped fro,l the building. Fully
10000 persons witnessed the fire, who
saw the tall woman lowered by means
Of ropes to the sidewalk and heard the
shrieks Of animals in the menagerie
| and the growls of the Bengal tiger.
The lion and his mate, who had es-
capped from their cage, were seen walk
! ing along the floor and an encounter
beneath the roof between the eagle
! and serpent. when the victorious ca
gle bore off his enemy in his talons
amid loud cheers. The polar bear,
escaping from the building, walked
| through the streets to the custom
house. where. ascending to, the bal