Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-06-08
ONCE FAMOUS FREAKS.
Dime Museum Man Gossips About
Queer Human Curiosities.

Queer Human Curiosities.
"One Of the funniest freaks I ever
ran across" said Frank M. Drew, an
old timer in the dime museum busi-
ness, was "Millie Christine, the two
headed nightingale
"Millie certainly could sing. And
she had two heads all right enough,
which caused me several times two
kinds of trouble.
II contracted to bring her to Cleve-
for the Plain Dealer. "She was to
| have so much a week and her hotel
| and travelling expenses. I took her
over to the old Kennard House, and
| the manager started an argument.
He said as two mouths had to be fed
1 would have to pay two board bills.
| That opened the question and when
she left town the ticket agent COM
PEELED me to pay two railroad fares.
| She was an expensive proposition.
"Millie was colored and highly edu-
Gated. The heads would hold con-
versation with each other in all sorts
Of languages. She had travelled all
over the world as a 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 soprano
solo. Occasionally she would sing a
duet.
"She had four arms and four legs.
When 1t came time for the Instru-
mental music she could play a simple
thing with two hands, or she could
play an intricate composition with
four hands. Great girl, she was.
'The most expensive exhibit I ever
had was Lucy Zarote, the Mexican
midget. She was really the smallest
woman in the world. She was about
twenty-five inches high and played
like a child. She got $40 an hour for
sitting on the stage.
II don't believe there ever was a
boy who hasn't heard of Barnum's g
what Is it?' The bills called him Zip.
He was a southern colored man with
peculiar shaped head. I don't be-
lieve any one really figured out just
what was the matter with him.
Living skeletons and fat men and
women were plentiful as the air. The
best skeleton we ever had was Isaac
Sprague.
Isaac used to walk around with a
can Of milk in his hand 10 keep him
self alive. He sure was a thin one.
We had a fellow though. who was al
most as thin as Isaac, who could eat
anything and everything. I never saw
such an appetite. Still, he couldn't
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 was white. Lau-
ra weighed almost a thousand pounds
and Hattie weighed a little less than
eight hundred.
"A Circassian girl could be made In
few minutes. All that was needed
was a luxuriant head Of hair or a
good wig. Nothing else was needed
except a little bleaching material 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.
1.-The camel girl was a 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 one of the most versatile exhib-
it's. He was a hideous little fellow,
nearly covered with hair
lone day he would be the exile.
Next day he might go into a cage and
be a wild man, but 1t didn't make
much difference to him which he was.
IF anything he would rather play
the exile, because the wild man had
to try to eat raw meat. Ivanovitch
didn't like that very much.
Trip, was the armless wonder. lie
used to travel with Barnum's. Trip
was really good. He could write, sew,
feed himself and do anything else
A,, 1f \,
I'VE had girl. too, who was born
without arms She went Trip little
farther and played the piano with her
toes. That is no joke.
Next to the Circassian 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. 1t swallowed a
big wooden blanket and choked to
death.
"Sad end for him. The blanket got
caught in his teeth. You know their
teeth slant backward, so that when
ever food is swallowed it has to re-
main in the stomach until 1t is di-
gested. That Is what queered this
reptile.
"The ossifed man I found up in
Canada. I brought him down here
by paying the expenses Of himself
and his son and giving them a little
money. They stirred up the most at
tention the museum ever had.
Myrtle Corbin, one Of our four leg
ged girls, was a good drawing card
until she was married. In her travels
she found a man from Kentucky and
married him. Now she has three or
four children. They live in the Ken
lucky mountain regions and so far as
1 know are perfectly happy.
annie Jones was the best bearded
lady we ever had. She married lee
turer with a museum. 1t Is peculiar
thing about freaks that practically all
of them are married. They marry
each other or they marry some one
who wants to get in on the salary they
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