The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-10
OLD TIME FREAKS
 ARE NOW A DRUG No Demand Now for Giants, Dwarfs and Their Like CHANGE OF SENTIMENT Day of High Salaries Thing of the Pnrt-Lucia Zarate Made About
 $200,O0O in 15 Years--The
 Tiniest of Beings
CHANGE OF SENTIMENT
From the New York world.

IBaSement at any figure. Indeed, IL IS
 a question whether Lucia zarate, the tiniest human being that ever lived. and
 who attracted scientists as well as the
 general public, could command anything like the pay she received twenty-five years ago, when crowds focked to see
 her in all the principal cities of the
 Union.
 She was a perfectly formed woman
 and symmetrical She weighed less than
 eleven pounds, and her height was not
 quite twelve inches. She could walk
 under Gen. Tom Thumbs extended arm
 without brushing his sleeve nA ordi-
 nary finger ring could be slipped on her
 wrist, and a teacup would cover her
 head. The nail of her little finger was not much bigger than a pin head. l This curious pocket edition of human l ity was not mentally keen. Her intel- llect appeared to be dwarfed in propor-
 ton to her body, but she excited the
 widest interest, especially among chill
 dren. Lucia was a native Of Mexico,
 and is believed to have passed her last
 days in the village where she was born. Her earnings were upward of $2O0.OOO
 a'-~'-v the fifteen years she was on ex-
 hibition.
 s are no more in demand newa- days than dwarfs. The great majority
 of those who travel with shows are not
 as tall by two or three inches as an-
 nounced on the billboards and on the programmes. While hlliputlan cannot
 make himself appear smaller than he really is a giant can add to his stature with thick-soled Wellington cavalry boots
 and high heels and accentuate the flu
 sion of great height by wearing hat
 with a tall crown
 Chang's Great Height | Chang the Chinese giant, was probably
 the ta'iest man known in modern times l His actual measurement was within an | inch of nine feet, and he possessed fair degree Of muscular strength. It Is not generally known to the public that the
 average show giant has very weak
 spinal column. and his muscles, as rule, l are atrophied.
 The unusual growth, which is quite
 rapid. appears to sap the strength. With | the exception of Chang, there never has
 been a giant on public view whose lift | ing power was equal to that of a healthy
 normal boy of 15. 4
 The two-headed girl, Millie Christine l was probably one of the most extraor- | dinary freaks of nature born since the | days of the strange creature described
 in the "Historia Rerum Slotirarum" of | George Buchanan This being lived in
 the reign of James III of Scotland in the | year 14ec. It was of the male sex, and I from the waist up was double. There were two perfectly foImed heads, two sets l of lungs two hearts and two pairs of
 arms. This double body was supported
 on one pair of legs This monstrosity
 was neither repulsive nor displeaslng. On | the contrary the dual mental equipment was so perfect that the King engaged a | special tutor in languages and mathe- l r3t.. came proficient in all of these studies.
 and it was a favorte royal diversion to | have the heads argue with each other on | the progress made during the days work. Two Hearts, Single Circulation | Although the circulation of the blood was not known in those days, the circum- stantial evidence furnished by Buchanan | is that the double man had had single | arterial circulation, pumped by two | hearts. The sensation of touch was single | be.cw the waist and double above it. | that is to say. if the feet were touched | both brains would know 1t simultaneous Fly, but if an arm were touched only the brain of the body to which the arm be- | longed would receive the impression. Mil He Christine was a complete double wom- an with two sets of limbs. The joining | of tine two bodies was not at all like | that of the Siamese twins, who were | joined together with a fesht ligament | Millie's bony structure was '.ngle from the lower part of the ribs to the hips. | She was able to walk or dance on either | set of feet. Her mentality was dual, and | violent disputes were not infrequent. This human phenomenon was born in North Carolina.
 She-or they-were examined before | medical clinics in all the principal cities of the world. When Millie Christine first po l<afn thA rl,~ | as such a remarkable curiosity that high prices of admission were charged in halls | and asse mbly rooms, and the crowds were constant for many years but after awhile | the human curiosity could TO longer at- tract paying crowd without some other
 attraction in addition. so Millie drifted | into the circus tent and for many years was one of the main side show attrac- | tious. .re- Pue Her Feet to Use Armless men and armless women have gone pretty we'll out of fashion, too. The most famous ever shown in this country were Ann Leake and
 Charlie Tripp As a. sort of comnensa- | ton for depriving her of arms nature gave Ann Leake pair of feet of such graceful lines that they would have served as Trilby model. She had marvellous command over the muscles that controlled the toes and. could perform many Of the duties performed | by the hands of a person with com | plete bodily equipment She could | thread needle with her toes. sew, err1- | broider and do the most beautiful fancy work. She wrote a clear. legibe hand O. foot-and one of her favorite sentences
 written on a card and handed to visitors
 was ''Of hands deprived. of toes de-
 rived''
 The characters were large and bold Ann Leake ate her meals without as-
 sistance. and even dressed herself. Her | clothing was all made to order so that
 hook. The fastening of both garments
 ing herself the armless woman used her teeth in addition to her feet
 Charlie Tripp's writing with his toes
 could not be dlstinguished from the handwritine Of a person who made it
 an occupation. It was firm symmetrical
 and perfectly shaped There were few | of the spectators in the side show when Tripp was on exhibition who could write as we'll as he. | .The slump in the freak market. said | an old showman Ifs something like the | slump in the dime novel market. Where vou saw hundred Doys slvly reading
 thriller in school thirty years ago. you
 won't find one now. I can't account for that any more than can account for l the fauing off in public interest in human | cl1rosities Why vou couldnf get 10 cents head now for the turtleboy, the bearded lady and the two-headed girl ccr,hined. I don't know why, but that is the fact The only way for freak to make living now is with the doc