Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-07-05

at least in this country, on the vogue
which the champions serve to maintain.
As a consequence, there Is q constant
search for new wonders who stand alone
in their class. Sam Gumpertx says he
will pay $500 for every inch that exceeds
Hugo's height-provided the prodigy can
be engaged. II you are good bargainer
and shrewd manipulation. you might
raise Gumpertz to $500 an inch; Gum
pertz admits this himself. And he will
pay the new champion anywhere from
81, 200 to $500 a week. 1nversely, find
n dwarf that stands a shade smaller
than Baron Jaucci, "a inches tall-the
littlest man In the world-and the Amer
lean freak impressario will make 1t worth
your while to talk to him.
This year the freak managers have
contracted to pay 100000 for curious
human beings to be exhibited In this
country, and the gross receipts there's
from will total one-half million dollars.
Send word that in the heart OF a Somali
village in Africa there are a group OF
men who can stamp on broken glass
and eat tacks, and they'll pack up and
be there Just as soon as boat and train
and horsefesh can take them. For 1t
means money.
AND THE SALARIES.
Sums ranging from 800 to $1,000 have
been paid in the way Of rewards to dis
covers of eminent freaks. The man who
accidentally ran across Zip, the original
what Is it," made $500. while an actor
who located Madame Gabrielle, the leg
less woman. in the palace gardens IN
Dresden, received $500. Freaks are val
ued, the discovery rewarded, and salaries
paid to them, upon the basis Of a defin-
J,,Io ~ nhv,n mi
being graded in accordance with the re-
suits of years of observation of the at
titude Of the public. The list. in order
of importance In the eyes of the freak
impresarios, ranges about as follows:
Giants-Male and female.
Dwarfs-Male and female.
Fat men.
Fat women.
Thin men.
Thin women
Armless men and women whose feet
perform functions Of hands.
Bearded women.
Elastic-skinned man.
Tatooed men and women-Valued in
accordance with the art OF decorations
on face and limbs.
Three fourths of the freaks come from
Hungary. Scientists have attributed this
to the intermarrying Of relatives. Wheth-
err. however, this Is true or not, 1t has
long been demonstrated that intermar.
riage among freaks results almost In
variaby in normal children. Madame
| Meyers, the bearded woman. had several
| fine looking daughters whose faces are
as clear Of hair as a billiard ball. Nor
do any of them lack avoirdupois, al
| though their father is sufficiently thin
to be earning money as human skele-
| ton. The reader may recall reference to
Madame Meyers as having shaved upon
her wedding day. That was an earlier
marriage, unfortunately not 30 happy nor
| into matrimony.
Prenatal influences are regarded as
| playing part in natures production of
freaks. The father of the Lion Faced
Boy" was torn to pieces by lion in the
| presence of the mother before the boy
was born. This fact has been attested
| to by witnesses. His features are per-
| fectly leonine and his body is covered
with lion hair. He was in the United
States last year, receiving $500 a week
Freaks possess In eminent degree a
pride of calling. They have all the pride
of Shakespearean actors Of the old school
and all the temperament of grand opera
stars. They speak of themselves as "ar-
|
the attention they attract as possibly
may be imagined. They reckon their sue
cess upon the number of spectators that
surround them and the length Of time
they remain.
The first commercialized freak was the
wild Man of Borneo;" p. 7. Barnum
was his sponsor. AS with many things
for which the great Snowman stood
that petrified prodigy, the Cardiff giant
for instance--the wild man was a fake
He wasn't freak at all, not a congenita
freak, that is. He was merely an actor
painted and covered with spurious
growth of hair. Barnum didn't mind 8
little thing like deceit and the public
didn't know. Some degree OF moral re
sponsibility is removed from the mem
DRY of the late Phineas T., IL only fol-
the reason. that, noting the popularit!
Of the visitor" from Borneo, he yearn
ed for real freaks and got them-Gen
Tom Thumb and Zip, the original "wha
is it," These two are, perhaps. best re
membered OF all the Barnum freaks
Tom Thumb has passed to the silent hos
Of many taller than he. but Zip-well
Tin, at last accounts, was still freakinl
in this country He Is pin-headed Mex
lean, a relict of the old Aztec races
far as is known there are eight Of tn
breed in the world. How Barnum go
} him has passed into vague legend. blu
he got him and he was the sensation o
New York in those good old days of tn
early eighties.
Sam Gumpertz heard some years ag
that Zip was living in Antwerp. No on
knows how he came to be there; he him
} | self did not. But there he was. Gumpert
} | went to the Belgian city and found him
He had no trouble inducing the famou
freak to sign contract for an American
J engagement. When. however the tim
, came. Zip was not at the station in &C
cordance with the understanding. HI
idea was that New York was only hal
! an hour from Antwerp and thus he di
! not consider any one train important
: The impresario got Zip on the boat un
der the impression that New York wa
an hours sail When he discovered dit
: ferently and attempted to leap overheard
he was lured to the cabin by a plate @
ice cream temptingly exhibited. Ice crear
) being his one weakness. With this h
= was RECALLED at all hours throughout tn
r tourney. and to-day Is happy when ir
, dulging his favorte diet. Perhaps yo
, have seen him at the circus with HI
. hourly plate Of ice cream.
n But there never was a freak SO SUE
d cessful as Gen. Tom Thumb, and neve
q will be-if only because he was a genuin
Z pioneer. II was the unparalleled success
s of this diminutive parsonage which fri
opened the eyes of showmen to the I,
d crative possibilities in exhibitions Of tn
Z sort Tom Thumbs real name was Charl
d Stratton. and Barnum first saw him
j. bridgeport in 1912. The little fellow We
i engaged for four weeks at "a wee