iO
EAIFIMUM'S First FREAKS
Oirlgiimalls of ttlhi® Eerily Ssdle=Slhi©^y
IN the world of amusement enter
prises the circus "freak" alone
seems certain of lasting popular
ity. The elevation of a giant, the size of a mid
get, the figure of a human skeleton or a fat girl, are
literally their fortunes. A play or a performance of
any kind soon becomes monotonous,
and loses its attraction — a "freak"
never. It is now more than half a
century since the first exhibition of
freaks was collected and exhibited by
P. T. Barnum. These celebrities were
photographed as early as 1858. In
their quaint, old-fashioned clothes they
ire figures of actual historic interest.
The original freaks in nearly every
instance were native American pro
ducts. The great drag-net which the
showmen have since spread to gather
freaks from all parts of the world had
not yet been set. In comparison with
the most cosmopolitan of modern freak
shows, however, the original Barnum
forces will l.c found to compare very
favorably. And an absolute compan
son is possible, for the various dimen
sions of the freaks, the height of giants
and of midgets, the weight of fat girls
and tat boys, are carefully preserved in
the annals ■•!" the circus, much the
same as tin- past performances of
horses are recorded at the race-track.
*
Patrons of the circus of the last
generation will remember the once
famous \"-..i Scotia giantess, Annie
Bates Her figure looms up big in the
memory of all survivors of the circus
and museum audiences of half a cen
tury ago. for obvious reasons. Annie
(the diminutive was always added to
her name) was •■ sweet young thing,
seven feet and eight inches in height
and large in proportion at the time of
her wedding, which was the season
of her greatest popularity. Her' was a
large, motherly figure; her nature was
simple and wholesome. Her photo
graph suggests the matron at th<- head
of a large family on a farm, rather
than the great attraction at a side-show.
Annie traveled about the country
for several years, and finally mci her
fate in the person of Captain Van
Buren Hates if Kentucky. They
were married in London, and on their
wedding tour traveled on the conti
nent. Bridal couples, it is - ,•,! are
usually easy to recognize: certainly no
young couple ever attracted more at
tention. The husband was a large
man, measured by ordinary stand
ards — only about eighteen inches
shorter than the bride. In later years
Annie biilt'> ..ml llo|)-o'-My-Thuinb
SUNDAY MAGAZINE, for MAY 22, 1904
By HECTOR ROSIENFEILD
the conventional size of houses and furniture proved
so irksome to Annie that she built a home to lit her
proportions, with furniture and everything to match.
The house stood for
many years near Cleve
land. Ohio. There was
not a door in it which
I need stoop to en-
I, Ohio. There was
.1 door in it which
iir need stoop to en
ter. She died in iS§3,
after traveling for ten
years with Admiral Dot.
Every country in the
world has been since
ransacked to discover
some gi;.ntess to replace
the robust Annie, but
without success. Ella
Ewing is tiller, but not
nearly so ponderous, nor
so pleasing.
In discovering mere
giants the showmen
have been far more for
tunate. No h Orr, who
was from ( )hi< >, was for
many years the tallest
and bulkiest tallest
bulkiest km >wn
giant in the world. His
height was not remarka
ble in comparison with
modern standards — he
was a trifle over seven
feet high — but his en«>r-
Oions bulk corrected the
impression and chal
lenged respect. He
tipped the scales at five
hundred sixteen p minds.
He was wt-11-propor
tio ned, broad-shoul
dered and well set-up,
..r.d was employed for
years to serve as a foil
to tin- famous Mrs. Tom
Thumb. The extremely
! I-m:.tched pair st 1
together at perform
ances throughout the
country for years. Sub
sequently he appeared
with Admiral Dot in
"Jack be Giant Killer."
Orr amassed a consid
erable fortune, and fin
ally retired to a firm
that he had bought in
the centra] part of New
York state, where he
died many years ago.
Measured merely by
Pliin.M- T lii.ri .,.
W.-<l«li»|S <>f T..m Thumb
The l)..llinu.i,- Ci.»!it
■extreme altitude, the tallest ol the
giants lit the old days was the famous
Baltimore giant. He rose to a height
of seven feet one and a half inches, in recent y«-.ir.-~
showmen have discovered and imported giants nose
than nine inches taller th.n the giants of fifty years
ago, over whom the whole country marveled. Chang,
the Chinese giant, was the forerunner of a number
of these gigantic importations.
#
What the giants have gained in height in the mod
ern circus the midgets have lost. There are several
so-called midgets connected with the same circus
today who would have been dwarfed beside the little
people of half a century ago. Public taste in these
matters has become more critical, and yet the midgets
of a past generation attained a fame unrivaled in our
day.
The name of Tom Thumb, lor instance, is a house
hold word. It is an interesting lel that although he
was a "bouncing boy" at birth, tipping the scales .:
nine and a half pounds, he did not continue to grow
natur.: ly after he was seven months old. From that
time on his growth was so slow that it was abm st
imperceptible. Even at the time of his first engage
merit with Bantam, in 1542, he was not more than
two feet t .1 and weighed less than sateen p w
But at the time of his death, which was caused ! y a
Stroke of apoplexy, he Weighed seventy pounds, a :. <
measured forty inches in height. His •:.::<■ ..' 0
added to her proportions with succeeding year-, being
a little shorter than her husband at her marr-. | : ::
increasing to his exact height in Liter life, weigl •• _■.
however, only fifty pounds. Two jeen after ha
death, in ISB3, she married Count Primo Sfcgri, an
Italian dwarf, but survived her first husband oolj five
years.
Tom Thumb's unusual success seems to hare 1 ■ • a
increased by his charming little personality. 11. ■ -
telligent. active, full of plea>ing little mannerisms . i
winning ways, and it is related ol Km th.it at tl
t'f nineteen he had kissed one and a half million women.
But, most noteworthy of all the inciden *- C :
nected with the lives of these little peopk was
wedding, which took place in Grace church, Xew 1
on I'-'--- 1?. 1863. Xo wedding has evei
seen in this fashionable church in which the C ' 0
w«re more elaborate and the conventional tails oi
the occasion more rigidly observed. It was descril • '.
as the "grand marital event of the week, anil ■ 1
lifetime." for not only did it unite the two SB
people then known, but two other Lilliputians. Mil 1 ie
Warren, sister of the bride, and Commodore N ".
graced the occasion by acting as the attendants ol the
bridal couple. Then", the "immortal I. T. !• 1
and other dignitaries" were present, and th ■ -
prising the congregation of the church were ai
society's elect, the women "in full opera COSi
while the men wore "dress coats and white neck
cloths."
It must have been a sight worth seeing !•■
the dainty little quartet upon the platform, three fe< :
high, that had been erected in front of the all to
1 hr Si., mot,- Twin)
Nooh O.r ...ul Mr*. Torn Thumb