UC-NRLF >/. PHINEAS T. BAKNUM. A UNIQUE STORY OF A MARVELLOUS CAREER. LIFE OR Hon. PHINEAS T. BARNUM. COMPRISING? HIS BOYHOOD, YOUTH, VICISSITUDES OF EARLY YEARS ; HIS HERCULEAN STRUGGLES, BRILLIANT ENTERPRISES, ASTONISHING SUCCESSES, DISASTROUS LOSSES, NAPO- LEONIC TRIUMPHS J HIS RECEPTION BY KINGS, QUEENS, EMPERORS AND NOBILITY EVERYWHERE; HIS GENIUS, WIT, GENEROSITY, ELOQUENCE, CHRISTIANITY, &C., &C., AS TOLD By JOEL BENTON, ESQ., Author of " Emerson as a Poet " and various other works, and for nearly thirty years a most intimate friend of the greatest of Showmen. EDGEWOOD PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1891. v //v./ COPYRIGHT. 1891, BY R. B. POLLOCK. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. IN THE BEGINNING. Family and Birth School Life His First Visit to New York City A Landed Proprietor The Ethics of Trade Farm Work and Keeping Store Meeting-house and Sunday-school" The One Thing Needful." 17 CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS AT BETHEL. Death of his Grandmother and Father Left Penniless and Bare-footed Work in a Store His First Love Trying to buy Russia Uncle Bibbin's Duel 34 CHAPTER III. BUSINESS LIFE. Removal to Brooklyn Smallpox Goes Home to Recover His Health Renewed Acquaintance with the Pretty Tailoress First Independent Business Venture Residence in New York Return to Bethel Anecdotes 45 CHAPTER IV. TRYING MANY VENTURES. Visit to Pittsburg Successful Lottery Business Marriage First Editorial Venture Libel Suit Imprisonment and Liberation Removal to New York Hard Times Keeping a Boarding House 58 CHAPTER V. BEGINNING AS A SHOWMAN. Finding His True Vocation The Purchase of Joice Heth Evidence as to Her Age Her Death Signer Vivalla Visit to Washington Join- ing a Travelling Circus Controversies with Ministers The Victim of a Practical Joke , , , 67 M119206 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. INCIDENTS OF A CIRCUS TOUR. Beating a Landlord A Joke on Turner Barnum as a Preacher and as a Negro Minstrel A Bad Man with a Gun Dealing with a Sheriff " Lady Hayes " An Embarrassed Juggler Barnum as a Matrimonial Agent '. 83 CHAPTER VII. HARD TIMES. Advertising for a Partner "Quaker Oats" Diamond the Dancer A Dishonest Manager Return to New York From Hand to Mouth The American Museum 102 CHAPTER VIII. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. y Advertising Extraordinary A Quick-witted Performer Niagara Falls with Real Water Other Attractions Drummond Light 115 CHAPTER IX. INCREASED POPULARITY OF THE MUSEUM. The American Flag and St. Paul's St. Patrick's Day The Baby Show- Grand Buffalo Hunt N. P. Willis The First Wild West Show 126 CHAPTER X. GIANTS AND DWARFS. Science for the Public Mesmerism Extraordinary Killing off a Rival The Two Giants Discovery of " Tom Thumb " Seeking Other Worlds to Conquer First Visit to England 138 CHAPTER XI. TOM THUMB IN LONDON. An Aristocratic Visitor Calling at Buckingham Palace and Hobnobbing with Royalty Getting a Puff in the "Court Circular" The Iron Duke A Great Social and Financial Success 148 CHAPTER XII. IN FRANCE. Arrival in Paris Visit to the Tuilleries Longchamps " Tom Ponce " all the Rage Bonaparte and Louis Phillipi Tour through France Barnum's Purchase 161 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. IN BELGIUM. Presented to King Leopold and the Queen The General's Jewels stolen The Field of Waterloo An Accident An Expensive Equipage The Custom of the Country 168 CHAPTER XIV. IN ENGLAND AGAIN. Egyptian Hall and the Zo5logical Garden The Special Relics Purchase of the Happy Family Return to America 175 CHAPTER XV. AT HOME. Partnership with Tom Thumb Visit to Cuba Iranistan, his Famous Palace at Bridgeport Barnum's Game- Keeper and the Great Game Dinner Frank Leslie 188 CHAPTER XVI. JENNY LIND. A Daring Venture Barnum's Ambassador Unprecedented Terms offered Text of the Contract Hard Work to Raise the Guarantee Fund Educating the American Mind to receive the Famous Singer... 198 CHAPTER XVII. ARRIVAL OF JENNY LIND. First Meeting with Barnum Reception in New York Poems in Her Honor A Furore of Public Interest Sale of Tickets for the First Con- cert Barnum's Change in Terms Ten Thousand Dollars for Charity Enormous Success of the First Concert 213 CHAPTER XVIII. CONTINUED TRIUMPH. Successful Advertising The Responsibilities of Riches Visit to Iranis- tan Ovations at Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Visit to Mt. Vernon Charleston Havana Fredericka Bremer 249 CHAPTER XIX. HAVANA. Conquest of the Habaneros The Italian and his Dog Mad Bennett A Successful Ruse Return to New Orleans Ludicrous Incident Up the Mississippi Legerdemain 262 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. THE TRIALS OF AN IMPRESSARIO. St. Louis The Secretary's Little Game Legal Advice Smooth Waters Again Barnum's Efforts Appreciated An Extravagant Encomium... 278 CHAPTER XXI. CLOSING THE GRAND TOUR. April Fool Jokes at Nashville A Trick at Cincinnati Return to New York Jenny Lind Persuaded to Leave Barnum Financial Results of the Enterprise 285 CHAPTER XXII. A FEW SIDE ISSUES. The Expedition to Ceylon Harnessing an Elephant to a Plow Bamum and Vanderbilt The Talking Machine A Fire at Iranistan Moun- tain Grove Cemetery 297 CHAPTER XXIII. SOME DOMESTIC ENTERPRISES. Putting a Pickpocket on Exhibition Travelling Incognito The Pe- quonnock Bank The New York Crystal Palace A Poem on an Incident at Iranistan 311 CHAPTER XXlV. THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY. Founding East Bridgeport Growth of the City The Jerome Clock Bubble A Ruined Man Paying Honest Debts Down in the Depths. 322 CHAPTER XXV. THE WHEAT AND THE CHAFF. False and True Friends Meeting of Bridgeport Citizens Barnum's Let- ter Tom Thumb's Offer Shillaber's Poem Barnum's Message to the Creditors of the Jerome Clock Company Removal to New York Beginning Life Anew at Forty-six 330 CHAPTER XXVI. IDLENESS WITHOUT REST. Annoying Persecutions of Creditors Summer on Long Island The Black Whale Pays the Board Bill The Wheeler & Wilson Company Re- move to East Bridgeport Setting Sail for England., 349 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVII. A PROSPEROUS EXILE. His Successful Pupil Making Many Friends in London Acquaintance with Thackeray A Comedy of Errors in a German Custom House Aristocratic Patronage at Fashionable Resorts Barnum's Impressions of Holland and the Dutch 355 CHAPTER XXVIII. HOME AGAIN. A Jolly Voyage Mock Trial on Shipboard Barnum on Trial for His Life Discomfited Witnesses and a Triumphant Prisoner Fair Weather Friends The Burning of Iranistan 377 CHAPTER XXIX. THE ART OF MONEY GETTING. The Lecture Field Success Cambridge Oxford An Unique Enter- tainment Barnum Equal to the Occasion Invited to Stay a Week 383 CHAPTER XXX. AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN. A New Friend Dinner to Tom Thumb and Commodore Nutt Measur- ing the Giant The Two Engines 417 CHAPTER XXXI. AT HOME AGAIN. The Clock Debts Paid The Museum once more under Barnum's Man- agement Enthusiastic Reception His Speech Two Poems 424 CHAPTER XXXII. THE STORY OF "GRIZZLY ADAMS." Barnum's Partnership with the Famous Bear Hunter Fooling Him with the " Golden Pigeons " Adams Earns $500 at Desperate Cost Trick- ing Barnum out of a Fine Hunting Suit Prosperity of the Museum Visit of the Prince of Wales 437 CHAPTER XXXIII. BUILDING A CITY. At Home Once More Growth of East Bridgeport Barnum's Offer to Men Wanting Homes of Their Own Remarkable Progress of the Place How the Streets were Named. 4$3 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV A GREAT YEAR AT THE MUSEUM. Capturing and Exhibiting White Whales Newspaper Comments A Touching Obituary The Great Behemoth A Long " Last Week " Commodore Nutt Real Live Indians on Exhibition 459 CHAPTER XXXV. GENERAL AND MRS. TOM THUMB. Miss Lavinia Warren The Rivals Miss Warren's Engagement to Tom Thumb The Wedding Grand Reception Letter From a Would-be Guest, and Dr. Taylor's Reply 491 CHAPTER XXXVI. POLITICAL NOTES. Barnum Becomes a Reprblican Illuminating the House of a Democrat The Peace Meeting Elected to the Legislature War on the Rail- roads Speech on the Amendment 5x5 CHAPTER XXXVII. BURNING OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. How Barnum Received the Tidings Humorous Description of the Fire A Public Calamity Greeley's Advice Intention to Re-estab- lish the Museum Speech at Employees' Benefit 537 CHAPTER XXXVIII. POLITICAL LIFE. In the Connecticut Legislature The Great Railroad Fight Bar- num's Effective Stroke Canvassing for a United States Senator Barnum's Congressional Campaign A Challenge that was not Ac- cepted 557 CHAPTER XXXIX. FIGHTING A NEWSPAPER. Disposing of the Lease of the Museum Site-^-The Bargain with Mr. Ben- nett Barnum's Refusal to Back Out A Long and Bitter War with " The Herald " Action of the Other Managers The Return of Peace : 573 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XL. BRIDGEPORT. The Fight for the Establishment of Seaside Park Laying out City Streets Impatience with " Old Fogies "Building r. Seaside Home Waldemere A Home in New York City 5 8 3 CHAPTER XLI. HONORS AND ADULATIONS. Second Marriage The King of Hawaii Elected Mayor of Bridgeport- Successful Tour of the Hippodrome Barnum's Retirement from Office. 590 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. P. T. BARNUM, Frontispiece BARNUM'S BIRTHPLACE, 19 MRS. CHARITY BARNUM, 38 JOY AT HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON, 55 HORACE GREELEY, 74 ELEPHANTS TESTING A BRIDGE, 91 ROBT. HUBBARD, M. D., I IO TOM THUMB'S MARRIAGE, 127 MR. AND MRS. CHARLES STRATTON, 146 THE GREAT DUKE AND THE LITTLE GENERAL, . .163 GRIZZLY ADAMS AND HIS TRAINED BEARS, . . . .182 TAMBOURINE GIRL, 199 NEW YORK'S WELCOME TO JENNY LIND, 218 REV. THEO. CUYLER, 235 JENNY LIND, 254 IRANISTAN, . .* 271 COMMODORE VANDERBILT, 290 BARNUM'S MONUMENT, 307 BRIDGEPORT HOUSATONIC RIVER, 326 GREAT EXCITEMENT AT THE FIRE, 341 BARNUM'S NEW HOME MARINA, 362 BARNUM IN HIS HOME, .,,,,. 379 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. CARRIAGE PRESENTED TO TOM THUMB, 398 INTERIOR OF LIBRARY MARINA, 415 DINING ROOM MARINA, 434 BRIDGEPORT RAILROAD VIEW, 45 l WELCOME TO JUMBO, 47 LULU FARINI QUEEN OF AIR, 488 APPEARANCE OF MUSEUM AFTER THE FIRE, .'...'. 55 JUMBO AND HIS KEEPER SCOTT, 524 LAWRENCE BARRETT, 54 2 MRS. P. T. BARNUM, 559 CHAPTER I. IN THE BEGINNING. FAMILY AND BIRTH SCHOOL LIFE His FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY A LANDED PROPRIETOR THE ETHICS OF TRADE FARM WORK AND KEEPING STORE MEETING-HOUSE AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL " THE ONE THING NEEDFUL." Among the names of great Americans of the nineteenth century there is scarcely one more familiar to the world than that of the subject of this biography. There are those that stand for higher achievement in literature, science and art, in public life and in the business world. There is none that stands for more notable success in his chosen line, none that recalls more memories of wholesome en- tertainment, none that is more invested with the fragrance of kindliness and true humanity. His career was, in a large sense, typical of genuine Americanism, of its enterprise and pluck, of its indomitable will and unfailing courage, of its shrewdness, audacity and unerring instinct for success. Like so many of his famous compatriots, Phineas Taylor Barnum came of good old New England stock. His ancestors were among the builders of IS*: /: V LIF& OF P. T. BARNUM. the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. His father's father, Ephraim Barnum, was a captain in the War of the Revolution, and was distinguished for his valor and for his fervent patriotism. His mother's father, Phineas Taylor, was locally noted as a wag and practical joker. His father, Philo Barnum, was in turn a tailor, a farmer, a store- keeper, and a country tavernkeeper, and was not particularly prosperous in any of these callings. Philo Barnum and his wife, Irena Taylor, lived at Bethel, Connecticut, and there, on July 5, 1810, their first child was born. He was named Phineas Taylor Barnum, after his maternal grandfather ; and the latter, in return for the compliment, bestowed upon his first grandchild at his christening the title- deeds of a " landed estate," five acres in extent, known as Ivy Island, and situated in that part of Bethel known as the " Plum Trees." Of this, more anon. In his early years the boy led the life of the average New England farmer's son of that period. He drove the cows to and from the pasture, shelled corn, weeded the garden, and " did up chores." As he grew older he rode the horse in plowing corn, raked hay, wielded the shovel and the hoe, and chopped wood. At six years old he began to go to school the typical district school. " The first date," he once said, " I remember inscribing upon my writing-book was 1818." The ferule, or the birch- rod, was in those days the assistant schoolmaster, THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR. 2 l and young Barnum made its acquaintance. He was, however, an apt and ready scholar, particularly excelling in mathematics. One night, when he was ten years old, he was called out of bed by his teacher, who had made a wager with a neighbor that Barnum could calculate the number of feet in a load of wood in five minutes. Barnum did it in less than two minutes, to the delight of his teacher and the astonishment of the neighbor. At an early age he manifested a strong devel- opment of the good old Yankee organ of acquisi- tiveness. Before he was five years old he had begun to hoard pennies and " fourpences," and at six years old he was able to exchange his copper bits for a whole silver dollar, the possession of which made him feel richer than he ever felt after- ward in all his life. Nor did he lay the dollar away in a napkin, but used it in business to gain more. He would get ten cents a day for riding a horse before the plow, and he would add it to his capital. On holidays other boys spent all their savings, but not so he. Such days were to him opportunities for gain, not for squandering. At the fair or train- ing of troops, or other festivity, he would peddle candy and cakes, home-made, or sometimes cherry rum, and by the end of the day would be a dollar or two richer than at its beginning. " By the time I was twelve years old," he tells us, " I was the owner of a sheep and a calf, and should soon, no doubt, have become a small Croesus had not my 23 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. father kindly permitted me to purchase my own clothing, which somewhat reduced my little store." At ten years of age, realizing himself to be a "landed proprietor" through the christening gift of his waggish grandsire, young Barnum set out to survey his estate, which he had not yet seen. He had heard much of " Ivy Island." His grandfather had often, in the presence of the neighbors, spoken of him as the richest child in the town, since he owned the whole of Ivy Island, the richest farm in the State, His parents hoped he would use his wealth wisely, and "do something for the family" when he entered upon the possession of it ; and the neighbors were fearful lest he should grow too proud to associate with their children. The boy took all this in good faith, and his eager curiosity to behold his estate was greatly increased, and he asked his father to let him go thither. "At last," says Barnum, " he promised I should do so in a few days, as we should be getting some hay near 'Ivy Island.' The wished-for day arrived, and my father told me that as we were to mow an adjoining meadow, I might visit my property in company with the hired man during the ' nooning/ My grand- father reminded me that it was to his bounty I was indebted for this wealth, and that had not my name been Phineas I might never have been pro- prietor of ' Ivy Island/ To this my mother added : " ' Now, Taylor, don't become so excited when you see your property as to let your joy make you A BARREN HERITAGE. 23 sick, for remember, rich as you are, that it will be eleven years before you can come into possession of your fortune.' " She added much more good advice, to all of which I promised to be calm and reasonable, and not to allow my pride to prevent me from speaking to my brothers and sisters when I returned home. " When we arrived at the meadow, which was in that part of the ' Plum Trees ' known as * East Swamp,' I asked my father where ' Ivy Island ' was. " ' Yonder, at the north end of this meadow, where you see those beautiful trees rising in the distance/ "All the forenoon I turned grass as fast as two men could cut it, and after a hasty repast at noon, one of our hired men, a good-natured Irish- man, named Edmund, took an axe on his shoulder and announced that he was ready to accompany me to ' Ivy Island.' We started, and as we approached the north end of the meadow we found the ground swampy and wet and were soon obliged to leap from bog to bog on our route. A mis-step brought me up to my middle in water, and to add to the dilemma a swarm of hornets attacked me. Attaining the al- titude of another bog I was cheered by the assur- ance that there was only a quarter of a mile of this kind of travel to the edge of my property. I waded on. In about fifteen minutes more, after floundering through the morass, I found myself half-drowned, hornet-stung, mud-covered, and out of breath, on comparatively dry land. 24 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " ' Never mind, my boy,' said Edmund, ' we have only to cross this little creek, and ye'll be upon your own valuable property.' " We were on the margin of a stream, the banks of which were thickly covered with alders. I now discovered the use of Edmund's axe, for he felled a small oak to form a temporary bridge to my 'Island' property. Crossing over, I proceeded to the centre of my domain. I saw nothing but a few stunted ivies and straggling trees. The truth flashed upon me. I had been the laughing-stock of the family and neighborhood for years. My valuable ' Ivy Island ' was an almost inaccessible, worthless bit of barren land, and while I stood deploring my sudden down- fall, a huge black snake (one of my tenants) ap- proached me with upraised head. I gave one shriek and rushed for the bridge. " This was my first and last visit to ' Ivy Island/ My father asked me ' how I liked my property ? ' and I responded that I would sell it pretty cheap." The year 1822 was a memorable one in his child- hood's history. He was then about twelve years old. One evening, late in January, Daniel Brown, a cattle-drover, of Southbury, Connecticut, arrived at Bethel and stopped for the night at Philo Barnum's tavern. He had with him some fat cattle, which he was driving to the New York markets ; and he wanted both to add to his drove of cattle and to get a boy to help him drive them. Our juvenile hero heard him say this, and forthwith made application UNFORTUNATE INVESTMENTS. 35 for the job. His father and mother gave their con- sent, and a bargain was quickly closed with the drover. "At daylight next morning," Barnum himself has related, " I started on foot in the midst of a heavy snow-storm to help drive the cattle. Before reach- ing Ridgefield I was sent on horseback after a stray ox, and, in galloping, the horse fell and my ankle was sprained. I suffered severely, but did not com- plain lest my employer should send me back. We arrived at New York in three or four days, and put up at the Bull's Head Tavern, where we were to stay a week while the drover disposed of his cattle. It was an eventful week for me. Before I left home my mother had given me a dollar, which I supposed would supply every want that heart could wish." His first outlay was for oranges. " I was told," he says, "that they were four pence apiece, and as four pence in Connecticut was six cents, I offered ten cents for two oranges, which was T>f course readily taken ; and thus, instead of saving two cents, as I thought, I actually paid two cents more than the price demanded. I then bought two more oranges, reducing my capital to eighty cents. Thirty-one cents was the charge for a small gun which would 'go off' and send a stick some little distance, and this gun I bought. Amusing myself with this toy in the bar-room of the Bull's Head, the arrow hap- pened to hit the bar-keeper, who forthwith came from behind the counter and shook me, and 2 6 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. soundly boxed my ears, telling me to put that gun out of the way or he would put* it into the fire. I sneaked to my room, put my treasure under the pil- low, and went out for another visit to the toy shop. "There I invested six cents in * torpedoes/ with which I intended to astonish my schoolmates in Bethel. I could not refrain, however, from experi- menting upon the guests of the hotel, which I did when they were going in to dinner. I threw two of the torpedoes against the wall of the hall through which the guests were passing, and the immediate results were as follows : two loud reports aston- ished guests irate landlord discovery of the cul- prit, and summary punishment for the landlord immediately floored me with a single blow with his open hand, and said : " ' There, you little greenhorn, see if that will teach you better than to explode your infernal fire-crackers in my house again.' " The lesson was sufficient if not entirely satisfac- tory. I deposited the balance of the torpedoes with my gun, and as a solace for my wounded feelings I again visited the toy shop, where I bought a watch, breastpin and top, leaving but eleven cents of my original dollar. " The following morning found me again at the fascinating toy shop, where I saw a beautiful knife with two blades, a gimlet, and a corkscrew a whole carpenter shop in miniature, and all for thirty- one cents. But, alas ! I had only eleven cents. HIS FIRST "SWAP." Have that knife I must, however, and so I proposed to the shop-woman to take back the top and breast- pin at a slight deduction, and with my eleven cents to let me have the knife. The kind creature consented, and this makes memorable my first * swap.' Some fine and nearly white molasses candy then caught my eye, and I proposed to trade the watch for its equivalent in candy. The transaction was made, and the candy was so delicious that before night my gun was absorbed in the same way. The next morning the torpedoes 'went off 'in the same direction, and before night even my beloved knife was similarly ex- changed. My money and my goods all gone, I traded two pocket-handkerchiefs and an extra pair of stockings I was sure I should not want for nine more rolls of molasses candy, and then wandered about the city disconsolate, sighing because there was no more molasses candy to conquer." During that first visit to the metropolis the boy doubtless many times passed the corner of Ann street and Broadway, where, in after years, his famous museum stood. After a week in town he returned to Bethel, riding with Brown in his sleigh, and found himself a social lion among his young friends. He was plied with a thousand questions about the great city which he had visited, and no doubt told many wondrous tales. But at home his reception was not altogether glorious. His brothers and sisters were disappointed because he brought them nothing, and his mother, discovering that during his 28 LIF& OF P. T. BAR NUM. journey he had lost two handkerchiefs and a pair of stockings, gave him a spanking and put him to bed. A settled aversion to manual labor was strongly developed in the boy as he grew older, which his father considered simple laziness. Instead of trying to cure him of his laziness, however, the father de- cided to give up the farm, and open a store, hoping that the boy would take more kindly to mercantile duties. So he put up a building in Bethel, and in partnership with one Hiram Weed opened a "gen- eral store," of dry goods, hardware, groceries, etc., and installed young Phineas as clerk. They did a " cash, credit and barter " business, and the boy soon learned to drive sharp bargains with women who brought butter, eggs, beeswax and feathers to ex- change for dry goods, and with men who wanted to trade oats, corn, buckwheat, axehelves, hats and other commodities for ten-penny nails, molasses or New England rum. It was a drawback upon his dignity that he was obliged to take down the shut- ters, sweep the store and make the fire. He re- ceived a small salary for his services and the per- quisites of what profit he could derive from purchas- ing candies on his own account to sell to their younger customers, and, as usual, his father insisted that he should clothe himself. There was much to be learned in a country store, and principally, as he found, this: that sharp tricks, deception and dishonesty are by no means confined EARLY PIETY. 2 g to the city. More than once, in cutting open bun- dles of rags, brought to be exchanged for goods, he found stones, gravel or other rubbish wrapped up in them, although they were represented to be "all pure linen or cotton." Often, too, loads of grain were brought in, warranted to contain so many bushels, but on measuring them they were found five or six bushels short. In the evenings and on stormy days the store was a general meeting place for the idlers of the village, and young Barnum derived much amusement from the story-telling and joke-playing that went on among them. After the store was closed at night he would generally go with some of the village boys to their homes for an hour or two of sport, and then, as late, perhaps, as eleven o'clock, would creep slyly home and make his way upstairs barefooted, so as not to wake the rest of the family and be detected in his late hours. He slept with his brother, who was sure to report him if he woke him up on coming in, and who laid many traps to catch Phineas on his return from the evening's merry-making. But he generally fell fast asleep and our hero was able to gain his bed in safety. Like almost every one in Connecticut at that time he was brought up to go regularly to church on Sunday, and before he could read he was a promi- nent member of the Sunday-school. His pious mother taught him lessons in the New Testament and Catechism, and spared no efforts to have him 3O LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. win one of those " Rewards of Merit " which promised " to pay to the bearer One Mill." Ten of them could be exchanged for one cent, and by securing one hundred of them, which might be done by faithful attendance and attention every Sunday for two years, the happy scholar could secure a book worth ten cents ! There was only one church or "meeting-house " in Bethel, and it was of the Presbyterian faith; but every one in town attended it, whatever their creed. It was a severely plain edifice, with no spire and no bell. In summer it was comfortable enough, but in winter it was awful ! There was no arrangement for heating it, and the congregation had to sit in the cold, shivering, teeth chattering, noses blue. A stove would have been looked upon as a sacrilegious innovation. The sermons were often two hours long, and by the time they were ended the faithful listeners well deserved the nickname of" blue-skins " which the scoffers gave to them. A few of the wealthier women carried " foot-stoves " from their homes to their pews. A " foot-stove " was simply a square tin box in a wooden frame, with perfora- tions in the sides. In it was a small square iron dish, which contained a few live coals covered with ashes. These stoves were usually replenished 1 just before meeting time at some neighbor's near the meetincr-house. o After many years of shivering and suffering, one of the brethren had the temerity to propose that A WICKED STOVE. gi the church should be warmed with a stove. His impious proposition was voted down by an over- whelming majority. Another year came around, and in November the stove question was again brought up. The excitement was immense. The subject was discussed in the village stores and in the juvenile debating club; it was prayed over in conference ; and finally in general " society's meet- ing," in December, the stove was carried by a ma- jority of one and was introduced into the meeting- house. On the first Sunday thereafter two ancient maiden ladies were so oppressed by the dry and heated atmosphere occasioned by the wicked inno- vation that they fainted away and were carried out into the cool air, where they speedily returned to consciousness, especially when they were informed that owing to the lack of two lengths of pipe no fire had yet been made in the stove. The next Sunday was a bitter cold day, and the stove, filled with well-seasoned hickory, was a great gratification to the many, and displeased only a few. During the Rev. Mr. Lowe's ministrations at Bethel he formed a Bible class, of which young Barnum was a member. They used to draw pro- miscuously from a hat a text of Scripture and write a composition on the text, which compositions were read after service in the afternoon to such of the congregation as remained to hear the exercises of the class. Once Barnum drew the text, Luke x. 42 : " But one thing is needful ; and Mary hath OF P. T. BARNUM. chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her." Question, " What is the one thing need- ful ? " His answer was nearly as follows : " This question, ' What is the one thing needful ? ' is capable of receiving various answers, depending much upon the persons to whom it is addressed. The merchant might answer that 'the one thing needful ' is plenty of customers, who buy liberally, without beating down, and pay cash for all their pur- chases/ The farmer might reply that 'the one thing needful is large harvests and high prices/ The physician might answer that 'it is plenty of patients.' The lawyer might be of opinion that ' it is an unruly community, always engaging in bicker- ings and litigations.' The clergyman might reply, ' It is a fat salary, with multitudes of sinners seeking salvation and paying large pew rents.' The bach- elor might exclaim, 'It is a pretty wife who loves her husband, and who knows how to sew on but- tons.' The maiden might answer, 'It is a good husband, who will love, cherish and protect me while life shall last.' But the most proper answer, and doubtless that which applied to the case of Mary, would be, ' The one thing needful is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, follow in his footsteps, love God and obey His commandments, love our fellow- man, and embrace every opportunity of administer- ing to his necessities.' In short, 'the one thing needful ' is to live a life that we can always look back upon with satisfaction, and be enabled ever to THE ONE THING NEEDFUL. 33 contemplate its termination with trust in Him who has so kindly vouchsafed it to us, surrounding us with innumerable blessings, if we have but the heart and wisdom to receive them in a proper manner." The reading of a portion of this answer occasioned some amusement in the congregation, in which the clergyman himself joined, and the name of " Taylor Barnum " was whispered in connection with the composition ; but at the close of the reading Bar- num had the satisfaction of hearing Mr. Lowe say that it was a well-written answer to the question, " What is the one thing needful ? " CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS AT BETHEL. DEATH OF HIS GRANDMOTHER AND FATHER LEFT PENNILESS AND BARE- FOOTEDWORK IN A STORE His FIRST LOVE TRYING TO BUY RUS- SIA UNCLE BIBBIN'S DUEL. In August, 1825, the aged grandmother met with an accident in stepping on the point of a rusty nail, which shortly afterwards resulted in her death. She was a woman of great piety, and before she died sent for each of her grandchildren to whom she was devoted and besought them to lead a Chris- tian life. Barnum was so deeply impressed by that death-bed scene that through his whole life neither the recollection of it, nor of the dying woman's words, ever left him. The elder Barnum was a man of many enterprises and few successes. Besides being the proprietor of a hotel he owned a livery-stable, ran a sort of an express, and kept a country store. Phineas was his confidential clerk, and, if he did not reap much financial benefit from his position, he at least ob- tained a good business education. On the 7th of September, 1825, the father, after a six months' illness, died at the age of forty-eight, (54) " CLERKING" IT. ^$ leaving a wife and five children and an insolvent estate. There was literally nothing left for the family; the creditors seized everything; even the small sum which Phineas had loaned his father was held to be the property of a minor, and therefore belonging to the estate. The boy was obliged to borrow money to buy the shoes he wore to the funeral. At fifteen he began the world not only penniless but barefooted. He went at once to Grassy Plain, a few miles northwest of Bethel, where he managed to obtain a clerkship in the store of James S. Keeler and Lewis Whitlock, at the magnificent salary of six dollars a month and his board. He had chosen his uncle, Alanson Taylor, as his guardian, but made his home with Mrs. Jerusha Wheeler and her two daughters, Mary and Jerusha. He worked hard and faithfully, and so gained the esteem of his employers that they afforded him many opportunities for making money on his own account. His small speculations proved so successful that before long he found himself in possession of quite a little sum. " I made," says Barnum, " a very remarkable trade at one time for my employers by purchasing, in their absence, a whole wagon-load of green glass bottles of various sizes, for which I paid in unsalable goods at very profitable prices. How to. dispose of the bottles was then the problem, and as it was also desirable to get rid of a large quantity of tin-ware which had been in the shop for years and was con- 36 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. siderably * shop-worn,' I conceived the idea of a lot- tery, in which the highest prize should be twenty-five dollars, payable in any goods the winner desired, while there were to be fifty prizes of five dollars each, payable in goods, to be designated in the scheme. Then there were one hundred prizes of one dollar each, one hundred prizes of fifty cents each, and three hundred prizes of twenty-five cents each. It is unnecessary to state that the minor prizes consisted mainly of glass and tin-ware ; the tickets sold like wildfire, and the worn tin and glass bottles were speedily turned into cash." Mrs. Barnum still continued to keep the village hotel at Bethel, and Phineas went home every Sat- urday night, going to church with his mother on Sunday, and returning to his work Monday morn- ing. One Saturday evening Miss Mary Wheeler, at whose house the young man boarded, sent him word that she had a young lady from Bethel whom she desired him to escort home, as it was raining violently, and the maiden was afraid to go alone. He assented readily enough, and went over to "Aunt Rushia's," where he was introduced to Miss Charity ("Chairy," for short) Hallett. She was a very pretty girl and a bright talker, and the way home seemed only too short to her escort. She was a tailoress in the village, and went to church regularly, but, although Phineas saw her every Sun- day for many weeks, he had no opportunity of the acquaintance that season. MRS. CHARITY BARIUM. TROUBLE WITH RUSSIA. 39 Mrs. Jerusha Wheeler and her daughter Jerusha were familiarly known, the one as "Aunt Rushia," and the other as " Rushia." Many of the store customers were hatters, and among the many kinds of furs sold for the nap of hats was one known to the trade as " Russia." One day a hatter, Walter Dibble, called to buy some furs. Barnum sold him several kinds, including " beaver " and " cony," and he then asked for some " Russia." They had none, and as Barnum wanted to play a joke upon him, he told him that Mrs. Wheeler had several hundred pounds of "Rushia." " What on earth is a woman doing with ' Russia ? ' ' said he. Barnum could not answer, but assured him that there were one hundred and thirty pounds of old Rushia and one hundred and fifty pounds of young Rushia in Mrs. Wheeler's house, and under her charge, but whether or not it was for sale he could not say. Off he started to make the purchase and knocked at the door. Mrs. Wheeler, the elder, made her appearance. " I want to get your Russia," said the hatter. Mrs. Wheeler asked him to walk in and be seated. She, of course, supposed that he had come for her daughter " Rushia." " What do you want of Rushia ? " asked the old lady. " To make hats," was the reply. 40 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " To trim hats, I suppose you mean ? " responded Mrs. Wheeler. " No, for the outside of hats," replied the hatter. " Well, I don't know much about hats/' said the old lady, " but I will call my daughter." Passing into another room where " Rushia " the younger was at work, she informed her that a man wanted her to make hats. " Oh, he means sister Mary, probably. I suppose he wants some ladies' hats," replied Rushia, as she went into the parlor. " This is my daughter," said the old lady. "I want to get your Russia," said he, addressing the young lady. " I suppose you wish to see my sister Mary ; she is our milliner," said young Rushia. " I wish to see whoever owns the property," said the hatter. Sister Mary was sent for, and, as she was intro- duced, the hatter informed her that he wished to buy her " Russia." " Buy Rushia ! " exclaimed Mary, in surprise ; I don't understand you." "Your name is Miss Wheeler, I believe," said the hatter, who was annoyed by the difficulty he met with in being understood. " It is, sir." "Ah ! very well. Is there old and young Russia in the house?" "I believe there is," said Mary, surprised at the TROUBLE WITH RUSSIA. ^ familiar manner in which he spoke of her mother and sister, who were present. " What is the price of old Russia per pound ? " asked the hatter. " I believe, sir, that old Rushia is not for sale," replied Mary, indignantly. " Well, what do you ask for young Russia ? " pur- sued the hatter. "Sir," said Miss Rushia the younger, springing to her feet, " do you come here to insult defenceless females ? If you do, sir, our brother, who is in the garden, will punish you as you deserve.'* " Ladies ! " exclaimed the hatter, in astonishment, " what on earth have I done to offend you ? I came here on a business matter. I want to buy some Russia. I was told you had old and young Russia in the house. Indeed, this young lady just stated such to be the fact, but she says the old Russia is not for sale. Now, if I can buy the young Russia I want to do so but if that can't be done, please to say so, and I will trouble you no further." " Mother, open the door and let this man go out ; he is undoubtedly crazy," said Miss Mary. " By thunder ! I believe I shall be if I remain here long," exclaimed the hatter, considerably excited. " I wonder if folks never do business in these parts, that you think a man is crazy if he attempts such a thing ? " "Business! poor manl" said Mary soothingly, approaching the door. 42 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " I am not a poor man, madam," replied the hatter. " My name is Walter Dibble ; I carry on hatting extensively in Danbury ; I came to Grassy Plain to buy fur, and have purchased some 'beaver' and * cony,' and now it seems I am to be called ' crazy ' and a 'poor man/ because I want to buy a little ' Russia ' to make up my assortment." The ladies began to open their eyes ; they saw that Mr. Dibble was quite in earnest, and his ex- planation threw considerable light upon the subject. " Who sent you here ? " asked sister Mary. " The clerk at the opposite store," was the reply. " He is a wicked young fellow for making all this trouble," said the old lady ; " he has been doing this for a joke." "A joke ! " exclaimed Dibble, in surprise, " have you no Russia, then ? " " My name is Jerusha, and so is my daughter's," said Mrs. Wheeler, "and that, I suppose, is what he meant by telling you of old and young Rushia." Mr. Dibble, without more words, left the house and made for the store. " You young villain ! " he cried, as he entered, " what did you mean by send- ing me over there to buy Russia? " "I didn't," answered the young villain, with a perfectly solemn face, " I thought you were a widower or a bachelor who wanted to marry Rushia." " You lie," said the discomfited Dibble, laughing in spite of himself; " but never mind, I'll pay you off UNCLE BIB BIN'S DUEL. 43 some day.*' And gathering up his furs he de- parted. On another occasion this sense of humor and love of joking was turned to very practical account. Among the customers at the store were a half a dozen old Revolutionary pensioners, who were per- mitted to buy on credit, leaving their pension papers as security. One of these pensioners was a romanc- ing old fellow named Bevans more commonly known as " Uncle Bibbins." He was very fond of his glass, and fonder still of relating anecdotes of the Revolution, in which his own prowess and daring were always the conspicuous features. His pension papers were in the possession of Keeler & Whit- lock, but it was three months before the money was due, and they grew very weary of having him for a customer. They tried delicately suggesting a visit to his relatives in Guilford, but Uncle Bibbins steadily refused to take the hint. Finally young Barnum enlisted the services of a journeyman hatter named Benton, and together they hit on a plan. The hatter was inspired to call Uncle Bibbins a coward, and to declare his belief that if the old gentleman was wounded anywhere it must have been in the back. Barnum pretended to sympathize with the veteran's just indignation, and finally fired him up to the pitch of challenging the hatter to mortal combat. The challenge was promptly ac- cepted, and the weapons chosen were muskets and ball, at a distance of twenty feet. Uncle Bibbins 44 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. took his second (Barnum, of course) aside, and begged him to see that the guns were loaded only with blank cartridges. He was assured that it would be so, and that no one would be injured in the encounter. The ground was measured back of the store, the principals and seconds took their places, and the word of command was given. They fired, Uncle Bibbins, of course, being unhurt, but the hatter, with a fearful yell, fell to the ground as if dead. Barnum rushed up to the frightened Bevans and begged him to fly, promising to let him know when it was safe for him to return. The old fellow started out of town on a run, and for the next three months remained very quietly at Guilford. At the end of that time his faithful second sent for him, with the assurance that his late adversary had not only re- covered from his wound but had freely forgiven all. Uncle Bibbins then returned and paid up his debts. Meeting Benton on the street some days later, the two foes shook hands, Benton apologizing for his insult. Uncle Bibbins accepted the apology, " but," he added, " you must be careful after this how you insult a dead-shot." CHAPTER III. BUSINESS LIFE. REMOVAL TO BROOKLYN SMALLPOX GOES HOME TO RECOVER His HEALTH RENEWED ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE PRETTY TAILORESS FIRST INDEPENDENT BUSINESS VENTURE RESIDENCE IN NEW YORK RETURN TO BETHEL ANECDOTES. In the fall of 1826, Oliver Taylor, who had re- moved from Danbury to Brooklyn, induced Barnum to leave Grassy Plain, offering him a clerkship in his grocery store, which offer was accepted, and before long the young man was intrusted with the purchas- ing of all goods for the store. He bought for cash, going into lower New York in search of the cheapest market, frequenting auction sales of merchandise, and often entering into combines with other grocers to bid off large lots, which were afterward divided between them. Thus they were enabled to buy at a much lower rate than if the goods had passed through the hands of wholesale dealers, and Barnum's reputation for business tact and shrewd- ness increased. The following summer he was taken ill with smallpox, and during his long confinement to the house his stock of ready money Became sadly di- 45 46 Z/ OF P. T. BARNUM. minished. As soon as he was able to travel he went home to recover his strength, and while there had the happiness of renewing the acquaintance, so pleasantly begun, with the pretty tailoress, Charity Hallett. ' f His health fully restored he returned to Brooklyn, but not to his old position. Pleasant as that had been, it no longer contented the restless, ambitious Barnum. He opened a " porter-home," but sold out a few months later, at a good profit, and took an- other clerkship, this time at 29 Peck Slip, New York, in the store of a certain David Thorp. He lived in his employer's family, with which he was a great favorite, and where he had frequent opportunities of meeting old friends, for Mr. Thorp's place was a great resort for Bethel and Danbury hatters and combmakers. At this time Barnum formed his first taste for the theatre. He went to the play regularly and soon set up for a critic. It was his one dissipation, how- ever. A more moral young fellow never existed ; he read his Bible and went to church as regularly as ever, and to the day of his death was wont to declare that he owed all that was good in his character to his early observance of Sunday. In the winter of 1828 his grandfather offered to him, rent free, his carriage-house, which was situ- ated on the main street, if he would come back to Bethel. The young man's capital was one hundred and twenty dollars ; fifty of this was spent in fixing BACK TO BETHEL. 47 up his store, and the remainder he invested in a stock of fruit and confectionery. Having arranged with fruit dealers of his acquaintance in New York to receive his orders, he opened his store on the first of May in those times known as " training day." The first day was so successful that long before noon the proprietor was obliged to call in one of his old schoolmates to assist in waiting on customers. The total receipts were sixty-three dollars, which sum was promptly invested in a stock of fancy goods pocket-books, combs, knives, rings, beads, etc. Business was good all summer, and in the fall oysters were added to the list of attractions. The old grandfather was delighted at the success of the scheme, and after a while induced Barnum to take an agency for lottery tickets on a commission of ten per cent. Lotteries in those days were looked upon as thoroughly respectable, and the profit gained from the sale of the tickets was regarded as perfectly legitimate by the agent ; his views on the subject changed very materially later on. The store soon became the great village resort, the centre of all discussions and the scene of many practical jokes. The following scene, related by Barnum himself, makes a chapter in the history of Connecticut, as the State was when " blue laws " were something more than a dead letter : " To swear in those days was according to custom, but contrary to law. A person from New York 48 /e Ofr p. T. BARNUM. State, whom I will call Crofut, who was a frequent visitor at my store, was equally noted for his self- will and his really terrible profanity. One day he was in my little establishment engaged in conversa- tion when Nathan Seelye, Esq., one of our village justices of the peace, and a man of strict religious principles, came in, and hearing Crofut's profane language he told him he considered it his duty to fine him one dollar for swearing. o " Crofut responded immediately with an oath, that he did not care a d n for the Connecticut blue laws. " ' That will make two dollars,' said Mr. Seelye. " This brought forth another oath. "'Three dollars,' said the sturdy justice. " Nothing but oaths were given in reply, until Esquire Seelye declared the damage to the Con- necticut laws to amount to fifteen dollars. " Crofut took out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to the justice of the peace, with an oath. "'Sixteen dollars,' said Mr. Seelye, counting out four dollars to hand to Mr. Crofut as his change.' " ' Oh, keep it, keep it,' said Crofut, ' I don't want any change; I'll d n soon swear out the balance.' He did so, after which he was more circumspect in his conversation, remarking that twenty dollars a day for swearing was about as much as he could stand." About this time Barnum appeared, on at least one occasion, in the role of lawyer, A man charged with PLAYING A LAWYER'S PART. ^ assault and battery was brought before the justice of the peace, Barnum's grandfather, for trial. A medical student, Newton by name, had volunteered to defend the prisoner, and Mr. Couch, the grand juryman, in irony, offered Phineas a dollar to rep- resent the State. The court was crowded. The guilt of the prisoner was established beyond a doubt, but Newton, undaunted, rose to make his speech. It consisted of a flood of invective against the grand juryman, Couch ; the court listened for five minutes, and then interrupted a magnificent burst of elo- quence by informing the speaker that Mr. Couch was not the plaintiff in the case at all. "Not the plaintiff !" stammered Newton; "well, then, your honor, who is ? " "The State of Connecticut," was the answer. The young man dropped into his seat, speechless, and the prosecuting attorney arose and in an elab- orate speech declared the guilt of the prisoner shown beyond question, adding that he was astonished that both the prisoner and his counsel had not pleaded guilty at once. In the midst of his soarings the grandfather interrupted with " Young man, will you have the kindness to inform the court which side you represent the plaintiff or the defendant?" The orator stared helplessly at the justice for a moment, and then sat down. Amid peals of laugh- ter from the spectators the prisoner was bound over to the county court for trial. LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. But Phineas did not often come out so inglo- riously in encounters with his grandfather. The old gentleman was always ready to lend his grandson any of his turnouts except one, and this one Phineas especially desired one day for a sleighing party, in which he was to escort the fair Charity Hallett. So he boldly went to the grandfather and asked if he might take Arabian and the new sleigh. " Oh, yes," said the old man, jokingly, " if you have twenty dollars in your pocket." "Really?" " Yes, really." Whereupon Phineas showed the money, and put- ting it back in his pocket, remarked, " You see ; I am much obliged for the sleigh." Of course, the grandfather had meant to ask an impossible price for the horse and sleigh ; but being caught up so suddenly, there was nothing to do but to consent, and Phineas and " Chairy " had the finest turnout of the party. There was a young fellow in the town, Jack Mallett, whose education was rather deficient, and who had been somewhat unsuccessfully paying his addresses to a fair but hard-hearted maiden, named Lucretia. One Sunday evening she cruelly refused to accept his escort after church, and added insult to injury by walking off before his very eyes with another man. Accordingly, he determined to write her a letter of remonstrance, and enlisted the aid of Phin- eas and another young blade known as " Bill " Shep- LETTER WRITING EXTRAORDINARY. 5 herd. The joint effort of the three resulted in the following : "BETHEL, , 1 8 . " Miss LUCRETIA : I write this to ask an explana- tion of your conduct in giving me the mitten on Sunday night last. If you think, madam, that you can trifle with my affections, and turn me off for every little whipper-snapper that you can pick up, you will find yourself considerably mistaken. [We read thus far to Mallett, and it met his approval. He said he liked the idea of calling her " madam," for he thought it sounded so " distant," it would hurt her feelings very much. The term " little whipper- snapper " also delighted him. He said he guessed that would make her feel cheap. Shepherd and my- self were not quite so sure of its aptitude, since the chap who succeeded in capturing Lucretia, on the occasion alluded to, was a head and shoulders taller than Mallett. However, we did not intimate our thoughts to Mallett, and he desired us to "go ahead and give her another dose."] You don't know me, madam, if you think you can snap me up in this way. I wish you to understand that I can have the company of girls as much above you as the sun is above the earth, and I won't stand any of your im- pudent nonsense no how. [This was duly read and approved. " Now," said Mallett, " try to touch her feelings. Remind her of the pleasant hours we have spent together ; " and we continued as follows :] My dear Lucretia, when I think of the many pleasant ij 2 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. hours we have spent together of the delightful walks which we have had on moonlight evenings to Fenner's Rocks, Chestnut Ridge, Grassy Plain, Wild Cat and Puppy Town of the strolls which we have taken upon Shelter Rocks, Cedar Hill the visits we have made to Old Lane, Wolfpits, Toad Hole and Plum Trees * when all these things come rush- ing on my mind, and when, my dear girl, I remember how often you have told me that you loved me better than anybody else, and I assured you that my feel- ings were the same as yours, it almost breaks my heart to think of last Sunday night. [" Can't you stick in some affecting poetry here ? " said Mallett. Shepherd could not recollect any to the point, nor could I ; but as the exigency of the case seemed to require it, we concluded to manufacture a verse or two, which we did, as follows :] Lucretia, dear, what have I done, That you should use me thus and so, To take the arm of Tom Beers' son, And let your dearest true love go ? Miserable fate, to lose you now, And tear this bleeding heart asunder! Will you forget your tender vow ? I can't believe it no, by thunder. [Mallett did not like the word "thunder," but being informed that no other word could be substi- tuted without destroying both rhyme and reason, he consented that it should remain, provided we added * These were the euphonious names of localities in the vicinity of Bethel. LETTER WRITING EXTRAORDINARY. 53 two more stanzas of a softer nature; something, he said, that would make the tears come, if possible. We then ground out the following :] Lucretia, dear, do write to Jack, And say with Beers you are not smitten; And thus to me in love come back, And give all other boys the mitten. Do this, Lucretia, and till death I'll love you to intense distraction ; I'll spend for you my every breath, And we will live in satisfaction. [" That will do very well," said Mallett. " Now I guess you had better blow her up a little more." We obeyed orders as follows :] It makes me mad to think what a fool I was to give you that finger-ring and bosom-pin, and spend so much time in your company, just to be flirted and bamboozled as I was on Sunday night last If you continue this course of conduct, we part forever, and I will thank you to send back that jewelry. I. would sooner see it crushed under my feet than worn by a person who abused me as you have done. I shall despise you forever if you don't change your conduct towards me, and send me a letter of apology on Monday next. I shall not go to meeting to-morrow, for I would scorn to sit in the same meeting-house with you until I have an explanation of your conduct. If you allow any young man to go home with you to-morrow night, I shall know it, for you will be watched. ["There," said Mallett, "that is pretty 54 LIFE OF P. 'T. BARNUM. strong. Now, I guess, you had better touch her feelings once more, and wind up the letter." We proceeded as follows :] My sweet girl, if you only knew the sleepless nights which I have spent during the present week, the torments and sufferings which I endure on your account; if you could but realize that I regard the world as less than nothing without you, I am certain you would pity me. A homely cot and a crust of bread with my adorable Lucretia would be a paradise, where a palace without you would be a hades. ["What in thunder is hades? " inquired Jack. We explained. He considered the figure rather bold, and requested us to close as soon as possible.] Now, dearest, in bidding you adieu, I implore you to reflect on our past enjoyments, look forward with pleasure to our future happy meetings, and rely upon your affectionate Jack in storm or calm, in sickness, distress or want, for all these will be powerless to change my love. I hope to hear from you on Monday next, and, if favorable, I shall be happy to call on you the same evening, when in ecstatic joy we will laugh at the past, hope for the future, and draw consolation from the fact that " the course of true love never did run smooth." This from your disconsolate but still hoping lover and admirer, "JACK MALLETT. " P. S. On reflection I have concluded to go to meeting to-morrow. If all is well, hold your pocket- handkerchief in your left hand as you stand up to LETTER WRITING EXTRAORDINARY. 57 sing with the choir in which case I shall expect the pleasure of giving you my arm to-morrow night. "J. M." The effect of this letter upon Lucretia was not as .avorable as could have been desired. She declined to remove her handkerchief from her right hand, and she returned the " ring and bosom-pin " to her dis- consolate admirer, while, not many months after, Mallett's rival led Lucretia to the altar. As for .Mallett's agreement to pay Shepherd and Barnum five pounds of carpet-rags and twelve yards of broad- cloth " lists " for their services, owing to his ill suc- cess, they compromised for one-half the amount. 4 CHAPTER IV. TRYING MANY VENTURES. VISIT TO PlTTSBURG SUCCESSFUL LOTTERY BUSINESS MARRIAGE FlRST EDITORIAL VENTURE LIBEL SUIT, IMPRISONMENT AND LIBERATION REMOVAL TO NEW YORK HARD TIMES KEEPING A BOARDING- HOUSE. About this time Barnum, with a Mr. Samuel Sher- wood, of Bridgeport, started for Pittsburg, where they proposed to open a lottery office. On reach- ing New York, however, and talking over the scheme with friends, the venture was abandoned and the two men took, instead, a pleasure trip to Philadel- phia. They stayed a week, at the end of which time they returned to New York, with exactly twenty-seven cents between them. Sherwood man- aged to borrow two dollars enough to take him to Newark, where he had a cousin, who obligingly loaned him fifty dollars. The two friends remained in New York on the strength of their newly ac- quired wealth for several days, and then went home considerably richer in experience at least. Barnum now went into the lottery business exclu- sively, taking his uncle, Alanson Taylor, into partner- ship. They established a number of agencies 58 ENGAGEMENT AND MARRIAGE. ^ throughout the country, and made good profits from the sale of tickets. Several of the tickets sold by them took prizes and their office came to be con- sidered "lucky." The young man was prospering also in another direction. The fair tailoress smiled on him as sweetly as ever, and in the summer of 1827 they be- came formally engaged. In the fall Miss Hallett went " on a visit" to her uncle, Nathan Beers, in New York. A month later her lover followed, " to buy goods," and on the 8th of November, 1829, there was a wedding in the comfortable house at No. 3 Allen street. Having married at the age of nineteen, Barnum always expressed his disapproval of early marriages, although his own was a very happy one. Returning to Bethel, Mr. and Mrs. Barnum, after boarding for a few months, moved into their own house, which was built on a three acre plat purchased from the grandfather. The lottery business still prospered, but it was mostly in the hands of agents, in Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Middletown,and Barnum began to look around for some field for his individual energies. He tried travelling as a book auctioneer, but found it uncongenial and quit the business. In July, 1831, with his uncle Alanson Taylor, he opened a grocery and general store, but the venture was not partic- ularly successful, and in the fall the partnership was dissolved, Barnum buying his uncle's interest. 6O LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. The next enterprise was an important one, it being the real beginning of Phineas T. Barnum's public career. In a period of strong political excitement, he wrote several communications for the Danbury weekly paper, setting forth what he conceived to be the dangers of a sectarian interference which was then apparent in political affairs. The publication of these communications was refused, and he accord- ingly purchased a press and types, and October 19, 1831, issued the first number of his own paper, The Herald of Freedom. "I entered upon the editorship of this journal," says Mr. Barnum, " with all the vigor and vehemence of youth. The boldness with which the paper was conducted soon excited widespread attention and commanded a circulation which extended beyond the immediate locality into nearly every State in the Union. But lacking that experience which induces caution, and without the dread of consequences, I frequently laid myself open to the charge of libel, and three times in three years I was prosecuted. A Danbury butcher, a zealous politician, brought a civil suit against me for accusing him of being a spy in a Democratic caucus. On the first trial the jury did not agree, but after a second trial I was fined several hundred dollars. Another libel suit against me was withdrawn. The third was sufficiently important to warrant the following detail : "A criminal prosecution was brought against me CONVICTED OF LIBEL. fa for stating in my paper that a man in Bethel, promi- nent in church, had ' been guilty of taking usury of an orphan boy/ and for severely commenting on the fact in my editorial columns. When the case came to trial the truth of my statement was substantially proved by several witnesses and even by the pros- ecuting party. But 'the greater the truth, the greater the libel,' and then I had used the term * usury,' instead of extortion, or note-shaving, or some other expression which might have softened the verdict. The result was that I was sentenced to pay a fine of one hundred dollars and to be im- prisoned in the common jail for sixty days. "The most comfortable provision was made for me in Danbury jail. My room was papered and carpeted ; I lived well ; I was overwhelmed with the constant visits of my friends ; I edited my paper as usual and received large accessions to my subscrip- tion list ; and at the end of my sixty days* term the event was celebrated by a large concourse of people from the surrounding country. The court room in which I was convicted was the scene of the celebra- tion. An ode, written for the occasion, was sung; an eloquent oration on the freedom of the press was delivered; and several hundred gentlemen after- wards partook of a sumptuous dinner followed by appropriate toasts and speeches. Then came the triumphant part of the ceremonial, which was reported in my paper of December 12, 1832, as follows : (5 2 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " * P. T. Barnum and the band of music took their seats in a coach drawn by six horses, which had been prepared for the occasion. The coach was preceded by forty horsemen, and a marshal, bearing the national standard. Immediately in the rear of the coach was the carriage of the orator and the President of the day, followed by the committee of arrangements and sixty carriages of citizens, which joined in escorting the editor to his home in Bethel. " * When the procession commenced its march amidst the roar of cannon, three cheers were given by several hundred citizens who did not join in the procession. The band of music continued to play a variety of national airs until their arrival in Bethel (a distance of three miles), when they struck up the beautiful and appropriate tune of " Home, Sweet Home ! " After giving three hearty cheers, the procession returned to Danbury. The utmost harmony and unanimity of feeling prevailed through- out the day, and we are happy to add that no acci- dent occured to mar the festivities of the occasion." 1 The editorial career continued as it had begun. In 1830 The Herald of Freedom was sold to Mr. George Taylor. The mercantile business was also sold to Horace Fairchild, who had been associated with it as partner 'since 1831, and a Mr. Toucey, who formed a partner- ship under the name of Fairchild & Co. Barnum had lost considerable money in this store ; he was too speculative for ordinary trade, too ready, also A NEW YORK DRUMMER. 63 to give credit, and his ledger was full of unpaid accounts when he finally gave up business. In 1835 he removed his family to New York, taking a house in Hudson street. For a time he tried to get a position in a mercantile house, not on a fixed salary, but so as to derive a commission on his sales, trusting to his ability to make more money in this way than an ordinary clerk could be expected to receive. Failing in this he acted as a "drummer" for several stores until spring, when he was fortunate enough to receive several hundred dollars from his agent at Bethel. In May he opened a private boarding-house at 52 Frankfort street, which was well patronized by his Connecticut acquaintances as often as they visited the metropolis. This business not occupying his entire time, he bought an interest in a grocery store at 156 South street. Although the years of manhood brought cares, anxieties, and struggles for a livelihood, they did not change Barnum's nature, and the jocose element was still an essential ingredient of his being. He loved fun, practical fun, for itself and for the enjoy- ment which it brought. During the year he occa- sionally visited Bridgeport, where he almost always found at the hotel a noted joker, named Darrow, who spared neither friend nor foe in his tricks. He was the life of the bar-room, and would always try to entrap some stranger in a bet and so win a treat for the company. He made several ineffectual 64 LIFE OF P. 7\ BARNUM. attempts upon Barnum, and at last, one evening, Darrow, who stuttered, made a final trial, as follows : " Come, Barnum, I'll make you another propo- sition ; I'll bet you hain't got a whole shirt on your back." The catch consists in the fact that generally only one-half of that convenient garment is on the back ; but Barnum had anticipated the proposition in fact he had induced a friend, Mr. Hough, to put Darrow up to the trick and had folded a shirt nicely upon his back, securing it there with his suspenders. The bar-room was crowded with cus- tomers who thought that if Barnum made the bet he would be nicely caught, and he made pretence of playing off and at the same time stimulated Darrow to press the bet by saying: " That is a foolish bet to make ; I am sure my shirt is whole because it is nearly new ; but I don't like to bet on such a subject." "A good reason why," said Darrow, in great glee; " it's ragged. Come, I'll bet you a treat for the whole company you hain't got a whole shirt on your b-b-b-back!" " I'll bet my shirt is cleaner than yours," Barnum replied. " That's nothing to do w-w-with the case ; it's ragged, and y-y-you know it." " I know it is not," Barnum replied, with pre- tended anger, which caused the crowd to laugh heartily. JOKING A JOKER. 65 "You poor ragged f-f-fellow, come down here from D-D-Danbury, I'm sorry for you," said Darrow tantalizingly. "You would not pay if you lost," Barnum re- marked. " Here's f-f-five dollars I'll put in Captain Hin- man's (the landlord's) hands. Now b-b-bet if you dare, you ragged c-c-creature, you." Barnum put five dollars in Captain Hinman's hands, and told him to treat the company from it if he lost the bet. " Remember," said Darrow, " I b-b-bet you hain't got a whole shirt on your b-b-back ! " "All right," said Barnum, taking off his coat and commencing to unbutton his vest. The whole company, feeling sure that he was caught, began to laugh heartily. Old Darrow fairly danced with delight, and as Barnum laid his coat on a chair he came running up in front of him, and slapping his hands together, exclaimed : "You needn't t-t-take off any more c-c-clothes, for if it ain't all on your b-b-back, you've lost it." "If it is, I suppose you have!" Barnum replied, pulling the whole shirt from off his back ! Such a shriek of laughter as burst forth from the crowd was scarcely ever heard, and certainly such a blank countenance as old Darrow exhibited it would be hard to conceive. Seeing that he was most incontinently " done for," and perceiving that his neighbor Hough had helped to do it, he ran up 66 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. to him in great anger, and shaking his fist in his face, exclaimed : " H-H-Hough, you infernal r-r-rascal, to go against your own neighbor in favor of a D-D-Danbury man. I'll pay you for that some time, you see if I d-d-don't." All hands went up to the bar and drank with a hearty good will, for it was seldom that Darrow got taken in, and he was such an inveterate joker they liked to see him paid in his own coin. Never till the day of his death did he hear the last of the " whole shirt." CHAPTER V. BEGINNING AS A SHOWMAN. FINDING His TRUE VOCATION THE PURCHASE OF JOICE HETH EVIDENCE AS TO HER AGE HER DEATH SIGNOR VIVALLA A VISIT TO WASH- INGTON JOINING A TRAVELLING CIRCUS CONTROVERSIES WITH MIN- ISTERS THE VICTIM OF A PRACTICAL JOKE. Barnum was now satisfied that he had not yet found his proper level. He had not yet entered the business for which nature had designed him. There was only a prospect of his going on from this to that, as his father had done before him, trying many callings but succeeding in none. He had not yet discovered that love of amusement is one of the strongest passions of the human heart. This, how- ever, was a lesson that he was soon to learn ; and he was to achieve both fame and fortune as a caterer to the public desire for entertainment. Philosophizing on this theme in later years, Mr. Barnum once said: "The show business has all phases and grades of dignity, from the exhibition of a monkey to the exposition of that highest art in music or the drama which entrances empires and secures for the gifted artist a worldwide fame which princes well might envy. Men, women and children, 67 68 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. who cannot live on gravity alone, need something to satisfy their gayer, lighter moods and hours, and he \vho ministers to this want is in a business established by the Author of our nature. If he worthily fulfils his mission, and amuses without corrupting, he need never feel that he has lived in vain." In the summer of 1835, Mr. Barnum was visited by Mr. Coley Bartram, of Reading, Connecticut, who told him that he had owned an interest in a re- markable negro woman, who was confidently be- lieved to be one hundred and sixty-one years old and to have been the nurse of Washington. Mr. Bartram showed him a copy of an advertisement in The Pennsylvania Inquirer for July 15, 1835, as follows : " CURIOSITY. The citizens of Philadelphia and its vicinity have an opportunity of witnessing at the Masonic Hall one of the greatest natural curiosities ever witnessed, viz. : JOICE HETH, a negress, aged 161 years, who formerly belonged to the father of General Washington. She has been a member of the Baptist Churclj one hundred and sixteen years, and can rehearse many hymns, and sing them ac- cording to former custom. She was born near the old Potomac River in Virginia, and has for ninety or one hundred years lived in Paris, Kentucky, with the Bowling family. "All who have seen this extraordinary woman are satisfied of the truth of the account of her age. The evidence of the Bowling family, which is respectable, DESCRIPTION OF THE OLD SLAVE. $g is strong, but the original bill of sale of Augustine Washington, in his own handwriting, and other evidences which the proprietor has in his possession, will satisfy even the most incredulous. "A lady will attend at the hall during the after- noon and evening for the accommodation of those ladies who may call." Mr. Bartram told him, moreover, that he had sold out his interest in the woman to R. W. Lindsay, of Jefferson county, Kentucky, who was then exhibit- ing her as a curiosity, but was anxious to sell her. Mr. Barnum had seen in some of the New York papers an account of Joice Heth, and was so much interested in her that he at once proceeded to Phila- delphia to see her and Mr. Lindsay. How he was impressed by her he has himself told. " Joice Heth," he says, " was certainly a remarkable curiosity, and she looked as if she might have been far older than her age as advertised. She was apparently in good health and spirits, but from age or disease, or both, was unable to change her position ; she could move one arm at will, but her lower limbs could not be straightened ; her left arm lay across her breast and she could not remove it ; the fingers of her left hand were drawn down so as nearly to close it, and were fixed ; the nails on that hand were almost 'four inches long and extended above her wrist ; the nails on her large toes had grown to the thickness of a quarter of an inch; her head was covered with a thick bush of grey hair; but she was toothless and 70 LfFE OF P. T. BARNUM. totally blind, and her eyes had sunk so deeply in the sockets as to have disappeared altogether. " Nevertheless she was pert and sociable, and would talk as long as people would converse with her. She was quite garrulous about her protege^ 4 dear little George,' at whose birth she declared she was present, having been at the time a slave of Elizabeth Atwood, a half-sister of Augustine Wash- ington, the father of George Washington. As nurse she put the first clothes on the infant, and she claimed to have ' raised him.' She professed to be a member of the Baptist Church, talking much in her way on religious subjects, and she sang a variety of ancient hymns. " In proof of her extraordinary age and preten- sions, Mr. Lindsay exhibited a bill of sale, dated February 5, 1727, from Augustine Washington, county of Westmoreland, Virginia, to Elizabeth At- wood, a half-sister and neighbor of Mr. Washington, conveying 'one negro woman named Joice Heth,aged fifty-four years, for and in consideration of the sum of thirty-three pounds lawful money of Virginia.' It was further claimed that she had long been a nurse in the Washington family ; she was called in at the birth of George and clothed the newborn infant. o The' evidence seemed authentic, and in answer to the inquiry why so remarkable a discovery had not been made before, a satisfactory explanation was given in the statement that she had been carried from Virginia to Kentucky, had been on the planta- BARNUWS FIRST SHOW. ji tion of John S. Bowling so long that no one knew or cared how old she was, and only recently the acci- dental discovery by Mr. Bowling's son of the old bill of sale in the Record Office in Virginia had led to the identification of this negro woman as * the nurse of Washington.'" Everything seemed to Barnum to be entirely straightforward, and he decided, if possible, to pur- chase the woman. She was offered to him at $1,000, although Lindsay at first wanted $3,000. BaAium had $500 in cash, and was able to borrow $500 more. Thus he secured Joice Heth, sold out his interest in the grocery business to his partner, and entered upon his career as a showman. He after- ward declared that the least deserving of all his ef- forts in the show line was this one which introduced him to the business ; it was a scheme in no sense of his own devising ; but it was one which had been for some time before the public, and which he honestly and with good reason believed to be genuine. He entered upon his new work with characteristic enter- prise, resorting to posters, transparencies, advertise- ments, newspaper paragraphs, and everything else calculated to attract the attention of the public, re- gardless of expense. He exhibited in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Albany, and many other places, where his rooms were thronged and much money made. But in the following February Joice Heth died of old age, and was buried at Bethel. A post- mortem examination was made by a surgeon and LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. 72 some medical students, who were inclined to doubt if she really was as old as Lindsay had said. Thus ended Barnum's first enterprise as a show- man. It had been profitable to him, and had pointed out to him the path of success. His next venture was entirely genuine and straightforward. He en- gaged an Italian, who called himself Signor Antonio, and who was a skilful performer on stilts, on the tight rope and at juggling. Barnum engaged him for a year at $12 a week and his expenses, and got him to change his stage name to Signor Vivalla 4 He then resorted to his former means of advertising, and started on his tour. ForVivalla's first week of performances Barnum received $50, and for the second week three times as much. At the close of the first performance, in response to loud applause, Barnum appeared upon the stage and made a speech to the audience, a performance which he repeated thousands of times in after years. This engagement was at the Franklin Theatre in New York. The show next appeared in Boston, with great success. Next it went to Washington and had a most disastrous week, for every night was stormy. Indeed Barnum found himself literally stranded there, with not enough money to get away. He was driven to pawn his watch and chain for $35, and then met a friend who helped him out of his di- lemma. "As this was my first visit to Washington, I was much interested," says Barnum, " in visiting the HORACE:GREELEY. HELP FROM A HISS. 75 capitol and other public buildings. I also satisfied my curiosity in seeing Clay, Calhoun, Benton, John Quincy Adams, Richard M. Johnson, Polk, and other leading statesmen of the time. I was also greatly gratified in calling upon Anne Royall, author of the Black Book, publisher of a little paper called ' Paul Pry/ and quite a celebrated personage in her day. I had exchanged The Herald of Freedom with her journal, and she strongly sympathized with me in my persecutions. She was delighted to see me, and although she was the most garrulous old woman I ever saw, I passed a very amusing and pleasant time with her. Before leaving her I manifested my showman propensity by trying to hire her to give a dozen or more lectures on 'Government' in the Atlantic cities, but I could not engage her at any price, although I am sure the speculation would have been a very profitable one. I never saw this eccentric woman again ; she died at a very advanced age, October i, 1854, at her residence in Washing- ton." From Washington the show went to Philadelphia and appeared at the Walnut Street Theatre. The audiences were small and it was evident that some- thing must be done to arouse public interest. "And now," says Barnum, " that instinct which can arouse a community and make it patronize one, provided the article offered is worthy of patronage, an in- stinct which served me greatly in later years, aston- ishing the public and surprising me, came to my re- 5 76 Z//E OF P. T. BARNUM. lief, and the help, curiously enough, appeared in the shape of an emphatic hiss from the pit ! "This hiss, I discovered, came from one Roberts, a circus performer, and I had an interview with him. He was a professional balancer and juggler, who boasted that he could do all Vivalla had done and something more. I at once published a card in Vivalla's name, offering $1,000 to any one who would publicly perform Vivalla's feats at such place as should be designated, and Roberts issued a counter card accepting the offer. I then contracted with Mr. Warren, treasurer of the Walnut Street Theatre, for one-third of the proceeds, if I should bring the receipts up to $400 a night an agreement he could well afford to make as his receipts the night before had been but seventy-five dollars. From him I went to Roberts, who seemed disposed to ' back down,' but I told him that I should not insist upon the terms of his published card, and ask him if he was under any engagement ? Learning that he was not I offered him thirty dollars to per- form under my direction one night at the Walnut, and he accepted. A great trial of skill between Roberts and Vivalla was duly announced by posters and through the press. Meanwhile, they rehearsed privately to see what tricks each could perform, and the ' business' was completely arranged. " Public excitement was at fever heat, and on the night of the trial the pit and upper boxes were crowded to the full. The 'contest' between the per- JOINING A CIRCUS. jj formers was eager, and each had his party in the house. So far as I could learn, no one complained that he did not get all he paid for on that occasion. I engaged Roberts for a month, and his subsequent 1 contests ' with Vivalla amused the public and put money in my purse." In the spring of 1836 Barnum joined his show with Aaron Turner's travelling circus, himself acting as ticket seller, secretary and treasurer, at thirty dollars a month and one-fifth of the total profits, while Vivalla was to get fifty dollars a month. Barnum was himself paying Vivalla eighty dollars a month, so that he really had left for himself only his one-fifth share of the profits. The combined show set out from Danbury, Connecticut, for West Springfield, Massachusetts, on April 26. On the first day, Barnum relates, instead of stopping for dinner, Turner simply distributed to the company three loaves of rye bread and a pound of butter, which he bought at a farmhouse for fifty cents. On April 28 they began their performances at West Springfield, and as their band of music had not arrived from Providence, as expected, Barnum made a speech to the audience in place of it, which seemed to please everybody. The engagement was successful, and the tour was continued during the summer through numerous towns and cities in New England, the Middle States, Maryland, Virginia and North Caro- lina. Many incidents, humorous and otherwise, marked 78 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. their progress. At Cabotville, Massachusetts, on going to bed one night one of the company threw a lighted cigar stump into a box of sawdust, and the result was that, an hour or two later, they all nar- rowly escaped suffocation from the smoke. At Lenox, Massachusetts, they spent Sunday and Bar- num went to church as usual. The sermon was directed against the circus, denouncing it in very abusive terms as an immoral and degrading institu- tion. " Thereupon," says Barnum, " when the min- ister had read the closing hymn, I walked up the pulpit stairs and handed him a written request, signed ' P. T. Barnum, connected with the circus, June 5, 1836,' to be permitted to reply to him. He declined to notice it, and after the benediction I lectured him for not giving me an opportunity to vindicate myself and those with whom I was con- nected. The affair created considerable excitement, and some of the members of the church apologized to me for their clergyman's ill behavior. A similar affair happened afterward at Port Deposit, on the lower Susquehanna, and in this instance I addressed the audience for half an hour, defending the circus company against the attacks of the clergyman, and the people listened, though their pastor repeatedly implored them to go home. Often have I collected our company on Sunday and read to them the Bible or a printed sermon, and one or more of the men frequently accompanied me to church. We made no pretense of religion, but we were not the worst A SERIOUS JO ICE. fg people in the world, and we thought ourselves enti- tled to at least decent treatment when we went to hear the preaching of the Gospel." Turner, the proprietor of the circus, was a self- made man. He had made himself rich through industry, as he believed any other man with com- mon sense could do, and he was very proud of the fact. He was also an inveterate practical joker, and once,, at Annapolis, Maryland, he played upon Bar- num a trick which came very near having a serious result. They got there on Saturday night, and the next morning Barnum went out for a walk, wearing a fine new suit of black clothes. As he passed through the bar-room and out of the hotel Turner said to some bystanders, who did not know Barnum : " I think it very singular that you permit that rascal to march your streets in open day. It wouldn't be allowed in Rhode Island, and I suppose that is the reason the scoundrel has come down this way." " Why, who is he ? " they demanded. " Don't you know ? Why, that is the Rev. E. K. Avery, the murderer of Miss Cornell." Instantly there was a rush of the whole crowd to the door, eager to get another look at Barnum, and uttering threats of vengeance. This man Avery had only lately been tried in Rhode Island for the murder of Miss Cornell, whose dead body was dis- covered in a stack-yard, and though he was acquitted by the court everybody believed him guilty. Ac- g LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM, cordingly, Barnum soon found himself overtaken and surrounded by a mob of one hundred or more, and his ears saluted with such remarks as " the lecherous old hypocrite/' " the sanctified murderer," "the black-coated villain," "lynch him," "tarand feather him," and others still more harsh and threatening. Then one man seized him by the collar, while others brought a fence rail and some rope. "Come," said the man who collared him, 'iold chap, you can't walk any further; we know you, and as we always make gentlemen ride in these parts, you may just prepare to straddle that rail ! " His surprise may be imagined. " Good heavens!" he exclaimed, as they all pressed around, "gentle- men, what have I done ? " " Oh, we know you," exclaimed half a dozen voices ; "you needn't roll your sanctimonious eyes; that game don't take in this country. Come, strad- dle the rail, and remember the stack-yard /" He grew more and more bewildered ; .he could not imagine what possible offence he was to suffer for, and he continued to exclaim, " Gentlemen, what have I done ? Don't kill me, gentlemen, but tell me what I have done." " Come, make him straddle the rail ; we'll show him how to hang poor factory girls," shouted a man in the crowd. The man who had him by the collar then remarked, "Come, Mr. Avery, it's no use; you see, we know A SERIOUS JOKE. gl you, and we'll give you a touch of lynch law, and start you for home again." " My name is not Avery, gentlemen ; you are mistaken in your man," he exclaimed. " Come, come, none of your gammon ; straddle the rail, Ephraim." The rail was brought and Barnum was about to be placed on it, when the truth flashed upon him. " Gentlemen," he exclaimed, " I am not Avery ; I despise that villain as much as you can ; my name is Barnum ; I belong to the circus which arrived here last night, and I am sure Old Turner, my part- ner, has hoaxed you with this ridiculous story." " If he has we'll lynch him," said one of the mob. "Well, he has, I'll assure you, and if you will walk to the hotel with me, I'll convince you of the fact." This they reluctantly assented to, keeping, how- ever, a close hand upon him. As they walked up the main street, the mob received a re-enforcement of some fifty or sixty, and Barnum was marched like a malefactor up to the hotel. Old Turner stood on the piazza ready to explode with laughter. Barnum appealed to him for heaven's sake to explain this matter, that he might be liberated. He continued to laugh, but finally told them " he believed there was some mistake about it. The fact is," said he, " my friend Barnum has a new suit of black clothes on and he looks so much like a priest that I thought he must be Avery." 82 Z/tfE OF P. T. BARNUM. The crowd saw the joke and seemed satisfied. Barnum's new coat had been half-torn from his back, and he had been very roughly handled. But some of the crowd apologized for the outrage, declaring that Turner ought to be served in the same way, while others advised Barnum to " get even with him." Barnum was very much offended, and when the mob dispersed he asked Turner what could have induced him to play such a trick. " My dear Mr. Barnum," he replied, " it was all for our good. Remember, all we need to insure success is notoriety. You will see that this will be noised all about town as a trick played by one of the circus managers upon the other, and our pavilion will be crammed to-morrow night." It was even so ; the trick was told all over town, and every one came to see the circus managers who were in a habit of playing practical jokes upon each other. They had fine audiences while they remained at Annapolis, but it was a long time before Barnum forgave Turner for his rascally "joke." CHAPTER VI. INCIDENTS OF A CIRCUS TOUR. BEATING A LANDLORD A JOKE ON TURNER BARNUM AS A PREACHER AND AS A NEGRO MINSTREL A BAD MAN WITH A GUN DEALING WITH A SHERIFF" LADY HAYES " AN EMBARASSED JUGGLER BARNUM AS A MATRIMONIAL AGENT. At almost every place visited by the travelling- company, some notable incident occurred. At Hanover Court House, Virginia, for example, it was raining so heavily that they could not give a per- formance, and Turner therefore decided to start for Richmond immediately after dinner. Their land- lord, however, said that as their agent had engaged three meals and lodgings for the whole troupe, the whole bill must be paid whether they went then or stayed until next morning. No compromise could be made with the stubborn fellow, and Turner was equally stubborn in his determination both to go at once and also to have the worth of his money. The following programme was accordingly carried out, Turner insisting upon every detail : Dinner was ordered at twelve o'clock and was duly prepared and eaten. As soon as the table was cleared, supper was ordered, at half past twelve. After eating as much of this as their dinner had left 83 84 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. room for, the whole company went to bed at one o'clock in the afternoon. Each man insisted upon taking a lighted candle to his room, and the whole thirty-six of them undressed and went to bed as though they proposed to stay all night. Half an hour later they arose and dressed again and went down to breakfast, which Turner had ordered served at two o'clock sharp. They could eat but little of this meal, of course, but they did the best they could, and at half past two in the afternoon were on their way to Richmond. Throughout the whole ab- surd proceedings the landlord was furiously angry. Turner was as solemn as a corpse, and the rest of the company were convulsed with laughter. After the performance one evening at Richmond, Barnum tried to pay Turner for that practical joke about the Rev. Mr. Avery. A score of the company were telling stories and singing songs in the sitting room of the hotel. Presently somebody began propounding some amusing arithmetical problems. Then Turner proposed one, which was readily solved. Barnum's turn came next, and he offered the following, for Turner's especial benefit: " Suppose a man is thirty years of age, and he has a child one year of age ; he is thirty times older than his child. When the child is thirty years old, the father, being sixty, is only twice as old as his child. When the child is sixty the father is ninety, and therefore only one-third older than the child. When the child is ninety the father is one hundred PAYING TURNER OFF. 85 and twenty, and therefore only one-fourth older than the child. Thus you see, the child is gradually but surely gaining on the parent, and as he certainly continues to come nearer and nearer, in time he must overtake him. The question therefore is, sup- pose it was possible for them to live long enough, how old would the father be when the child over- took him and became of the same age ? " The company generally saw the catch ; but Turner was very much interested in the problem, and although he admitted he knew nothing about arith- metic, he was convinced that as the son was gradually gaining on the father he must reach him if there was time enough say, a thousand years, or so for the race. But an old gentleman gravely remarked that the idea of a son becoming as old as his father while both were living, was simply non- sense, and he offered to bet a dozen of champagne that the thing was impossible, even " in figures." Turner, who was a betting man, and who thought the problem might be proved, accepted the wager ; but he was soon convinced that however much the boy might relatively gain upon his father, there would always be thirty years difference in their ages. The champagne cost him $25, and he failed to see the fun of Barnum's arithmetic, though at last he acknowledged that it was a fair offset to the Avery trick. From Richmond they went to Petersburg, and thence to Warrenton, North Carolina, and there, on 86 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. October 30, Barnum and Turner separated, Barnum's engagement having expired with a clear profit to himself of about $1,200. Barnum took Vivalla, a negro singer and dancer named James Sandford, several musicians, horses and wagons, and a small canvas tent. With these he proposed to carry on a travelling show of his own. His first stop was on Saturday, November 1 2, 1836, at Rocky Mount Falls, North Carolina. The next day, being Sunday, Barnum set out for church. " I noticed," he says, " a stand and benches in a grove near by, and de- termined to speak to the people if I was permitted. The landlord who was with me said that the congre- gation, coming from a distance to attend a single service, would be very glad to hear a stranger, and I accordingly asked the venerable clergyman to an- nounce that after service I would speak for half an hour in the grove. Learning that I was not a clergy- man, he declined to give the notice, but said that he had no objection to my making the announcement, which I did, and the congregation, numbering about three hundred, promptly came to hear me. " I told them I was not a preacher, and had very little experience in public speaking, but I felt a deep interest in matters of morality and religion, and would attempt in a plain way, to set before them the duties and privileges of man. I appealed to every man's experience, observation and reason, to confirm the Bible doctrine of wretchedness in vice and happiness in virtue. We cannot violate the A SHOWMAN'S SERMON. 8/ laws of God with impunity, and He will not keep back the wages of well-doing. The outside show of things is of very small account. We must look to realities and not to appearances. ' Diamonds may glitter on a vicious breast/ but 'the soul's calm sun- shine and the heart-felt joy is virtue's prize.' The rogue, the passionate man, the drunkard, are not to be envied even at the best, and a conscience hard- ened by sin is the most sorrowful possession we can think of." Barnum proceeded in this strain with various scriptural quotations and familiar illustrations, for three-quarters of an hour. At the end of his ad- dress several persons came up to shake hands with him, saying that they had been greatly pleased and edified by his remarks and asking to know his name. He went away feeling that possibly he had done some good by means of his impromptu preaching. The negro singer and dancer, Sandford, abruptly deserted the show at Camden, South Carolina, and left Barnum in a bad plight. An entertainment of negro songs had been advertised, and no one was able to fill Sandford's place. Barnum was deter- mined, however, that his audience should not be dis- appointed, and so he blackened his own face and went on the stage himself, singing a number of plan- tation melodies. His efforts were received with great applause, and he was recalled several times. This performance was repeated for several even- ings. 88 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. One night after thus personating a negro, Barnum heard a disturbance outside the tent. Hastening to the spot he found a man quarreling with one of his company. He interfered, whereupon the man drew a pistol and pointing it at Barnum's head, exclaimed, " you black scoundrel ! How dare you use such language to a white man?" He evidently took Barnum for a real negro, and in another moment would have blown his brains out. But quick as a flash the showman exclaim, " I am as white as you ! " and at the same moment rolled up his sleeves show- ing the white skin of his arm. The other man dropped his pistol in consternation and humbly begged Barnum's pardon. " On four different occasions in my life, " said Mr. Barnum not long before his death, " I have had a loaded pistol pointed at my head and each time I have escaped death by what seemed a miracle. I have also often been in deadly peril by accidents, and when I think of these things I realize my indebtedness to an all-protecting Providence. Reviewing my career, too, and considering the kind of company I kept for years and the associations with which I was surrounded and connected, I am surprised as well as grateful that I was not ruined. I honestly believe that I owe my preservation from the degradation of living and dying a loafer and a vagabond, to the single fact that I was never addicted to strong drink. To be sure, I have in times past drank liquor, but I have generally wholly abstained from intoxicating VICISSITUDES OF THE ROAD. 89 beverages, and for many years, I am glad to say, I have b|*en a strict ' teetotaller.'" At Camden, Barnum also lost one of his musicians, a Scotchman named Cochran. This man was ar- rested and, in spite of Barnum's efforts to save him, imprisoned for many months for advising a negro barber who was shaving him to run away to the Free States or to Canada. To fill up his ranks Barnum now hired Bob White, a negro singer, and Joe Pent- land, a clown, ventriloquist, comic singer, juggler, and sleight-of-hand performer, and also bought four horses and two wagons. He called this enlarged show " Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theatre." At Raleigh, North Carolina, Barnum had sold a half interest in his show to a man called Henry, not his real name. The latter now acted as treasurer and ticket taker. When they reached Augusta, Georgia, the Sheriff served a writ upon Henry for a debt of $500. As Henry had $600 of the Com- pany's money in his pockets, Barnum at once se- cured a bill of sale of all his property in the exhibi- tion. Armed with this he met Henry's creditor and his lawyer, who demanded the key of the stable, so that they might levy on the horses and wagons. Barnum asked them to wait a little while until he could see Henry, to which they agreed. Henry was anxious to cheat his creditor, and accordingly was glad to sign the bill of sale. Then Barnum re- turned and told the creditor and his lawyer that 9O LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. Henry would neither pay nor compromise the claim. The Sheriff thereupon demanded the stable key, so that he might attach Henry's share of the property. " Not yet,*' said Barnum, pulling out the bill of sale, " I am in possession as entire owner of this property. I have already purchased it, and you have not yet levied on it. You will touch my prop- erty at your peril." The creditor and th~ sheriff were thus baffled, but they immediately arrested Henry and took him to prison. The next day Barnum learned that Henry really owed $1,300, and that he had promised his creditor that he would pay him $500 of the com- pany's money and a bill of sale of his interest in the show at the end of the Saturday night per- formance, in consideration of which the creditor was to allow him to take one of the horses and run away, leaving Barnum in the lurch. Learning this, Barnum was not disposed to help Henry any further. Find- ing that Henry had intrusted the $500 to Vivalla, to keep it from the sheriff, Barnum secured it from Vivalla on Henry's order, under pretense of secur- ing bail for the prisoner. Then he paid the creditor the full amount obtained from Henry as the price of his half-interest and received in return an assign- ment of $500 of the creditor's claim and a guarantee that he should not be troubled by Henry for it. Thus his own promptness rescued Barnum from one of the most unpleasant situations in which he was ever placed. IN A POOR COUNTRY. 93 After this they got into one of the most desolate parts of Georgia. One night their advance agent, finding it impossible to reach the next town, ar- ranged for the whole show to spend the night at a miserable and solitary hovel owned by an old woman named Hayes. The horses were to be picketed in a field, and the company were to sleep in the tent and the out houses. Posters were scattered over the country, announcing that a performance would be given there the next day, the agent thinking that, as a show was a rarity in that region, a considerable number of small farmers would be glad to attend. " Meanwhile," says Barnum, " our advertiser, who was quite a wag, wrote back informing us of the difficulty of reaching a town on that part of our route, and stating that he had made arrangements for us to stay over night on the plantation of ' Lady Hayes,' and that although the country was sparsely settled, we could doubtless give a profitable perform- ance to a fair audience. " Anticipating a fine time on this noble * planta- tion,' we started at four o'clock in the morning so as to arrive at one o'clock, thus avoiding the heat of the afternoon. Towards noon we came to a small river where some men, whom we afterwards dis- covered to be down-east Yankees, from Maine, were repairing a bridge. Every flooring plank had been taken up, and it was impossible for our teams to cross. ' Could the bridge be fixed so that we could go over ? ' I inquired. * No : it would take 94 * LIFE OF ? T. BARNUM. half a day, and meantime, if we must cross, there was a place about sixteen miles down the river where we could get over. 'But we can't go so far as that ; we are under engagement to perform on Lady Hayes's place to-night, and we must cross here. Fix the bridge and we will pay you handsomely.' " They wanted no money, but if we would give them some tickets to our show they thought they might do something for us. I gladly consented, and in fifteen minutes we crossed that bridge. The cunning rascals had seen our posters and knew we were coming; so they had taken up the planks of the bridge and had hidden them till they had levied upon us for tickets, when the floor was re-laid in a quarter of an hour. " Towards dinner-time we began to look out for the grand mansion of ' Lady Hayes,' and seeing nothing but little huts we quietly pursued our journey. At one o'clock the time when we should have arrived at our destination I became impatient, and riding up to a poverty-stricken hovel and seeing a ragged, bare-footed old woman, with her sleeves rolled up to her shoulders, who was washing clothes in front of the door, I inquired " ' Hallo ! can you tell me where Lady Hayes lives?' "The old woman raised her head, which was covered with tangled locks and matted hair, and ex- claimed "'Hey?' " 'No, Hayes, Lady Hayes; where is her plantation?' 'LADY HAYES' MANSION. 95 "'This is the place,' she answered; 'I'm Widder Hayes, and you are all to stay here to-night.' "We could not believe our ears or eyes; but after putting the dirty old woman through a severe cross-examination she finally produced a contract, signed by our advertiser, agreeing for board and lodging for the company, and we found ourselves booked for the night. It appeared that our advertiser could find no better quarters in that forlorn section, and he had indulged in a joke at our expense by exciting our appetites and imaginations in anticipa- tion of the luxuries we should find in the magnificent mansion of ' Lady Hayes/ " Joe Pentland grumbled, Bob White indulged in some very strong language, and Signer Vivalla laughed. He had travelled with his monkey and organ in Italy and could put up with any fare that offered. I took the disappointment philosophically, simply re- marking that we must make the best of it and com- pensate ourselves when we reached a town next day. "The next forenoon we arrived at Macon, and congratulated ourselves that we had reached the regions of civilization. "In going from Columbus, Ga., to Montgomery, Ala., we were obliged to cross a thinly-settled, desolate tract, known as the 'Indian Nation/ and as several persons had been murdered by hostile Indians in that region, it was deemed dangerous to travel the road without an escort. Only the day before we started, the mail stage had been stopped and the 96 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM, passengers murdered, the driver alone escaping. We were well armed, however, and trusted that our numbers would present too formidable a force to be attacked, though we dreaded to incur the risk. Vivalla alone was fearless and was ready to encounter fifty Indians and drive them into the swamp. " Accordingly, when we had safely passed over the entire route to within fourteen miles of Mont- gomery, and were beyond the reach of danger, Joe Pentland determined to test Vivalla' s bravery. He had secretly purchased at Mt. Megs, on the way, an old Indian dress with a fringed hunting shirt and moc- casins and these he put on, after coloring his face with Spanish brown. Then shouldering his musket he followed Vivalla and the party, and, approaching stealthily leaped into their midst with a tremendous whoop. " Vivalla' s companions were in the secret, and they instantly fled in all directions. Vivalla himself ran like a deer and Pentland after him, gun in hand and yelling horribly. After running a full mile the poor little Italian, out of breath and frightened nearly to death, dropped on his knees and begged for his life. The ' Indian ' leveled his gun at his victim, but soon seemed to relent, and signified that Vivalla should'turn his pockets inside out which he did, producing and handing over a purse containing eleven dollars. The savage then marched Vivalla to an oak, and with a handkerchief tied him in the THE HEN THAT LAID THE EGGS." 97 most approved Indian manner to the tree, leaving him half dead with fright. "Pentland then joined us, and washing his face and changing his dress, we all went to the relief of Vivdlla. He was overjoyed to see us, and when he was released his courage returned ; he swore that after his companions left him, the Indian had been re- info reed by six more, to whom, in default of a gun or other means to defend himself, Vivalla had been compelled to surrender. We pretended to believe his story for a week, and then told him the joke, which he refused to credit, and also declined to take the money which Pentland offered to return, as it could not possibly be his since seven Indians had taken his money. We had a great deal of fun over Vivalla's courage, but the matter made him so cross and surly that we were finally obliged to drop it altogether. From that time forward, however, Vivalla never boasted of his prowess." At the end of February, 1837, they reached Mont- gomery, and there Barnum sold a half interest in his show to Henry Hawley, a sleight-of-hand per- former. He was a very clever fellow and was never known to be non-plussed or embarrassed in his tricks, except upon one occasion. This was when he was performing the well-known egg and bag trick, which he did with great success, taking egg after egg from the bag and finally breaking one to show that they were genuine. "Now," said he " I will 98 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. show you the old hen that laid them." But it hap- pened that the negro boy to whom had been in- trusted the duty of supplying "properties," had made a slight mistake. The result was that Hawley triumphantly produced not "the old hen that laid the eggs," but a most palpable and evident rooster. The audience roared with laughter, and Hawley, completely taken aback, fled in confusion to his dressing room, uttering furious maledictions upon the boy who was the author of his woe. The show visited various places in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, and finally disbanded at Nashville in May, 1837. Vivalla went to New York and gave some performances on his own account before sailing for Cuba. Hawley remained in Ten- nessee, and Barnum went home to his family. Early in July, however, he formed a new company and went back to re-join Hawley. But they were not successful, and in August they parted again, Barnum forming a new partnership with one Z. Graves. He then went to Tiffin,. Ohio, where he re-engaged Joe Pentland and got together the nucleus of a new company. During his short stay at Tiffin, Barnum got into a discussion with various gentlemen on religious sub- jects, and in response to their invitation lectured, or preached, in the school-house on Sunday afternoon and evening. He also went to the neighboring town of Republic and delivered two lectures. PREACHING AND PISTOLS. 99 On his way back to Kentucky, just before he reached Cincinnati, he met a drove of hogs. One of the drivers made an insolent remark because the circus wagons interfered with the driving of the hogs, and Barnum responded angrily. Thereupon the fellow jumped from his horse, pointed a pistol at Barnum's breast and swore he would shoot him if he did not apologize. Barnum asked permission to speak first to a friend in the next wagon, after which, he said, he would give the man full satisfac- tion. The " friend" proved to be a loaded double barrelled gun, which Barnum leveled at the hog- driver's head, saying : " Now, sir, you must apologize, or have your brains blown out. You drew a weapon upon me for a careless remark. You seem to hold human life at a cheap price. Now you have the choice between a load of shot and an apology." The man apologized promptly, a pleasant con- versation ensued, and they parted excellent friends. On this tour they exhibited at Nashville, where Barnum visited General Jackson at the Hermitage ; at Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Vicksburg and various other places, generally doing well. At Vicksburg they bought a steamboat and went down the river, stopping at every important landing to exhibit. At Natchez their cook deserted them, and Barnum set out to find another. He found a white woman who was willing to go, only she expected to marry a IOO LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. painter in that town, and did not want to leave him. Barnum went to see the painter and found that he had not fully made up his mind whether to marry the woman or not. Thereupon the enterprising showman told the painter that if he would marry the woman the next morning he would hire him for $25 a month as painter, and his bride at the same wages as cook, give them both their board and add a cash bonus of $50. There was a wedding on the boat the next day, and they had a good cook and a good dinner. During one evening performance at Francisville, Louisiana, a man tried to pass Barnum at the door of the tent, claiming that he had paid for admittance. Barnum refused him entrance ; and as he was slightly intoxicated, he struck Barnum with a slung shot, mashing his hat and grazing what phrenologists call "the organ of caution." He went away and soon returned with a gang of armed and half- drunken companions, who ordered the showmen to pack up their "traps and plunder" and to get on board their steamboat within an hour. The big tent speedily came down. No one was permitted to help, but the company worked with a will, and within five minutes of the expiration of the hour they were on board and ready to leave. The scamps who had caused their departure escorted them and their last load, waving pine torches, and saluted them with a hurrah as they swung into the stream. A THEATRE ON A STEAMBOAT. IQI The New Orleans papers of March iQth, 1838, announced the arrival of the " Steamer Ceres, Captain Barnum, with a theatrical company." After a week's performance, they started for the Attakapas country. At Opelousas they exchanged the steamer for sugar and molasses ; the company was disbanded, and Barnum started for home, arriving in New York, June 4th, 1838. CHAPTER VII. HARD TIMES. ADVERTISING FOR A PARTNER "QUAKER OATS" DIAMOND THB DANCER A DISHONEST MANAGER RETURN TO NEW YORK FROM HAND TO MOUTH THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. Looking around now for some permanent busi- ness, Barnum at last resorted to the expedient of advertising for a partner, stating that he had $2,500 to invest, and was willing to add his entire personal attention to the business. He was immediately overwhelmed with answers, the most of them com- ing from sharpers. One was a counterfeiter who wanted $2,500 to invest in paper, ink, and dies. One applicant was a sedate individual dressed in sober drab ; he proposed to buy a horse and wagon and sell oats in bags, trusting that no one would be particular in measuring after a Quaker. " Do you mean to cheat in measuring your oats?" asked Barnum. " Well," said the Quaker, with a significant leer, " I shall probably make them hold out." Finally Barnum decided to go into business with a good-looking, plausible German, named Proler, who was a manufacturer of paste-blacking, cologne, and bear's grease. They opened a store at No. 102 IN THE SHO W B USINESS A GAIN. j 03 Bowery, where Proler manufactured the goods, and Barnum kept accounts and attended to sales in the store. The business prospered, or ap- peared to, until the capital was exhausted, and early in 1840 Barnum sold out his interest to Proler, tak- ing the German's note for $2,600, which was all he ever got, Proler shortly afterward running away to Rotterdam. Barnum had formed the acquaintance of a very clever young dancer named John Diamond, and soon after leaving the paste-blacking enterprise, he gathered together a company of singers, etc., which, with the dancer, Diamond, he placed in the hands of an agent, not caring to have his name appear in the transaction. He hired the Vauxhall Garden Saloon in New York and gave a variety of performances. This, however, proved unprofitable, and was aban- doned after a few months. Much as Barnum dreaded resuming the life of an itinerant showman, there seemed nothing else to be done, so January 2d, 1841, found him in New Orleans, with a company consisting of C. D. Jenkins,, an excellent Yankee character artist ; Diamond, the dancer ; a violinist, and one or two others. His brother-in-law, John Hallett, acted as advance agent. The venture was fairly successful, though after the first two weeks in New Orleans, the manager and proprietor of the show was obliged to pledge his watch as security for the board-bill. A dancing match between Diamond and a negro from Ke-n- LIFE OF P. T. BAR NUM. tucky put nearly $500 into Barnum's pocket, and they continued to prosper until Diamond, after ex- torting as much money as possible from his manager, finally ran away. The other members of the troop caused considerable trouble later. Jenkins, the Yankee character man, went to St. Louis, and hav- ing enticed Francis Lynch, an orphan protege of Barnum's into the scheme, proceeded to the Museum, where he exhibited Lynch as the celebrated dancer, John Diamond. Barnum poured out his wrath at this swindler in a letter, for which Jenkins threat- ened suit, and actually did instigate R. W. Lindsay to bring an action against Barnum for a pipe of brandy, alleged to have been included in his contract. Being among strangers, Barnum had some difficulty in procuring the $500 bond required, and was com- mitted to jail until late in the afternoon. As soon as he was released, he had Jenkins arrested for fraud, and then went on his way rejoicing. After an absence of eight months Barnum found t himself back in New York, resolved never again to be a traveling showman. Contracting with the publisher, Robert Sears, for five hundred copies of " Sear's Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible," and accepting the United States agency for the book, he opened an office at the corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets. He advertised widely, had numer- ous agents, and sold thousands of books, but for all that, lost money. While engaged in this business the Vauxhall IN NE IV YORK A GAIN. I O $ Saloon was re-opened, under the management of John Hallett, Mrs. Barnum's brother. At the end of the season they had cleared about $200. This sum was soon exhausted, and for the rest of the winter Barn tun managed to eke out a living by writing for the Sunday papers, and getting up unique advertisements for the Bowery Amphitheatre. His ambition received a stimulus at last from a friend in Danbury, who held a mortgage *on a piece of property owned by Mr. Barnum. Mr. Whitt- lesey wrote that as he was convinced of Mr. Bar- num's inability to lay up money, he thought he might as well demand the five hundred dollars then as at any time. Barnum's flagging energies were aroused, and he began in earnest to look for some permanent investment. In connection with the Bowery Amphitheatre, the information came to him that the collection of curi- osities comprising Scudder's American Museum, at the corner of Broadway and Ann Streets, was for sale. The original proprietor had spent $50,000 on it, and at his death had left a large fortune as the result of the speculation. It was now losing money and the heirs offered it for sale, at the low price of $15,000. Realizing that with tact, energy, and lib- erality, the business might be made as profitable as ever, Barnum resolved to buy it. "You buy the American Museum !" exclaimed a friend to whom he confided the scheme. " What will you buy it with ?" I0 6 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. "With brass," answered Barnum, " for silver and gold have I none." And buy it with brass he did, as the story of the transaction testifies. The Museum building belonged to Mr. Francis W. Olmsted, a retired merchant, to whom he wrote, stating his desire to buy the collection, and that although he had no means, if it could be purchased upon reasonable credit, he was confident that his tact and experience, added to a determined devotion to business, would enable him to make the payments when due. Barnum therefore asked him to pur- chase the collection in his own name ; to give a writ- ing securing it to Barnum, provided he made the payments punctually, including the rent of his build- ing ; to allow Barnum twelve dollars and a half a week on which to support his family ; and if at any time he failed to meet the installment due, he would vacate the premises, and forfeit all that might have been paid to that date. "In fact, Mr. Olmsted," Barnum continued, earnestly, "you may bind me in any way, and as tightly as you please only give me a chance to dig out, or scratch out, and I will do so or forfeit all the labor and trouble I may have in- curred." In reply to this letter, which Barnum took to his house himself, Mr. Olmsted named an hour when he could call on him. Barnum was there at the exact moment, and Olmstead was pleased with his punc- tuality. He inquired closely as to Barnum's habits INTERVIEWING A CAPITALIST. and antecedents, and the latter frankly narrated his experiences as a caterer for the public, mentioning his amusement ventures in Vauxhall Garden, the circus, and in the exhibitions he had managed at the South and West. " Who are your references ?" Olmsted inquired. " Any man in my line," Barnum replied, " from Edmund Simpson, manager of the Park Theatre, or William Niblo, to Messrs. Welch, June, Titus, Tur- ner, Angevine, or other circus or menagerie pro- prietors ; also Moses Y. Beach, of the New York Sun." " Can you get any of them to call on me ?" Barnum told him that he could, and the next day Mr. Niblo rode down and had an interview with Mr. Olmsted, while Mr. Beach and several other gentlemen also called. The following morning Bar- num waited upon him for his decision. " I don't like your references, Mr. Barnum," said Mr. Olmsted, abruptly, as soon as he entered the room. Barnum was confused, and said, " he regretted to hear it." " They all speak too well of you," Olmsted added, laughing ; "in fact, they all talk as if they were part- ners of yours, and intended to share the profits." "Nothing could have pleased me better," says Barnum. " He then asked me what security I could offer in case he concluded to make the purchase for me, and it was finally agreed that, if he should do I0 8 'LIFE OF p. r. BARNUM. so, he should retain the property till it was entirely paid for, and should also appoint a ticket-taker and accountant (at my expense), who should render him a weekly statement. I was further to take an apart- ment hitherto used as a billiard-room in his adjoin- ing building, allowing therefor $500 a year, making a total rental of $3,000 per annum, on a lease of ten years. He then told me to see the administrator and heirs of the estate, to get their best terms, and to meet him on his return to town a week from that time. " I at once saw Mr. John Heath, the administrator, and his price was $15,000. I offered $10,000, pay- able in seven annual installments, with good se- curity. After several interviews, it was finally agreed that I should have it for $12,000, payable as above possession to be given on the i5th of November. Mr. Olmsted assented to this, and a morning was appointed to draw and sign the writings. Mr. Heath appeared, but said he must decline proceed- ing any further in my case, as he had sold the -col- lection to the directors of Peale's Museum (an incorporated institution) for $15,000, and had re- ceived $1,000 in advance. "I was shocked, and appealed to Mr. Heath's honor. He said that he had signed no writing with me ; was in no way legally bound, and that it was his duty to do the best he could for the heirs. Mr. Olmsted was sorry but could not help me ; the new tenants would not require him to incur any risk, and my matter was at an end. KOBT. HUBBARD, M. D. "WORKING THE PRESS," III " Of course I immediately informed myself as to the character of Peale's Museum Company. It proved to be a band of speculators who had bought Peale's collection for a few thousand dollars, expect- ing to unite the American Museum with it, issue and sell stock to the amount of $50,000, pocket $30,000 profits, and permit the stockholders to look out for themselves. " I went immediately to several of the editors, in- cluding Major M. M. Noah, M..Y. Beach, my good friends West, Herrick, and Ropes, of the Atlas, and others, and stated my grievances. ' Now,' said I, ' if you will grant me the use of your columns, I'll blow that speculation sky-high.' They all consented, and I wrote a large number of squibs, cautioning the public against buying the Museum stock, ridicul- ing the idea of a board of broken-down bank direc- tors engaging in the exhibition of stuffed monkeys and gander-skins ; appealing to the case of the Zoological Institute, which had failed by adopting such a plan as the one now proposed ; and finally, I told the public that such a speculation would be infinitely more ridiculous than Dickens's * Grand United Metropolitan Hot Muffin and Crumpit- baking and Punctual Delivery Company/ " The stock was ' as dead as a herring !' I then went to Mr. Heath and asked him when the direc- tors were to pay the other $14,000. * On the 26th day of December, or forfeit the $1,000 already paid,' was the reply. I assured him that they would never 112 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. pay it, that they could not raise it, and that he would ultimately find himself with the Museum col- lection on his hands, and if once I started off with an exhibition for the South, I could not touch the Museum at any price. ' Now/ said I, ' if you will agree with me confidentially, that in case these gentlemen do not pay you on the 26th of December I may have it on the 2;th for $12,000, I will run the risk, and wait in this city until that date/ He readily agreed to the proposition, but said he was sure they would not forfeit their $1,000. " ' Very well, ' said I ; ' all I ask of you is, that this arrangement shall not be mentioned/ He assented. ' On the 2 /th day of December, at ten o'clock A. M., I wish you to meet me in Mr. Olmsted's apartments, prepared to sign the writings, provided this incor- porated company do not pay you $14,000 on the 26th/ He agreed to this, and by my request put it in writing. " From that moment I felt that the Museum was mine. I saw Mr. Olmsted, and told him so. He promised secrecy, and agreed to sign the docu- ment if the other parties did not meet their engage- ment. This was about November I5th, and I con- tinued my shower of newspaper squibs at the new company, which could not sell a dollar's worth of its stock. Meanwhile, if any one spoke to me about the Museum, I simply replied that I had lost it/' This newspaper war against the Peales was kept THE MUSE UM SE CURED. 113 up unceasingly until one morning in December, "I'received a letter from the secretary of that com- pany (now calling itself the * New York Museum Company '), requesting me to meet the directors at the Museum on the following Monday morning. I went, and found the directors in session. The ven- erable president of the board, who was also the ex- president of a broken bank, blandly proposed to hire me to manage the united museums, and though I saw that he merely meant to buy my silence, I professed to entertain the proposition, and in reply to an inquiry as to what salary I should expect, I specified the sum of $3,000 a year. This was at once acceded to, the salary to begin January ist, 1842, and after complimenting me on my ability, the president remarked: 'Of course, Mr. Barnum, we shall have no more of your squibs through the news- papers.' To which I replied that I should ' ever try to serve the interests of my employers/ and I took my leave. " It was as clear to me as noonday that, after buy- ing my silence so as to appreciate their stock, these directors meant to sell out to whom they could, leaving me to look to future stockholders for my salary. They thought, no doubt, that they had nicely entrapped me, but I knew I had caught them. " For, supposing me to be out of the way, and having no other rival purchaser, these directors post- poned the advertisement of their stock to give people time to forget the attacks I had made on it, 1 14 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. and they also took their own time for paying the money promised to Mr. Heath, December 26th in- deed, they did not even call on him at the appointed time. But on the following morning, as agreed, I was promptly and hopefully at Mr. Olmsted's apart- ments with my legal adviser, at half-past nine o'clock ; Mr. Heath came with his lawyer at ten, and before two o'clock that day I was in formal posses- sion of the American Museum. My first managerial act was to write and dispatch the following compli- mentary note : " ' AMERICAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK, Dec. ayth, 1841. " ' To the President and Directors of the New York Museum : " ' GENTLEMEN: It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you are placed upon the Free List of this establishment until furthur notice. " ' P. T. BARNUM, Proprietor: "It is unnecessary to say that the 'President of the New York Museum ' was astounded, and when he called upon Mr. Heath, and learned that I had bought and was really in possession of the Ameri- can Museum, he was indignant. He talked of prose- cution, and demanded the $1,000 paid on his agree- ment, but he .did not prosecute, and he justly for- feited his deposit money," CHAPTER VIII. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. ADVERTISING EXTRAORDINARY A QUICK-WITTED PERFORMER NIAG- ARA FALLS WITH REAL WATER OTHER ATTRACTIONS -DRUMMOND LIGHTS. With great hopes for the success of his project, Barnum entered upon the management of the Museum. It was a new epoch in his career, he felt that the opportunity of his life had presented itself in the show business, to be sure, but in a perma- nent, substantial phase of it. He must pay for the establishment within the stipulated time, or forfeit all he had paid on ac- count. A rigid plan of economy was determined upon, his wife agreeing to support the family on $600 a year, or even on four hundred if necessary. Barnum himself made every possible personal re- trenchment. One day, some six months after the purchase had been made, Mr. Olmsted happened into the ticket office, while the proprietor was eating his lunch of cold corned beef and bread. "Is that all you eat for dinner?" asked Mr. Olm- sted. "I have not eaten a warm dinner, except on "5 Il6 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. Sundays, since I bought the Museum," was the reply, " and I don't intend to, until I am out of debt." "That's right," said Mr. Olmsted, heartily, "and you'll pay for the Museum before the year is out." And he was right. The nucleus of this establishment, Scudder's Museum, was formed in 1810. It was begun in Chatham Street, and was afterward transferred to the old City Hall, and from small beginnings, by purchases, and to a considerable degree by pres- ents, it had grown to be a large and valuable collec- tion. People in all parts of the country had sent in relics and rare curiosities. Sea captains for years had brought and deposited strange things from for- eign lands ; and besides all these gifts, the previous proprietor had actually expended, as was stated, $50,000 in making the collection, which valuable as it was when Barnum bought it, was only the begin- ning of its subsequent greatness. In 1842 the en- tire contents of Peale's Museum was purchased, and in 1850 the Peale collection of Philadelphia was added. In 1865 the space occupied for museum purposes was more than twice as large as in 1842. The Lecture Room, originally narrow, ill-contrived, and inconvenient, was so enlarged and improved that it became one of the most commodious and beautiful amusement halls in the city of New York. At first the attractions and inducements were merely the collection of curiosities by day, and an evening entertainment, consisting of such variety THE LECTURE R O OM. 1 1 7 performances as were current in ordinary shows. Then Saturday afternoons and, soon afterward, Wednesday afternoons, were devoted to entertain- ments, and the popularity of the Museum grew so rapidly that it was presently found expedient and profitable to open the great Lecture Room every afternoon, as well as every evening, on every week- day in the year. The first experiments in this di- rection more than justified expectations, for the day exhibitions were always more thronged than those of the evening. Holidays, of course, were made the most of, and there is a record of twelve performances, to as many audiences, being given in one day. By degrees the character of the stage perfor- mances were changed. The transient attractions of the Museum were constantly diversified, and educated dogs, industrious fleas, automatons, jug- glers, ventriloquists, living statuary, tableaux, gypsies, Albinoes, fat boys, giants, dwarfs, rope- dancers, live " Yankees," pantomime, instrumental music, singing and dancing in great variety, dio- ramas, panoramas, models of Niagara, Dublin, Paris, and Jerusalem ; Hannington's dioramas of the Creation, the Deluge, Fairy Grotto, Storm at Sea; the first English Punch and Judy in this country, Italian Fantoccini, mechanical figures, fancy glass-blowing, knitting machines, and other triumphs in the mechanical arts ; dissolving views, American Indians, who enacted their warlike and religious Il8 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. ceremonies on the stage these, among others, were all exceedingly successful. No man ever understood the art of advertising better than Barnum. Knowing that mammon is ever caught with glare, he took pains that his posters should be larger, his transparencies more brilliant, his puffing more persistent than anybody elses. And if he resorted to hyperbole at times in his advertisements, it was always his boast that no one ever went away from his Museum, without having received the worth of his money. It used to amuse Mr. Barnum later in life, to relate some ot the unique advertising dodges which his inventive genius devised. Here is a fair sample, as he once told it : " One morning a stout, hearty-looking man came into my ticket-office and begged some money. I asked him why he did not work and earn his living ? He replied that he could get nothing to do, and that he would be glad of any job at a dollar a day. I handed him a quarter of a dollar, told him to go and get his breakfast and return, and I would employ him, at light labor, at a dollar and a half a day. When he returned I gave him five common bricks. <( c Now/ said I, * go and lay a brick on the side- walk, at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street ; another close by the Museum ; a third diagonally across the way, at the corner of Broadway and Vesey Street, by the Astor House ; put down the fourth on the sidewalk, in front of St. Paul's Church THA T BRICK DODGE. 119 opposite ; then, with the fifth brick in hand, take up a rapid march from one point to the other, making the circuit, exchanging your brick at every point, and say nothing to any one.' "'What is the object of this ?' inquired the man. " ' No matter,' I replied : ' all you need to know is that it brings you fifteen cents wages per hour. It is a bit of my fun, and to assist me properly you must seem to be as deaf as a post ; wear a serious countenance ; answer no questions ; pay no attention to any one ; but attend faithfully to the work, and at the end of every hour, by St. Paul's clock, show this ticket at the Museum door ; enter, walking solemnly through every hall in the building ; pass out, and re- sume your work.' ' With the remark that " it was all one to him, so long as he could earn his living,'' the man placed his bricks, and began his round. Half an hour afterward, at least five hundred people were watch- ing his mysterious movements. He had assumed a military step and bearing, and, looking as sober as a judge, he made no response whatever to the con- stant inquiries as to the object of his singular con- duct. At the end of the first hour, the sidewalks in the vicinity were packed with people, all anxious to solve the mystery. The man, as directed, then went into the Museum, devoting fifteen minutes to a solemn survey of the halls, and afterward returning to his round. This was repeated every hour until sundown, and whenever the man went into the 1 20 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. Museum a dozen or more persons would buy tickets and follow him, hoping to gratify their curiosity in regard to the purpose of his movements. This was continued for several days the curious people who followed the man into the Museum considerably more than paying his wages till finally the police- man, to whom Barnum had imparted his object, com- plained that the obstruction of the sidewalk by crowds, had become so serious that he must call in his "brick man." This trivial incident excited con- siderable talk and amusement; it advertised Barnum ; and it materially advanced his purpose of making a lively corner near the Museum. Barnum realized above all that to have people pleased with his attractions was the best advertise- ment he could possibly have, and he tried honestly to keep the Museum supplied with every novelty. A curiosity which possessed some merit, and con- siderable absurdity was the celebrated model of Niagara, " with real water." One day the enterprising proprietor was called before the Board of Water Commissioners, and informed that he must pay a large extra compen- sation for the immense amount of water that supplied his Niagara. To the astonishment of the Board Mr. Barnum gave his assurance that a single barrel of water per month served to run the machine. Apropos of this wonderful model, Barnum used to tell how he got even with his friend, Louis Gaylord Clark, editor of the Knickerbocker, an inveterate TWO JOKERS. 121 joker, and who was fond of guying the Museum. The first time Clark viewed " Niagara " he assumed great admiration. " Well, Barnum, I declare, this is quite an idea ; I never saw the like of this before in all my life." "No?" inquired Itejrnum, quite pleased. "No," said Clark, fervently, "and I hope to the Lord, I never will." Barnum might have forgiven this, but Clark's next joke was too much to bear. He came in one day and asked Barnum if he had the club with which Captain Cook was killed. The Museum boasted a large collection of Indian curiosities, and Barnum showed one warlike weapon which he assured Clark was the identical club and he had all the documents to prove it. "Poor Cook! Poor Cook!" said Clark, musingly. " Well, Mr. Barnum/' he continued, with great grav- ity, at the same time extending his hand, " I am really very much obliged to you for your kindness. I had an irrepressible desire to see the club that killexi Captain Cook, and I felt quite confident you could accommodate me. I have been in half a dozen smaller museums, and as they all had it, I was sure a large establishment like yours would not be without it." But Barnum's turn came. A few weeks after- ward, he wrote to Clark that if he would come to his office he was anxious to consult him on a matter of great importance. He came, and Barnum said : 122 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " Now, I don't want any of your nonsense, but I want your sober advice." Clark assured him that he would serve him in any way in his power, and Barnum proceeded to tell him about a wonderful fish from the Nile, offered for ex- hibition at $100 a week, the owner of which was willing to forfeit $5,000, if, within six weeks, this fish did not pass through a transformation in which the tail would disappear and the fish would then have legs. " Is it possible !" asked the astonished Clark. Barnum assured him that there was no doubt of it. Thereupon Clark advised Barnum to engage the wonder at any price ; that it would startle the naturalists, wake up the whole scientific world, draw in the masses, and make $20,000 for the Museum. Barnum told him that he thought well of the specu- lation, only he did not like the name of the fish. 11 That makes no difference whatever," said Clark; " what is the name of the fish ?" "Tadpole," Barnum replied, with becoming gravity, " but it is vulgarly called * pollywog.' ' " Sold, by thunder !" exclaimed Clark, and he left. Another story is illustrative of some of the trials incident to theatrical management. An actor named La Rue presented himself as an imitator of celebrated histrionic personages, includ- ing Macready, Forrest, Kemble, the elder Booth, Kean, Hamblin, and others. Taking him into the AA IMITA TION OF BOOTH. 123 green-room for a private rehearsal, and finding his. imitations excellent, Barnum engaged him. For three nights he gave great satisfaction, but early in the fourth evening he staggered into the Museum so drunk that he could hardly stand, and in half an hour he must be on the stage ! Barnum called an assistant, and they took La Rue and marched him up Broadway as far as Chambers Street, and back to the lower end of the Park, hoping to sober him. At this point they put his head under a pump and gave him a good ducking, with visible beneficial effect, then a walk around the Park and another ducking, when he assured them that he should be able to give his imitations " to a charm." " You drunken brute/' said Barnum, " if you fail, and disappoint my audience, I will throw you out of the window." He declared that he was u all right," and Barnum led him behind the scenes, where he waited with considerable trepidation to watch his movements on the stage. La Rue began by saying : " Ladies and gentlemen : I will now give you an imitation of Mr. Booth, the eminent tragedian." His tongue was thick, his language somewhat in- coherent, and Barnum had great misgivings as he proceeded ; but as no token of disapprobation came from the audience, he began to hope he would go through with his parts without exciting suspicion of his condition. But before he had half finished his representation of Booth, in the soliloquy in the 124 LIFE OF p - 7 - BARNUM. opening act of Richard III, the house discovered that he was very drunk, and began to hiss. This only seemed to stimulate him to make an effort to appear sober, which, as is usual in such cases, only made matters worse, and the hissing increased. Barnum lost all patience, and, going on the stage and taking the drunken fellow by the collar, apolo- gized to the audience, assuring them that he should not appear before them again. Barnum was about to march him off, when he stepped to the front, and said: " Ladies and gentlemen : Mr. Booth has often ap- peared on the stage in a state of inebriety, and I was simply giving you a truthful representation of him on such occasions. I beg to be permitted to proceed with my imitations." The audience at once supposed it was all right, and cried out, " go on, go on " ; which he did, and at every imitation of Booth, whether as Richard, Shy- lock, or Sir Giles Overreach, he received a hearty round of applause. Barnum was quite delighted with his success ; but when he came to imitate For- rest and Hamblin, necessarily representing them as drunk also, the audience could be no longer de- luded ; the hissing was almost deafening, and Bar- num was forced to lead the actor off. It was his last appearance on that stage. Barnum always denied that the "Feejee Mer- maid," which attained such lasting notoriety, was an invention of his own. It was first exhibited in Lon- THE DECORATIVE ART. 125 don in 1822, where it was purchased by Mr. Moses Kimball, of the Boston Museum, who sold it to Barnum. The creature was really most ingeniously constructed, probably by some Japanese. It drew like magic, and afterward served as a good adver- tisement, sent throughout the .country for exhibition, the posters reading, " From Barnum's Great Ameri- can Museum, New York." Barnum believed in making his place of exhibi- tion as attractive as possible, and the building was decorated with flags and banners, the posters were of the most sensational character, and the first "Drummond Lights" ever seen in New York were placed on top of the Museum, flooding the streets around with brilliance. CHAPTER IX. INCREASED POPULARITY OF THE MUSEUM. THE AMERICAN FLAG AND ST. PAUL'S ST. PATRICK'S DAY THE BABY SHOW GRAND BUFFALO HUNT N. P. WILLIS THE FIRST WILD- WEST SHOW. The fame of the American Museum rose higher and higher. It is doubtful if any place of enter- tainment ever attracted such enthusiastic crowds. It was the first place visited by strangers in the city. The small Lecture Room had been converted into a large and beautiful theatre, and in it many afterward celebrated actors and actresses made their first appearance ; Sothern, Barney Williams, and the charming Mary Garmon. On holidays there were lecture performances every hour. The actors kept on their stage clothes from eleven o'clock in the morning until ten at night, their meals were served in the green-room, and the company received extra pay. The 4th of July, 1842, was a great day in the his- tory of the Museum. Barnum had planned a mag- nificent display of American flags, as one of the outside attractions, and applied to the vestrymen of 126 TOM THUMB'S MARRIAGE TO MINNIE WARREN. " OUR FLAG WAS STILL THERE" \2g St. Paul's Church, opposite the Museum, for per- mission to attach his flag-rope to a tree in the church-yard. Their reply was an indignant refusal. Returning to the Museum, Barnum directed that his original order concerning the disposition of the flags be carried out to the letter. The morning dawned, and the crowds on Broad- way were admiring the display, when two represen- tatives of the baffled vestry rushed into the office and demanded that the ropes be taken down. " The Church of St. Paul's, where Washington worshiped, attached to a Museum ! Sacrilege 1" Barnum assumed a conciliatory tone, reminding them that he always stopped his band playing dur- ing their week-day services, and suggesting the fairness of the obligation being made mutual. " If those flags are not down in ten minutes/* cried one of the vestrymen, "I will cut them down." Then Barnum sprang to his feet and exclaimed loudly enough for the crowd to hear : " Well, Mister, I should just like to see you dare to cut down the American flag on the Fourth of July ; you must be a * Britisher ' to make such a threat as that ; but I'll show you a thousand pairs of Yankee hands in two minutes, if you dare to attempt to take down the Stars and Stripes on this great birthday of American freedom !" "What's that John Bull a-saying ?'' asked a brawny fellow, placing himself in front of the irate I3O LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. vestryman. "Look here, old fellow," he continued, " if you want to save a whole bone in your body, you had better slope, and never dare to talk again about hauling down the American flag in the city of New York." Throngs of excited, exasperated men crowded around, and the vestryman, seeing the effect of the ruse, smiled faintly and said, " Oh, of course it is all right," and he and his companion quietly edged out of the crowd. By one o'clock that day, the Museum was so densely packed that no more visitors could be ad- mitted, and the proprietor saw with despair the crowds being turned away from the door. Rushing down-stairs, he directed the carpenter to cut down the partition and floor in the rear and to put in a temporary flight of stairs. The egress was ready by three o'clock, and people poured out into Ann Street, while the crowd from Broadway poured in. After that, the egress was always ready on holidays. One of Barnum's most amusing reminiscences re- lated to this egress. "Early in the following March I received notice from some of the Irish population that they meant to visit me in great numbers on 'St. Patrick's day in the morning/ * All right,' said I to my carpenter, 'get your egress ready for March I7th;' and I added, to my assistant manager : ' If there is much of a crowd, don't let a single person pass out at the front, even if it were St. Patrick himself; put every A NEW SPECIES OF ANIMAL. 131 man out through the egress in the rear.' The day came, and before noon we were caught in the same dilemma as we were on the Fourth of July ; the Museum was jammed, and the sale of tickets was stopped. I went to the egress and asked the senti- nel how many hundreds had passed out ? "' Hundreds/ he replied, ' why only three persons have gone out by this way, and they came back, say- ing that it was a mistake and begging to be let in again/ "'What does this mean?' I inquired; 'surely thousands of people have been all over the Museum since they came in/ " ' Certainly,' was the reply ; ' but after they have gone from one saloon to another, and have been on every floor, even to the roof, they come down and travel the same route over again/ "At this time I espied a tall Irish woman with two good-sized children whom I had happened to notice when they came in early in the morning. "'Step this way, madam/ said I, politely; 'you will never be able to get into the street by the front door without crushing these dear children. We have opened a large egress here, and you can thus pass by these rear stairs into Ann Street, and thus avoid all danger/ "'Sure/ replied the woman, indignantly, 'an' I'm not going out at all, at all, nor the children aither, for we've brought our dinners and we are going to stay all day/ 132 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " Further investigation showed that pretty much all of the visitors had brought their dinners with the evident intention of literally ' making a day of it.' No one expected to go home till night ; the build- ing was overcrowded, and hundreds were waiting at the front entrance to get in when they could. In despair, I sauntered upon the stage behind the scenes, biting my lips with vexation, when I hap- pened to see the scene-painter at work, and a happy thought struck me. 'Here/ I exclaimed, 'take a piece of canvas four feet square and paint on it, as soon as you can, in large letters, J&&-TO THE EGRESS.' "Seizing his brush, he finished the sign in fifteen minutes, and I directed the carpenter to nail it over the door leading to the back stairs. He did so, and as the crowd, after making the entire tour of the es- tablishment, came pouring down the main stairs from the third-story, they stopped and looked at the new sign, while some of them read audibly : ' To the Aigress.' " 'The Aigress/ said others, ' sure that's an ani- mal we haven't seen,' and the throng began to pour down the back-stairs only to find that the ' Aigress ' was the elephant, and that the elephant was all out o' doors, or so much of it as began with Ann Street. Meanwhile, I began to accommodate those who had long been waiting with their money at the Broad- way entrance." THE BAB Y SHO WS. 1 33 Barnum had planned to expend the entire profits of the first year in advertising, but so fast did the money pour in, that he was often embarrassed to devise means to get rid of it, according to his first idea. One of the most expensive advertisements consisted of a large number of oil paintings of every animal in zoology. These paintings were prepared secretly, and were put between the win- dows of the building at night. The town was par- alyzed with astonishment, and the daily receipts took an upward jump of nearly a hundred dollars. Flower shows, dog shows, poultry and bird shows, with prizes to the best specimens, had long been features of the Museum, and at last Barnum rashly decided on a baby show. There was a prize of one hundred dollars attached, and a committee of ladies were appointed to decide on the best baby. The unsuspecting Barnum stepped into the circle and announced the prize winner, but to his astonish- ment the verdict did not suit anybody but the mother of one baby. The other ninety-nine indig- nant mothers "jumped on " to Mr. Barnum and the committee, and denounced the whole proceeding as impartial and unjust. Barnum offered to let them se- lect a new committee, and even agreed to give another hundred dollar prize, but the storm raged with una- bating fury. There were baby shows after that, but the verdict was delivered in writing, and Mr. Bar- num never gave the prize in person. In June, 1843, a herd of yearling buffaloes was 9 134 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. on exhibition in Boston. Barnum bought the lot, brought them to New Jersey, hired the race-course at Hoboken, chartered the ferry-boats for one day, and advertised that a hunter had arrived with a herd of buffaloes, and that August 3ist there would be a " Grand Buffalo Hunt " on the Hoboken race- course all persons to be admitted free of charge. The appointed day was warm and delightful, and no less than twenty-four thousand people crossed the North River in the ferry-boats to enjoy the cooling breeze and to see the "Grand Buffalo Hunt." The hunter was dressed as an Indian, and mounted on horseback ; he proceeded to show how the wild buffalo is captured with a losso, but unfortunately the yearlings would not run till the crowd gave a great shout, expressive at once of derision and de- light at the harmless humbug. This shout started the young animals into a weak gallop and the lasso was duly thrown over the head of the largest calf. The crowd roared with laughter, listened to the balcony band, which was also furnished " free," and then started for New York, little dreaming who was the author of this sensation, or what was its object. Mr. N. P. Willis, then editor of the Home Jour- nal, wrote an article illustrating the perfect good nature with which the American public submit to a clever humbug. He said that he went to Hoboken to witness the buffalo hunt. It was nearly four o'clock when the boat left the foot of Barclay Street, and it was so densely crowded that many persons THE FIRST WILD- WEST SHO W. 135 were obliged to stand on the railings and hold on to the awning-posts. When they reached the Hobo- ken side a boat equally crowded was coming out of the slip. The passengers just arriving cried out to those who were coming away, " Is the buffalo hunt over?" To which came the. reply, " Yes, and it was the biggest humbug you ever heard of!" Willis added that passengers on the boat with him instantly gave three cheers for the author of the humbug, whoever he might be. After the public had enjoyed their laugh over the Buffalo hunt, Barnum let it become known that he was the author of the joke. Of course, their cry of " charlatan," " humbug," and " swindler " was louder than ever from that time, but Barnum never objected to being called names. The more adver- tising the better. About this time Barnum engaged a band of In- dians from Iowa. The party comprised large and noble specimens of the untutored savage, as well as several very beautiful squaws, with two or three interesting " papooses." They lived and lodged in a large room on the top floor of* the Museum, and cpoked their own victuals in their own way. They gave their war-dances on the stage in the Lecture Room with great vigor and enthusiasm, much to the satis- faction of the audiences. But these wild Indians seemed to consider their dances as realities. Hence, when they gave a real war-dance, it was dangerous 136 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. for any parties, except their manager and interpreter to be on the stage, for the moment they had finished their war-dance, they began to leap and peer about behind the scenes in search of victims for their tomahawks and scalping knives ! Indeed, lest in these frenzied moments they might make a dash at the orchestra or the audience, Barnum had a high rope barrier placed between them and the savages on the front of the stage. Barnum counted one incident in connection with his Indian show as notable, being one of the few oc- casions when he played the losing card. " After they had been a week in the Museum," he said, " I proposed a change of performance for the week following by introducing new dances. Among these was the Indian wedding dance. At that time I printed but one set of posters (large bills) per week, so that whatever was announced for Monday was repeated every day and evening dur- ing that week. Before the wedding dance came off on Monday afternoon, I was informed that I was to provide a large, new, red woolen blanket, at a cost of ten dollars, for the bridegroom to present to the father of the bride. I ordered the purchase to be made, but was considerably taken aback when I was informed that I must have another new blanket for the evening, inasmuch as the savage old Indian chief, father-in-law to the bridegroom, would not consent to his daughter's being approached v/ith the wedding dance unless he had his blanket present WEDDING GIFTS. 137 " I undertook to explain to "'ie chief, through the interpreter, that this was only a make believe ' wed- ding ; but the old savage shrugged his shoulders, and gave such a terrific ' Ugh !' that I was glad to make my peace by ordering another blanket. As we gave two performances per day, I was out of pocket $120 for twelve 'wedding blankets' that week." One of the beautiful squaws named Do-humme died in the Museum. She had been a great favorite with many ladies. Do-humm,e was buried on the border of Sylvan Water, at Greenwood Cemetery, where a small monument erected by her friends, designates her last resting-place. The poor Indians were very sorrowful for many days, and desired to get back again to their Western wilds. The father and the betrothed of Do-humme cooked various dishes of food and placed them upon the roof of the Museum, where they believed the spirit of their departed friend came daily for its supply ; and these dishes were renewed every morning during the stay of the Indians at the Museum. CHAPTER X. GIANTS AND DWARFS. SCIENCE FOR THE PUBLIC MESMERISM EXTRAORDINARY KILLING OFF A RIVAL THE Two GIANTS DISCOVERY OF " TOM THUMB" SEEKING OTHER WORLDS TO CONQUER FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. Barnum would never submit to being outdone by a rival. In "poker" parlance , he would " see him and go one better." His chief competitor now was Peale, who was running Peale's Museum, and proudly proclaiming it to be a more scientific insti- tution than Barnurrrs. Thus, he said, he was cater- ing to a higher class of patrons. "Science, indeed!" said Barnum. "I'll give him science to his heart's content!" Mesmerism was then a great novelty, and Peale was given exhibitions of it. He had one subject on whom he operated daily, with most surprising results ; though at times she was unimpressionable, and the people who had paid to come in and see her performances complained loudly that they were being swindled. Barnum saw here a great oppor- tunity to squelch a rival and increase his own fame at a single stroke. He engaged a bright little girl who was exceedingly susceptible to such mesmeric influences as he could induce. That is, she learned 138 MESMERISM EXTRA ORDINAR Y. her lesson thoroughly, and when he had apparently put her to sleep with a few passes and stood behind her, she seemed to be duly " impressed," as he de- sired ; raised her hands as he willed, fell from her chair to the floor ; and if he put candy or tobacco into his own mouth, she was duly delighted or dis- gusted. She never failed in these routine perform- ances. Strange to say, believers in mesmerism used to witness her performances with the greatest pleasure, and adduce them as positive proofs that there jvas something in mesmerism, and they ap- plauded tremendously up to a certain point. That point was reached when, leaving the girl "asleep," Barnum called up some one in the audi- ence, promising to put him " in the same state " within five minutes, or forfeit fifty dollars. Of course, all his " passes " would not put a man in the mesmeric state ; at the end of three minutes he was as wide awake as ever. "Never mind," Barnum would say, "looking at his watch ; " I have two minutes more, and mean- time, to show that a person in this state is utterly insensible to pain, I propose to cut off one of the fingers of the little girl who is still asleep." He would then take out a knife and feel of the edge, and when he turned around to the girl whom he left on the chair, she had fled behind the scenes, to the intense amusement of the greater part of the audience, and to the amazement of the mesmerists who were present. I4 O LlFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " Why ! where's my little girl ?" he asked, with feigned astonishment. " Oh ! she ran away when you began to talk about cutting off fingers." " Then she was wide awake, was she ?" " Of course she was, all the time." " I suppose so ; and, my dear sir, I promised that you should be * in the same state ' at the end of five minutes, and as I believe you are so, I do not forfeit fifty dollars." Barnum kept up this performance for several weeks, till he quite killed Peale's " genuine " mes- merism in the rival establishment. At the end of six months he bought Peale's Museum, and the whole, including the splendid gallery of American portraits, was removed to the American Museum, and he immediately advertised the great card of a <% Double Attraction," and " Two Museums in One," without extra charge. Barnum was now devoting all his attention and energy to this enterprise, and was achieving great success. He made everything contribute to its popularity. When a politician asked him for what candidate he was going to vote, he would answer, " For the American Museum ;" and this was an index of his whole demeanor. Among the genuine and literally " great " features of his show were several giants. They often gave both the showman and his patrons food for much amusement as well as wonder. The Quaker giant, A FRUSTRATED DUEL. ! 4 I Hales, was quite a wag in his way. He went once to see the new house of an acquaintance who had suddenly become rich, but who was a very ignorant man. When he came back he described the won- ders of the mansion, and said that the proud pro- prietor showed him everything from basement to attic; parlors, bed-rooms, dining-room, and, said Hales, " what he calls his ' study ' meaning, I sup- pose, the place where he intends to study his spell- ing-book !" He had at one time two famous men, the French giant, M. Bihin, a very slim man, and the Arabian giant, Colonel Goshen. These men generally got on together very well, though, of course, each was jealous of the other, and of the attention the rival received, or the notice he attracted. One day they quarreled, and a lively interchange of compliments ensued, the Arabian calling the Frenchman a "Shanghai," and receiving in return the epithet of " Nigger." From words both were eager to proceed to blows, and both ran to the collection of arms, one seizing the club with which Captain Cook, or any other man, might have been killed, if it were judi- ciously wielded, and the other laying hands on a sword of the terrific size which is supposed to have been conventional in the days of the Crusades. The preparations for a deadly encounter, and the high words of the contending parties, brought a dozen of the Museum attaches to the spot, and these men threw themselves between the gigantic combat- I4 2 L1$E OF P. T. BARNUM. ants. Hearing the disturbance, Barnum ran from his private office to the dueling ground, and said : " Look here ! This is all right ; if you want to fight each other, maiming and perhaps killing one or both of you, that is your affair ; but my interest lies here : you are both under engagement to me, and if this duel is to come off, I and the public have a right to participate. It must be duly advertised, and must take place on the stage of the Lecture Room. No performance of yours would be a greater attrac- tion, and if you kill each other, our engagement can end with your duel/' This proposition, made in apparent earnest, so delighted the giants that they at once burst into a laugh, shook hands, and quarreled no more. From giants to dwarfs. None of Barnum's at- tractions has been more famous than "Tom Thumb." The story of his discovery and en- gagement is dated in November, 1842. Barnum was then at Bridgeport, Conn. One day he heard that there belonged in one of the families of the place a phenomenally small child, and he got his brother, Philo F. Barnum, to bring the little fellow to his hotel. " He was," Barnum afterward said, " not two feet high ; he weighed less than six- teen pounds, and was the smallest child I ever saw that could walk alone ; he was a perfectly formed, bright-eyed little fellow, with light hair and ruddy cheeks, and he enjoyed the best of health. He was exceedingly bashful, but after some coaxing, he was A TRIP TO EUROPE. 343 induced to talk with me, and he told me that ne was the son of Sherwood E. Stratton, and that his own name was Charles S. Stratton. After seeing him and talking with him, I at once determined to secure his services from his parents and to exhibit him in public. I engaged him for four weeks, at three dol- lars a week, with all traveling and boarding charges for himself and his mother at my expense. They came to New York Thanksgiving day, December 8th, 1842, and I announced the dwarf on my Museum bills as * General Tom Thumb/ " Barnum took the greatest pains to educate and train the diminutive prodigy, devoting many hours to the task by day and by night, and he was very successful, for the boy was an apt pupil, with a great deal of native talent, and a keen sense of the ludicrous. Barnum afterward re-engaged him for one year, at seven dollars a week with a gratuity of fifty dollars at the end of the engagement, and the privilege of exhibiting him anywhere in the United States, in which event his parents were to accom- pany him and Barnum was to pay all traveling ex- penses. He speedily became a public favorite, and long before the year was out, Barnum voluntarily in- creased his weekly salary to twenty-five dollars, and he fairly earned it. For two years Barnum had been the owner of the Museum. He had enjoyed great prosperity. Long ago he had paid every dollar of the purchase- money out of the profits of the place. All rivals 144 1 IFE OF p ' T - had been driven from the field. He was out of debt, and had a handsome balance in the bank. The experimental stage was passed, and the enter- prise was an established success. It was, indeed, in such perfect order that Barnum felt safe in leav- ing it to his lieutenants, while he went forth to seek new realms of conquest. Accordingly he made an agreement for General Tom Thumb's services for another year, at fifty dollars a week and all expenses, with the privilege of exhibiting him in Europe. He proposed to test the curiosity of men and women on the other side of the Atlantic. After arranging his business affairs for a long absence, and making every preparation for an ex- tended foreign tour, on Thursday, January i8th, 1844, he went on board the new and fine sailing ship " Yorkshire," Captain D. G. Bailey, bound for Liverpool. The party included General Tom Thumb, his parents, his tutor, and Professor Guillaudeu, a French naturalist. They were accompanied by several personal friends, and the City Brass Band kindly volunteered to escort them to Sandy Hook. They were met at Liverpool by a large crowd of sight-seers, who had been attracted thither by the fame of " Tom Thumb." The curiosity of the popu- lace was not gratified, however, for Barnum had the child smuggled ashore unseen, under his mother's shawl. " My letters of introduction/' said the showman, "speedily brought me into friendly relations with MR. AND MRS. CHARLES STRATTON. (Gen. Tom Thumb and Minnie Warren.) ENTERTAINING THE ENGLISH. 147 many excellent families, and I was induced to hire a hall and present the General to the public, for a short season in Liverpool. I had intended to pro- ceed directly to London, and begin operations at 'headquarters/ that is, in Buckingham Palace, if possible ; but I had been advised that the royal family was in mourning for the death of Prince Albert's father, and would not permit the approach of any entertainments. Meanwhile, confidential letters from London informed me that Mr. Maddox, Manager of Princess's Theatre, was coming down to witness my exhibition, with a view to making an engagement. He came privately, but I was fully informed as to his presence and object. A friend pointed him out to me in the hall, and when I stepped up to him, and called him by name, he was 'taken all aback,' and avowed his purpose in visit- ing Liverpool. An interview resulted in an engage- ment of the General for three nights at Princess's Theatre. I was unwilling to contract for a longer period, and even this short engagement, though on liberal terms, was acceded to only as a means of advertisement. So soon, therefore, as I could bring my short, but highly successful, season in Liverpool to a close, we went to London." 9 CHAPTER XI. TOM THUMB IN LONDON. AN ARISTOCRATIC VISITOR CALLING AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND HOB- NOBBING WITH ROYALTY GETTING A PUFF IN THE " COURT CIRCULAR " THE IRON DUKE A GREAT SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS. The first public appear: nee of Tom Thumb in London occurred soon after the arrival of the party there, at the Princess's Theatre. A short engage- ment only had been made, but it was exceedingly successful. The spectators were delighted, the man- ager overjoyed, and Barnum himself pleased beyond measure. This brief engagement answered his purpose, in arousing public interest and curiosity. That was all the shrewd showman wanted for the present. Accordingly, when the manager of the theatre urged a renewal of the engagement, at a much higher price, Barnum positively declined it. He had secured the desired advertising; now he would exhibit on his own account and in his own way. He therefore took a splendid mansion in Grafton Street, Bond Street, in the fashionable and aristocra- tic West End of London. Lord Talbot had lived in it, and Lord Brougham lived close by. It was an audacious stroke for the Yankee showman to invade 148 GETTING INTO SOCIETY. 149 this select and exclusive region, but it was success- ful . In response to his invitations members of the nobility came eagerly flocking to the house to see the wonderful child. Barnum showed himself as exclu- sive as any of them, for he gave orders to his ser- vants that no callers were to be received who did not present cards of invitation. This procedure he afterward explained, was entirely proper. He had not yet announced himself as a public showman. He was simply an American citizen visiting London, and it was incumbent upon him to maintain the dig- nity of his position ! His servants, of course, exer- cised proper tact, and no offense was given, although many of the nobility and gentry, who drove to his door in carriages adorned with crests and coats of arms, were thus turned away. Among the early callers was the Hon. Edward Everett, the American minister to England. He was much pleased with Mr. Barnum and his tiny ward, and had them dine with him the next day. He also promised that they should, if possible, be re- ceived by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. A few evenings afterward the Baroness Roths- child sent her carriage for them. They were re- ceived by a half a dozen servants, and were ushered up a broad flight of marble stairs to the drawing- room, where they met the Baroness and a party of twenty or more ladies and gentlemen. In this sumpt- uous mansion of the richest banker in the world, they spent about two hours, and when they took their LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. leave a well-filled purse was quietly slipped into Mr. Barnum's hand. The golden shower had begun to fall. Mr, Barnum now thought the time ripe for begin- ning his public exhibitions. He engaged Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and announced that Tom Thumb was to be seen there. The rush of visitors was tre- mendous. The aristocracy of London thronged the hall night after night, and a phenomenal success was assured. Barnum did not look beyond such work. True, Everett had spoken of an audience with the Queen, but Barnum had no idea that it would ever be granted. One day, however, he met Mr. Murray, Master of the Queen's Household, at Everett's at breakfast, and that gentleman asked him what were his plans for the future. Barnum replied that he ex- pected presently to go to the Continent, but he would most gladly stay in London if he could get the favor of an audience with Her Majesty. Mr. Murray kindly offered his good offices in the case, and the next day one of the Life Guards, a tall, noble-looking fellow, bedecked as became his sta- tion, brought a note, conveying the Queen's invita- tion to General Tom Thumb and his guardian. Mr. Barnum, to appear at Buckingham Palace on an evening specified. Special instructions were the same day orally given by Mr. Murray, by Her Ma- jesty's command, to suffer the General to appear be- fore her, as he would appear anywhere else, without any training in the use of the titles of royalty, as the CALLING ON THE QUEEN. l $ I Queen desired to see him act naturally and without restraint. Determined to make the most of the occasion, Mr. Barnum put a placard on the door of the Egypt- ian Hall : "Closed this evening, General Tom Thumb being at Buckingham Palace by command of Her Majesty." When they arrived at the palace, a Lord-in- Wait- ing met them, and began " coaching " them on points of court etiquette. Mr. Barnum, especially, was told that he must in no event speak directly to Her Ma- jesty, but through the medium of the aforesaid Lord. He must also keep his face constantly turned toward the Queen, and so, in retiring from the royal pres- ence, must walk backward. Having thus been in- structed in the ways of royalty, Mr. Barnum and the diminutive General were led to the presence of the Queen. They passed through a long corridor to a broad flight of marble steps, which led to the picture gal- lery, and there the Queen and Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of Wellington, and others were awaiting their arrival. They were standing at the further end of the room when the doors were thrown open, and the General walked in, looking like a wax doll gifted with the power of locomotion. Surprise and pleasure were depicted on the countenances of the royal circle at beholding this remarkable specimen of humanity so much smaller than they had evidently expected to find him. I $2 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. The General advanced with a firm step, and, as he came within hailing distance, made a very graceful bow, and exclaimed, ft Good evening, ladies and gen- tlemen." A burst of laughter followed this salutation. The Queen then took him by the hand, led him about the gallery, and asked him many questions, the answers to which kept the party in an uninterrupted strain of merriment. The General familiarly informed the Queen that her picture gallery was " first-rate," and told her he should like to see the Prince of Wales. The Queen replied that the Prince had re- tired to rest, but that he should see him on some future occasion. The General then gave his songs, dances, and imitations, and after a conver- sation with Prince Albert, and all present, which continued for more than an hour, they were per- mitted to depart. But before this Mr. Barnum had broken the in- structions in etiquette which had been so carefully impressed upon him by the Lord-in-Waiting. When the Queen began asking him questions, he answered her, as she addressed him, through the lordly medium, as he had been told. That was inconvenient and irksome, however, and presently Barnum ad- dressed his reply directly to her. The Lord-in- Waiting was horror-struck, but the Queen did not appear to be displeased, for she instantly followed her guest's example, and spoke thereafter directly to him. In a few minutes Her Majesty and the BREAKING THE RULES. l $$ Yankee showman were talking together with the greatest ease and freedom. "I felt," said Mr. Barnum afterward, "entirely at ease in her presence, and could not avoid contrast- ing her sensible and amiable manners with the stiff- ness and formality of upstart gentility at home or abroad. " The Queen was modestly attired in plain black, and wore no ornaments. Indeed, surrounded as she was by ladies arrayed in the highest style of magni- ficence, their dresses sparkling with diamonds, she was the last person whom a stranger would have pointed out in that circle as the Queen of Eng- land. " The Lord-in-Waiting was perhaps mollified to- ward me when he saw me following his illustrious example in retiring from the royal presence. He was accustomed to the process, and therefore was able to keep somewhat ahead (or rather aback) of me, but even / stepped rather fast for the other member of the retiring party. We had a consider- able distance to travel in that long gallery before reaching the door, and whenever the General found he was losing ground, he turned around and ran a few steps, then resumed his position of backing out, then turned around and ran, and so con- tinued to alternate his methods of getting to the door, until the gallery fairly rang with the merriment of the royal spectators. It was really one of the richest scenes I ever saw ; running, 154 LIFE OF p > T. BARNUM. under the circumstances, was an offense suf- ficiently heinous to excite the indignation of the Queen's favorite poodle dog, and he vented his dis- pleasure by barking so sharply as to startle the Gen- eral from his propriety. He, however, recovered immediately, and with his little cane, commenced an attack on the poodle, and a funny fight ensued, which renewed and increased the merriment of the royal party. " This was near the door of exit. We had scarcely passed into the ante-room, when one of the Queen's attendants came to us with the expressed hope of her Majesty that the General had sustained no dam- age, to which the Lord-in-Waiting playfully added, that in case of injury to so renowned a personage, he should fear a declaration of war by the United States !" The visitors were then escorted about the Palace) and treated to refreshments. Before leaving Mr. Barnum bethought him of the " Court Circular," in which the doings of the Royal Family were chron- icled to the world. Would his reception by the Queen be mentioned in it? Certainly. Well, then, would it, not be possible to secure some- thing more than mere mention ; some words of special commendation ; a " free advertisement " in fact? He would try it! So he inquired where he could find the gentleman who prepared the cir- cular, and was informed that that functionary was in the Palace at that very moment, ANO THER VISIT TO ROYALTY. ^5 " He was sent for," related Mr. Barnum, "by my solicitation, and promptly acceded to my request for such a notice as would attract attention. He even generously desired me to give him an outline of what I sought, and I was pleased to see afterward, that he had inserted my notice verbatim. " This notice of my visit to the Queen wonder- fully increased the attraction of ' Gen. Tom Thumb,' and compelled me to obtain a more commodious hall for my exhibition. I accordingly moved to a larger room in the same building." On their second visit to the Queen, they were re- ceived in what is called the Yellow Drawing Room, a magnificent apartment. It is on the north side of the gallery, and is entered from that apartment. It was hung with drapery of rich yellow satin damask, the couches, sofas, and chairs being covered with the same material. The vases, urns, and 'ornaments were all of the most exquisite workmanship. The room was panelled in gold, and the heavy cornices beautifully carved and gilt. The tables, pianos, etc., were mounted with gold, inlaid with pearl of various hues, and of the most elegant designs. They were ushered into this gorgeous drawing- room before the Queen and royal circle had left the dining-room, and, as they approached, the General bowed respectfully, and remarked to Her Majesty, " that he had seen her before," adding, " I think this is a prettier room than the picture gallery ; that chandelier is very fine." 156 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. The Queen smilingly took him by the hand, and said she hoped he was very well. " Yes, ma'am," he replied, " I am first-rate." " General," continued the Queen, " this is the Prince of Wales." " How are you, Prince ?" said the General, shak- ing him by the hand, and then standing beside the Prince, he remarked, " the prince is taller than I am, but I feel as big as anybody," upon which he strutted up and down the room as proud as a peacock, amid shouts of laughter from all present. The Queen then introduced the Princess Royal, and the General immediately led her to his elegant little sofa, which he took with him, and with much po- liteness sat down beside her. Then, rising from his seat, he went through his various performances, and the Queen handed him an elegant and costly sou- venir, which had been expressly made for him by her order, for which, he told her, " he was very much obliged, and would keep it as long as he lived." The Queen of the Belgians (daughter of Louis Philippe) was present on this occasion. She asked the Gen- eral where he was going when he left London. "To Paris," he replied. " Whom do you expect to see there ?" she con- tinued. Of course all expected he would answer, "the King of the French," but the little fellow replied. " Monsieur Guillaudeu." The two queens looked inquiringly, and when "ALL THE RAGE." Mr. Barnum informed them that M. Guillaudeu was his French naturalist, they laughed most heartily. ' On their third visit to Buckingham Palace, Leo- pold, King of the Belgians, was also present. He was highly pleased, and asked a multitude of ques- tions. Queen Victoria desired the General to sing a song, and asked him what song he preferred to sing. " Yankee Doodle," was the prompt *eply. This answer was as unexpected to Mr. Barnum as it was to the royal party. When the merriment it occasioned had somewhat subsided, the Queen good-humoredly remarked, " That is a very pretty song, General, sing it, if you please." The General complied, and soon afterward retired. The Queen sent to Barnum a handsome fee for each of his visits, but that was only a small part of the benefits which his acquaintance with her brought to him. Such was the force of Court example that it was now deemed unfashionable, almost disloyal, not to have seen Tom Thumb. Carriages of the nobility, fifty or sixty at a time, were to be seen at Barnum's door in Piccadilly. Egyptian Hall was crowded at every exhibition, and the net profits there were on the average more than $500 per day from March 2oth to July 2Oth. Portraits of the tiny General were for sale everywhere, and were eagerly purchased by thousands. Musical compositions were dedicated to him, and songs were sung in his honor. Week after week he was the subject of Punch's LIFE OF P. T. BA&NUM. wittiest cartoons; and of course all this was just so much free advertising. Besides his three public performances per day, the little General attended three or four private parties per week, for which they were paid eight to ten guineas each. Frequently he would visit two parties in the same evening, and the demand in that line was much greater than the sup- ply. The Queen Dowager Adelaide requested the General's attendance at Marlborough House one afternoon. He went in his court dress, consisting of a richly embroidered brown silk-velvet coat and short breeches, white satin vest with fancy colored em- broidery, white silk stockings and pumps, wig, bagwig, cocked hat, and dress sword. "Why, General," said the Queen Dowager, "I think you look very smart to-day." " I guess I do," said the General, complacently. A large party of the nobility were present. The old Duke of Cambridge offered the little General a pinch of snuff, which he declined. The General sang his songs, performed his dances, and cracked his jokes, to the great amusement and delight of the distinguished circle of visitors. " Dear little General," said the kind-hearted Queen, taking him upon her lap, " I see you have no watch. Will you permit me to present you with a watch and chain ?" " I would like them very much," replied the Gen- eral, his eyes glistening with joy as he spoke. " I will have them made expressly for you," re- , THE IR ON D UKE. sponded the Queen Dowager ; and at the same mo- ment she called a friend and desired him to see that the proper order was executed. A few weeks there- after they were called again to Marlborough House. A number of the children of the nobility were pres- ent, as well as some of their parents. After pass- ing a few compliments with the General, Queen Ade- laide presented him with a beautiful little gold watch, placing the chain around his neck with her own hands. This watch, also, served the purpose of an adver- tisement, and a good one, too. It was not only duly heralded, but was placed upon a pedestal in the hall of exhibition, together with the presents from Queen Victoria, and covered with a glass vase. These presents, to which were soon added an ele- gant gold snuff-box mounted with turquois, pre- sented by his grace the Duke of Devonshire, and many other costly gifts of the nobility and gentry, added to the attraction of the exhibition. The Duke of Wellington called frequently to see the little General at his public levees. The first time he called, the General was personating Napo- leon Bonaparte, marching up and down the platform, and apparently taking snuff in deep meditation. He was dressed in the well-known uniform of the Emperor. Barnum introduced him to the "Iron Duke," who inquired the subject of his meditations. " I was thinking of the loss of the battle of Water- loo," was the little General's immediate reply. This l6o LISE OF P. T. BARNUM. display of wit was chronicled throughout the country, and was of itself worth thousands of pounds to the exhibition. General Tom Thumb had visited the King of Saxony and also Ibrahim Pacha, who was then in London. At the different parties he attended, he met, in the course of the season, nearly all of the nobility. Scarcely a nobleman in England failed to see General Tom Thumb at his own house, at the house of a friend, or at the public levees at Egyptian Hall. The General was a decided pet with some of the first personages in the land, among whom were Sir Robert and Lady Peel, the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham, Duke of Bedford, Duke of Devon- shire, Count d'Orsay, Lady Blessington, Daniel O'Connell, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, Lord Ches- terfield, and many other persons of distinction. They had the free entree to all the theatres, public gardens, and places of entertainment, and frequently met the principal artists, editors, poets, and authors of the country. Albert Smith wrote a play for the General, entitled " Hop o' my Thumb," which was presented with great success at the Lyceum Theatre, London, and in several of the provincial theatres. Thus the London visit and the tour of England were successful beyond all anticipation, and it was with an overflowing purse that Barnum set out with his charge for the French capital. CHAPTER XII. IN FRANCE. ARRIVAL IN PARIS VISIT TO THE TUILERIES LONGCHAMPS "ToM PONCE" ALL THE RAGE BONAPARTE AND LOUIS PHILIPPE TOUR THROUGH FRANCE BARNUM'S PURCHASE. Barnum having returned from a preliminary trip to France, in which all arrangements, even to start- ing the first paragraphs in the Paris papers were made, now went back accompanied by Tom Thumb. They reached Paris some days before the exhibition was opened, but on the day following their arrival, a special command reached them to appear at the Tuileries on the next Sunday evening. At the appointed hour the General and his mana- ger were ushered into the presence of the King, the Queen, the Count de Paris, Prince de Joinville, the Duchess d'Orleans, and a dozen more distinguished persons, among whom was the editor of the Journal des Debats. At the close of the General's performances, which he went through with to the evident delight of all present, the King gave him a large emerald and diamond brooch, at the same time saying to Mr. Barnum : " You may put it on the General, if you please.'' Which command was obeyed, to the 161 !62 ^ OF P. T. BAR NUM. gratification of the King and the immense delight of the General. The King was so condescending and affable that Mr. Barnum at length ventured to ask a favor of him. The Longchamps celebration was close at hand a day once devoted to religious ceremony, but now conspicuous for the display of court and fashionable equipages in the various drives and parks and after the King had conversed with Mr. Barnum on various topics in a familiar manner, the diplomatic showman remarked that he had hastened his arrival in Paris for the express purpose of taking part in the Longchamps celebration. The General's carriage, he explained, with its ponies and little coachman and footman, was so small that it would be in great danger in the crowd unless the King would graciously permit it to appear in the avenue reserved for the court and the diplomatic corps The King smiled, and after a few minutes' con- sultation with one of the officers of his household, said : " Call on the Prefect of Police to-morrow afternoon and you will find a permit ready for you." After a two hours' visit they retired, the General loaded with presents. The next morning all the newspapers chronicled the royal audience, the Journal des Debats giving a full account of the interview and of the General's performances. Thus all Paris knew that Tom Thumb, in all his glory, was in the city. Jh- '^jpi ALL PARIS IN A FUROR. ^5 Longchamps day arrived, and conspicuous among the splendid equipages on the grand avenue, Tom Thumb' s beautiful little carriage, with four ponies and liveried and powdered coachman and footman, rode along in the line of carnages bearing the am- bassadors to the Court of France. The air was fairly rent with cheers for " le General Tom Ponce." The first day's receipts were 5,500 francs over three hundred dollars, and this sum might have been doubled had there been room for more visitors. The elite of Paris flocked to the exhibition. There were afternoon and evening performances, and seats were reserved in advance at an extra price for the entire two months. The papers were full of praises for the perform- ance ; Figaro gave a picture of an immense mastiff running away with the General's horse and carnage in his month. Statuettes and pictures of "Tom Ponce" ap- peared everywhere; a cafe on one of the'boulevards took the name of "Tom Ponce," with a life-size statue of the General for a sign. Eminent painters here, as in London, asked to paint his portrait, but the General's engagements were so pressing that he had little time to sit to artists. All the leading actors and actresses came to see him, and he re- ceived many fine presents from them. The daily receipts continued to increase, and the manager had to take a cab to carry home the silver at night. Twice more was the General summoned to appear 10 !66 "LIFE OF P. T. BAR NUM. before the royal family at the Tuileries, and on the King's birthday a special invitation was sent him to view the display of fireworks in honor of the anni- versary. The last visit to the Court was made at St. Cloud. The papers, in speaking of the General's character- izations, mentioned that there was one costume which Tom Thumb wisely kept at the bottom of his trunk. This was the uniform of Napoleon Bona- parte, and by special request of the King, it was worn at St. Cloud. The affair was quite sub rosa y however, none of the papers mentioning it. At the end of the visit each of the royal company gave the General a magnificent present, overwhelmed him with kisses, wishing him a safe journey through France, and a long and happy life. After making their adieux they retired to another part of the palace to permit the General to change his costume and to partake of a collation which was served them. As they were leaving the palace they passed the sit- ting-room where the royal family were spending the evening. The door was open, and some one spying the General there was a call for him to come in and shake hands once more. They went in, find- ing the Queen and her ladies engaged in embroider- ing, while one young lady read aloud. They all kissed and petted the General many times around before finally permitting him to depart. After leaving Paris they made a most profitable tour, including the cities of Rouen, Orleans, Brest, TOUR THROUGH FRANCE. and Bordeaux, where they were invited to witness a review of 20,000 soldiers by the Dukes de Nemours and d'Aumale. Thence to Toulon, Montpelier, Nismes, Marseilles, and many other less important places. At Nantes, Bordeaux, and Marseilles the General appeared in the theatres in a part written for him in a French play called " Petit Poncet." During their stay in Paris, Barnum made a characteristically profitable investment. A Russian Prince, who had lived in great splendor in Paris, died suddenly, and his household effects were sold at auction. There was a magnificent gold tea-set, a dinner service of silver, and some rare specimens of Sevres china, the value of which were impaired by the Prince's initials being on them. The initials were " P. T.," and Mr. Barnum bought them, and adding " B." to the other letters, had a very fine table service appropriately marked. CHAPTER XIII. IN BELGIUM. PRESENTED TO KING LEOPOLD AND THE QUEEN THE GENERAL'S JEWELS STOLEN THE FIELD OF WATERLOO AN ACCIDENT AN EXPENSIVE EQUIPAGE " THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY." The day after the arrival of the party in Brussels they were summoned to the palace. The king and queen had seen the General in London, but they wished their children and the distinguished people of the court to have the same pleasure. After a delightful visit they came away, the Gen- eral, as usual, laden with gifts. The following day the exhibition opened, and from the first was crowded by throngs of the best people in the city. One day, in the midst of the exhibition, it was discovered that the case containing all the valuable presents Tom Thumb had received from royalty, etc., was missing. The alarm was instantly given, and the police no- tified. A reward was offered of 2,000 francs, and, after a day or two, the thief was captured and the jewels returned. After that the' case of presents was more carefully guarded. Everyone who goes to Brussels is supposed to 168 HOW RELICS ARE MANUFACTURED. 169 visit the field of Waterloo ; so, before they left, the entire party Tom Thumb, Barnum, Prof. Pinte (tutor), and Mr. Stratton (father of the General), and Mr. H. G. Sherman, went together. After visiting the church in the village of Waterloo and viewing the memorial tablets there, they passed to the house where Lord Uxbridge Marquis of Anglesey had had his leg amputated. There is a little monument in the garden over the shattered limb, and a part of the boot that covered it was seen in the house. Barnum procured a three-inch bit of the boot for his Museum, at the same time remarking, that if the lady in charge was as liberal to all vis- itors, that boot had held out wonderfully since 1815. On approaching the ground they were beset by a dozen or more guides, each one professing to know the exact spot where every man had stood, and each claiming to have himself taken part in the struggle, although most of them were less than twenty-five, and the battle had been fought some thirty years before. They finally accepted one old man, who at first declared that he had been killed in the front ranks, but afterward acknowledged that he had only been wounded and left on the field for dead three days. After having the location of Napoleon's Guard, the Duke of Wellington, the portion of the field where Blucher entered with the Prussian army, pointed out to them, and the spots where fell Sir Alexander Gordon and other celebrities, they asked OF P, T. BARNUM. the guide if he knew where Captain Tippitiwichet, of Connecticut, was killed ? " Oh, oui, Monsieur," replied the guide confidently. After pointing out the precise spots where fictitious friends from Coney Island, New Jersey, Cape Cod and Saratoga had re- ceived their death-wounds, they paid the old humbug, and dismissed him. Upon leaving the field they were met by another crowd of peasants with relics of the battle for sale. Barnum bought a large number of pistols, bullets, brass French eagles, buttons, etc., for the Museum, and the others were equally liberal in their pur- chases. They bought also maps, guide-books and pictures, until Mr. Stratton expressed his belief that the " darned old battle of Waterloo " had cost more since it was fought than it ever did before. Some months afterwards, while they were in Bir- mingham, they made the acquaintance of a firm who manufactured and sent to Waterloo barrels of these " relics " every year. Four or five miles on the road home they had the misfortune to break the axle-tree of the carnage. It was past one o'clock, and the exhibition was ad- vertised to commence in Brussels at two. Of course, they could not expect to walk the distance in less than three hours, and Barnum was disposed to give up the afternoon performance altogether. But Mr. Stratton could not bear the idea of losing six or eight hundred francs, so, accompanied by the inter- preter, Prof. Pinte, he rushed down the road to a A BREAK-DOWN. 171 farm-house, followed leisurely by the rest of the party. Mr. Stratton asked the old farmer if he had a carnage. He had not. "Have you no vehicle ?" he inquired. "Yes, I have that vehicle," he replied, pointing to an old cart filled with manure, and standing in his barnyard. "Thunder! is that all the conveyance you have got?" asked Stratton. Being assured that it was, Stratton concluded that it was better to ride in a manure-cart than not to get to Brussels in time. " What will you ask to drive us to Brussels in three-quarters of an hour?" demanded Stratton. " It is impossible," replied the farmer ; " I should want two hours for my horse to do it in." " But ours is a very pressing case, and if we are not there in time we lose more than five hundred francs," said Stratton. The old farmer pricked up his ears at this, and agreed to get them to Brussels in an hour for eighty francs. Stratton tried to beat him down, but it was of no use. " Oh, go it, Stratton," said Sherman ; " eighty francs you know is only sixteen dollars, and you will probably save a hundred by it, for I expect a full house at our afternoon exhibition to-day." "But I have already spent about ten dollars for nonsense," said Stratton, "and we shall have to pay for the broken carriage besides." OF P. T. BARNUM. " But what can you do better?" chimed in Pro- fessor Pinte. " It is an outrageous extortion to charge sixteen dollars for an old horse and cart to go ten miles. Why, in old Bridgeport, I could get it done for three dollars," replied Stratton, in a tone of vexation. " It is the custom of the country," said Professor Pinte, " and we must submit to it." "Well, it's a thundering mean custom, anyhow," said Stratton, " and I won't stand such imposition." " But what shall we do ? " earnestly inquired Mr. Pinte. " It may be a high price, but it is better to pay that than to lose our afternoon performance and five or six hundred francs." This appeal to the pocket touched Stratton's feelings ; so, submitting to the extortion, he replied to our interpreter, " Well, tell the old robber to dump his dung-cart as soon as possible, or we shall lose half an hour in starting." The cart was " dumped " and a large, lazy-looking Flemish horse was attached to it with a rope harness. Some boards were laid across the cart for seats, the party tumbled into the rustic vehicle, a red-haired boy, son of the old farmer, mounted the horse, and Stratton gave orders to " get along." " Wait a moment," said the farmer, " you have not paid me yet." "I'll pay your boy when we get to Brussels, provided he gets there within the hour," replied Stratton. " Oh, he is sure to get there in an hour," said the A BREAK-DOWN. 173 farmer, "but I can't let him go unless you pay in advance." The minutes were flying rapidly, the anticipated loss of the day exhibition of General Tom Thumb flitted before his eyes, and Stratton, in very desperation, thrust his hand into his pocket and drew forth sixteen five-franc pieces, which he dropped, one at a time, into the hand of the farmer, and then called out to the boy, " There now, do try to see if you can go ahead/' The boy did go ahead, but it was with such a snail's pace that it would have puzzled a man of tolerable eyesight to have determined whether the horse was moving or standing still. To make it still more interesting, it commenced raining furiously. As they had left Brussels in a coach, and the morn- ing had promised a pleasant day, they had omitted umbrellas. They were soon soaked to the skin, but they "grinned and bore it" a while without grum- bling.. At length Stratton, who was almost too angry to speak, desired Mr. Pinte to ask the red- haired boy if he expected to walk his horse all the way to Brussels. " Certainly," replied the boy ; " he is too big and fat to do anything but walk. We never trot him." Stratton was terrified as he thought of the loss of the day exhibition ; and he cursed the boy, the cart, the rain, the luck, and even the battle of Waterloo itself. But it was all of no use ; the horse would not run, but the rain did down their backs. At two o'clock, the time appointed for the ex- OF P. T. BARNUAT. hibitiori, they were yet some seven miles from Brussels. The horse walked slowly and philo- sophically through the pitiless storm, the steam majestically rising from the old manure-cart, to the no small disturbance of their unfortunate olfactories. " It will take two hours to get to Brussels at this rate," growled Stratton. " Oh, no," replied the boy; " it will only take about two hours from the time we started." " But your father agreed to get us there in an hour," answered Stratton. " I know it," responded the boy, " but he knew it would take more than two." " I'll sue him for damages, by thunder ! " said Stratton. " Oh, there would be no use in that," chimed in Mr. Pinte, " for you could get no satisfaction in this country." " But I shall lose more than a hundred dollars by being two hours instead of one," said Stratton. " They care nothing about that ; all they care for is your eighty francs," remarked Pinte. " But they have lied and swindled me," replied , Stratton. "Oh, you must not mind that; it is the custom of the country." The party arrived in Brussels precisely two hours and a half from the time they left the farmer's house. Of course it was too late for the afternoon performance, and hundreds of people had been, turned away disappointed. CHAPTER XIV. IN ENGLAND AGAIN. EGYPTIAN HALL AND THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS THE SPECIAL TRAIN OXFORD STRATKORD-ON-AVON GUY OF WARWICK RELICS PUR- CHASE OF THE " HAPPY FAMILY " RETURN TO AMERICA. In London the General again opened his levees in Egyptian Hall, with increased success. His un- bounded popularity on the Continent, and his re- ceptions by King Louis Philippe, of France, and King Leopold, of Belgium, had added greatly to his prestige and fame. Those who had seen him when he was in London months before came to see him again, and new visitors crowded by thousands to the General's levees. Besides giving these daily entertainments, the General appeared occasionally for an hour, during the intermissions, at some place in the suburbs ; and for a long time he appeared every day at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, under the direction of the pro- prietor, Mr. W. Tyler. This place subsequently be- came celebrated for its great music hall, in which Spurgeon, the sensational preacher, first attained his notoriety. The place was always crowded, and when the General had gone through with his per- 175 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. formances on the little stage, in order that all might see him, he was put into a balloon, which, secured by ropes, was then passed around the ground, just above the people's heads. Some forty men man- aged the ropes and prevented the balloon from rising ; but, one day, a sudden gust of wind took the balloon fairly out of the hands of half the men who had hold of the ropes, while others were lifted from the ground, and had not an alarm been instantly given, which called at least two hundred to the rescue, the little General would have been lost. In October Barnum made a flying visit to America, remaining long enough to renew the lease of the Museum building, and to attend to various other business matters. When he returned he was accompanied by his wife and daughters. They took a furnished house, which, during all their three months' residence, was the scene of constant hospi- tality, all the distinguished people in London being entertained there. When the engagement at Egyptian Hall expired they made an extensive tour through England and Scotland, going as far north as Aberdeen. The General's Scotch costumes, his national dances and the "bit of dialect " which he had acquired had long been a feature of the performance and was especially admired in Scotland. The party travelled much of the time in Barnum's own carriage, the General's carnage, ponies and other properties being conveyed in a huge van. They found this way of travelling STXATTON'S PERPLEXITIES. more comfortable than the other, besides enabling them to visit out of the way places, where often the most successful exhibitions were given. There was one occasion when their carriage broke down, and, as they had advertised a perform- ance in Rugby that evening, they decided to take the cars ; but on arriving at the station they found the last train gone. Barnum immediately looked up the superintendent and told him that they must have an extra train for Rugby, without an instant's delay. " Extra train ? " said he, with surprise and a half- sneer, " extra train ? why you can't have an extra train to Rugby for less than sixty pounds." "Is that all? well, get up your train immediately, and here are your sixty pounds. What in the world are sixty pounds to me, when I wish to go to Rugby, or elsewhere, in a hurry." The astonished superintendent took the money, bustled about, and the train was soon ready. He was greatly puzzled to know what distinguished person he thought he must be dealing with some prince, or, at least, a duke was willing to give so much money to save a few hours of time, and he hesitatingly asked whom he had the honor of serving. "General Tom Thumb." The performance at Rugby netted ^160, which not only covered expenses but left a handsome margin. LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. When they were in Oxford, a dozen or more of the students came to the conclusion that, as the General was a little fellow, the admission fee to his entertainments should be paid in the smallest kind of money. They accordingly provided themselves with farthings, and as each man entered, instead of handing in a shilling for his picket, he laid down forty-eight farthings. The counting of these small coins was a great annoyance to Mr. Stratton, the General's father, who was ticket-seller, and after counting two or three handfuls, vexed at the delay which was preventing a crowd of ladies and gentle- men from buying tickets, Mr. Stratton lost his temper, and cried out: " Blast your quarter-pennies ! I am not going to count them ! you chaps who haven't bigger money can chuck your copper into my hat and walk in." Mr. Stratton was a genuine Yankee, and thoroughly conversant with the Yankee vernacular, which he used freely. In exhibiting the General, Barnum often said to visitors that Tom Thumb's parents, and the rest of the family, v/ere persons of the ordinary size, and that the gentleman who pre- sided in the ticket-office was the General's father. This made poor Stratton an object of no little curiosity, and he was pestered with all sorts of questions ; on one occasion an old dowager said to him : "Are you really the father of General Tom Thumb?" A DAY OF SIGHT-SEEING. " Wa'al," replied Stratton, "I have to support him ! " This evasive answer is common enough in New o England, but the literal dowager had her doubts, and promptly rejoined : " I rather think he supports you ! " Although Barnum was in Europe on business, he made the most of his opportunities for sight-seeing, and in his few leisure hours managed to visit nearly every place of interest both in England and on the continent. While in Birmingham, with his friend Albert Smith, then author and afterwards a successful showman, he visited Stratford-on-Avon, where lived and wrote the greatest of English poets Shakes- peare. While breakfasting at the Red House Inn, at Stratford, they called for a guide-book of the town, and to Barnum's great delight the volume proved to be Washington Irving's "Sketch-book." His pleasure was even more increased when he dis- covered, on reading the vivid and picturesque de- scription of Stratford, that Irving had stopped at the very same hotel where they were awaiting breakfast. After visiting the house as well as the church where is the tomb of the poet, they took a post- chaise for Warwick Castle, fourteen miles away. The Earl of Warwick and his family being absent, the visitors were shown through the apartments. One T > BARNUM. sidered so acute as myself should have been de- luded into embarrassments like mine, and not a few have declared, in short meter, that ' Barnum was a fool.' I can only reply that I never made preten- sions to the sharpness of a pawnbroker, and I hope I shall never so entirely lose confidence in human nature as to consider every man a scamp by in- stinct, or a rogue by necessity. ' It is better to be deceived sometimes, than to distrust always/ says Lord Bacon, and I agree with him. " Experience is said to be a hard schoolmaster, but I should be sorry to feel that this great lesson in adversity has not brought forth fruits of some value. I needed the discipline this tribulation has given me, and I really feel, after all, that this, like many other apparent evils, was only a blessing in disguise. Indeed, I may mention that the very clock factory which I built in Bridgeport for the purpose of bringing hundreds of workmen to that city, has been purchased and quadrupled in size by the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing-Machine Company, and is now filled with intelligent New England mechanics, whose families add two thousand to the population, and who are doing a great work in building up and beautifying that flourishing city. So that the same concern which prostrated me seems destined as a most important agent toward my recuperation. I am certain that the popular sympathy has been with me from the beginning ; and this, together with a consciousness of rectitude, BARNUM'S SPEECH. 43! is more than an offset to all the vicissitudes to which I have been subjected. "In conclusion, I beg to assure you and the public that my chief pleasure, while health and strength are spared me, will be to cater for your and their healthy amusement and instruction. In future, such capa- bilities as I possess will be devoted to the mainte- nance of this Museum as a popular place of family resort, in which all that is novel and interesting shall be gathered from the four quarters of the globe, and which ladies and children may visit at all times unattended, without danger of en- countering anything of an objectionable nature. The dramas introduced in the Lecture Room will never contain a profane expression or a vulgar allu- sion ; on the contrary, their tendency will always be to encourage virtue and frown upon vice. " I have established connections in Europe, which will enable me to produce here a succession of in- teresting novelties otherwise inaccessible. Although I shall be personally present much of the time, and hope to meet many of my old acquaintances, as well as to form many new ones, I am sure you will be glad to learn that I have re-secured the services of one of the late proprietors, and the active manager of this Museum, Mr. John Greenwood, Jr. As he is a modest gentleman, who would be the last to praise himself, allow me to add that he is one to whose successful qualities as a caterer for the popular en- tertainments, the crowds that have often filled this 432 LIFE OF p > T - BARNUM. building may well bear testimony. But, more than this, he is the unobtrusive one to whose integrity, diligence, and devotion I owe much of my present position of self-congratulation. Mr. Greenwood will hereafter act as assistant manager, while his late co- partner, Mr. Butler, has engaged in another branch of business. Once more, thanking you all for your kind welcome, I bid you, till the re-opening, ' an af- fectionate adieu.' ' The speech was received with wild enthusiasm, and after the re-opening of the Museum the number of visitors was at once almost doubled. Among the many newspaper congratulations he received, none gave Barnum more pleasure than a poem from his old admirer on the Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM. Barnum, your hand ! The struggle o'er, You face the world and ask n favor; You stand where you have stood before, The old salt hasn't lost its savor. You now can laugh with friends, at foes, Ne'er heeding Mrs. Grundy's tattle ; You've dealt and taken sturdy blows, Regardless of the rabble's prattle. Not yours the heart to harbor ill 'Gainst those who've dealt in trivial jesting; You pass them with the same good will Erst shown when they their wit were testing. You're the same Barnum that we knew, You're good for years, still fit for labor, Be as of old, be bold and true, Honest as man, as friend, as neighbor. CONGRA TULA TIONS. 43 5 At about this period, the following poem was pub- lished in a Pottsville, Pa., paper, and copied by many journals of the day : A HEALTH TO BARNUM, Companions ! fill your glasses round And drink a health to one Who has few coming after him, To do as he has done ; Who made a fortune for himself, Made fortunes, too, for many, Yet wronged no bosom of a sigh, No pocket of a penny. Come ! shout a gallant chorus, And make the glasses ring, Here's health and luck to Barnum ! The Exhibition King. Who lured the Swedish Nightingale To Western woods to come ? Who prosperous and happy made The life of little Thumb ? Who oped Amusement's golden dooj: So cheaply to the crowd, And taught Morality to smile On all his stage allowed ? Come ! shout a gallant chorus, Until the glasses ring Here's health and luck to Barnum ! The Exhibition King. And when the sad reverses came, As come they may to all, Who stood a Hero, bold and true, Amid his fortune's fall ? Who to the utmost yielded up What Honor could not keep, Then took the field of life again With courage calm and deep ? 436 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. Come ! shout a gallant chorus, Until the glasses dance Here's health and luck to Barnum, The Napoleon of Finance Yet, no our hero would not look With smiles on such a cup ; Throw out the wine with water clear, Fill the pure crystal up. Then rise, and greet with deep respect, The courage he has shown, And drink to him who well deserves A seat on Fortune's throne. Here's health and luck to Barnum 1 An Elba he has seen, And never may his map of life Display a St. Helene ? It is of interest to observe that the phrase "Na- poleon of Finance," which has in recent years been applied to several Wall Street speculators, was first coined in honorable description of Phineas T. Bar- num, because of his honesty as well as his signal success. CHAPTER XXXII. THE STORY OF " GRIZZLY ADAMS." BARNUM'S PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FAMOUS BEAR HUNTER FOOLING HIM WITH THE " GOLDEN PIGEONS " ADAMS EARNS $500 AT DESPERATE COST TRICKING BARNUM OUT OF A FINE HUNTING SUIT PROSPERITY OF THE MUSEUM VISIT OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. The famous old American Museum was now the centre of Barnum's interests, and he devoted him- self to its development with such energy as never be- fore. His enterprise in securing new curiosities, and his skill in presenting them to the public in the most attractive light, surpassed all previous efforts. To his office, as to their Mecca, flocked all the " freaks " of the land, and all who possessed any objects of rare or marvelous nature. Foremost among these visitors was one veteran frontiersman, who had attained : and well deserved much fame as a fighter of the most savage wild beasts. His name was James C. Adams, but he was universally known as " Grizzly Adams," from the fact that he had captured a great many grizzly bears at the risk and cost of fearful encounters and perils. He was brave, and with his bravery there was enough of the romantic 437 438 LfFE OF P. T. BARNUM. in his nature to make him a real hero. For many years a hunter and trapper in the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains, he acquired a recklessness, which, added to his natural invincible courage, rendered him one of the most striking men of the age, and he was emphatically a man of pluck. A month after Barnum had re-purchased the Museum, Adams ar- rived in New York with his famous collection of California animals, captured by himself, consisting of twenty or thirty immense grizzly bears, at the head of which stood '* Old Samson," together with several wolves, half a dozen different species of Cali- fornia bears, California lions, tigers, buffalo, elk, and " Old Neptune," the great sea-lion from the Pacific. Old Adams had trained all these monsters so that with him they were as docile as kittens, though many of the most ferocious among them would at- tack a stranger without hesitation, if he came within their grasp. In fact, the training of these animals was no fool's play, as Old Adams learned to his cost, for the terrific blows which he received from time to time, while teaching them " docility," finally cost him his life. Adams called on Barnum immediately on his ar- rival in New York. He was dressed in his hunter ) s suit of buckskin, trimmed with the skins and bor- dered with the hanging tails of small Rocky Moun- tain animals ; his cap consisting of the skin of a wolfs head and shoulders, from which depended several tails, and under which appeared his stiff IN WITH " GRIZZL Y ADAMS. bushy, gray hair and his long, white, grizzly beard; in fact, Old Adams was quite as much of a show as his beasts. They had come around Cape Horn on the clipper ship " Golden Fleece," and a sea voyage of three and a half months had probably not added much to the beauty or neat appearance of the old bear-hunter. During their conversation Grizzly Adams took off his cap, and showed Barnum the top of his head. His skull was literally broken in. It had, on various occasions, been struck by the fearful paws of his grizzly students ; and the last blow, from the bear called " General Fremont," had laid open his brain so that its workings were plainly visible. Barnum remarked' that he thought it was a danger- ous wound and might possibly prove fatal. "Yes," replied Adams, "that will fix me out. It had nearly healed ; but old Fremont opened it for me, for the third or fourth time, before I left Cali- fornia, and he did his business so thoroughly, I'm a used-up man. However, I reckon I may live six months or a year yet." This was spoken as 'coolly as if he had been talking about the life of a dog. This extraordinary man had come to see Barnum about the " California Menagerie," of which he, Adams, was the owner. Barnum had shortly be- fore, however, purchased one-half interest in it from a man who had claimed to be Adams's equal part- ner. This Adams disputed, declaring that he had merely borrowed from the man some money on the security of the show, that the man was not his LIFE OF P. T. RARNUM, partner, and that he had no right to sell one-half or any portion of the menagerie. As a matter of fact, however, the man did have a bill of sale for one- half of the show, and Adams was soon convinced that Barnum's purchase was entirely legitimate. The result was that Barnum and Adams formed a regular partnership, the former to attend to all business affairs, the latter to exhibit the animals. The show was opened in a huge canvas tent on Broadway, at the corner of Thirteenth Street. On the morning of 'opening, a band of music preceded a procession of animal cages down Broad- way and up the Bowery, old Adams, dressed in his hunting costume, heading the line, with a platform wagon on which were placed three immense grizzly bears, two of which he held by chains, while he was mounted on the back of the largest grizzly, which stood in the centre and was not secured in any manner whatever. This was the bear known as " General Fremont," and so docile had he become that Adams said he had used him as a pack-bear, to carry his cooking and hunting apparatus through the mountains for six months, and had ridden him hundreds of miles. But apparently docile as were many of these animals, there was not one among them that wouljd not occasionally give Adams a sly blow or a sly bite when a good chance offered ; hence old Adams was but a wreck of his former self, and expressed pretty nearly the truth when he said: THE "GOL DEN PIGE ONS. ' 441 " Mr. Barnum, I am not the man I was five years ago. Then I felt able to stand the hug of any grizzly living, and was always glad to encounter, single handed, any sort of an animal that dared present himself. But I have been beaten to a jelly, torn almost limb from limb, and nearly chawed up and spit out by these treacherous grizzly bears. How- ever, I am good for a few months yet, and by that time I hope we shall gain enough to make my old woman comfortable, for I have been absent from her some years." His wife came from Massachusetts to New York and nursed him. Dr. Johns dressed his wounds every day, and not only told Adams he could never recover, but assured his friends that probably a very few weeks would lay him in his grave. But Adams was as firm as adamant and as resolute as a lion. Among the thousands who saw him dressed in his grotesque hunter's suit, and witnessed the seeming vigor with which he " performed " the savage mon- sters, beating and whipping them into apparently the most perfect docility, probable not one sus- pected that this rough, fierce-looking, powerful semi-savage, as he appeared to be, was suffering intense pain from his broken skull and fevered system, and that nothing kept him from stretching himself on his death-bed but his most indomitable and extraordinary will. Adams was an inveterate story-teller, and often " drew the long bow " with daring hand. He loved LIFE OF 442 to astonish people with extraordinary tales, which were sheer inventions, but which no one could dis- prove. He pretended, too, to have been every- where and to have seen everything. This weakness made him good game for Barnum, who determined to expose his foibles to him at the first opportunity. The opportunity soon came. One day, amid the innumerable caravan of cranks that moved to the weird realm of Barnum's wonder-house, there ap- peared a fat, stolid German, carrying in his hand a small basket, which he guarded with jealous care. "I have come," he said, "to see if you would not like some golden pigeons to buy ?" " Yes," Barnum replied, " I would like a flock of golden pigeons, if I could buy them for their weight in silver ; for there are no * golden pigeons ' in existence, unless they are made from the pure metal." " You shall some golden pigeons alive see," he replied, at the same time entering the office, and closing the door after him. He then removed the lid from the basket, and sure enough, there were snugly ensconced a pair of beautiful, living ruff- necked pigeons, as yellow as saffron, and as bright as a double-eagle fresh from the Mint. Barnum was somewhat staggered at this sight, and quickly asked the man where those birds came from. A dull, lazy smile crawled over the sober face of the German visitor, as he replied in a slow, guttural tone of voice: THE "GOLDEN PIGEONS." 443 "What you think yourself?" Catching his meaning, Barnum quickly replied : " I think it is a humbug." " Of course, I know you will so say; because you 1 forstha ' such things ; so I shall not try to humbug you ; I have them myself colored." It then came out that the man was a chemist, and that he had invented a process by which he could dye the feathers of living birds any color he pleased, retaining at the same time all the natural crloss of o o the plumage. Barnum at once closed a bargain with him for the birds, for ten dollars, and then put them in his " Happy Family " at the Museum. He marked them " Golden Pigeons, from California," and then gleefully awaited Adams' next visit, feel- ing sure that the old fellow would be completely taken in. Sure enough, next morning Adams came along, saw the pigeons, looked at them earnestly for a few minutes, and then went straight to the office. " Mr. Barnum," said he, "you must let me have those California pigeons." " I can't spare them," said Barnum. il But you must spare them. All the birds and animals from California ought to be together. You own half of my California menagerie, and you must lend me those pigeons." " Mr. Adams, they are too rare and valuable a bird to be hawked about in that manner." " Oh, don't be a fool/' replied Adams, " Rare 444 LIFE OF P. T. BAR NUM. bird, indeed ! Why, they are just as common in California as any other pigeon ! I could have brought a hundred of them from San Francisco, if I had thought of it." " But why did you not think of it ?" with a sup- pressed smile. " Because they are so common there," said Adams. " I did not think they would be any curi- osity here." Barnum was ready to burst with laughter to see how readily Adams swallowed the bait, but, main- taining the most rigid gravity, he replied : " Oh ! well, Mr. Adams, if they are really so com- mon in California, you had probably better take them, and you may write over and have half a dozen pairs sent to me for the Museum." A few weeks later Barnum, being in the Califor- nia Menagerie, noticed that something ailed the pigeons. They had a sadly-mottled appearance. Their feathers had grown out, and they were half white. Adams had not yet noticed it, being too busy with his bears. But Barnum called him at once to the pigeon cage. " Look here, Adams," he said, " I'm afraid you are going to lose your Golden Pigeons. They must be very sick. Just see how pale they look ! Good thing they're so common in California, so you can easily get some more, eh ?" Adams looked at them a moment in astonishment, THE END OF " GR1ZZL Y ADAMS* then turning to Barnum, and seeing that he could not suppress a smile, he indignantly exclaimed : " Blast the Golden Pigeons ! You had better take them back to the Museum. You can't humbug me with your painted pigeons ! " This was too much, and Barnum laughed till he cried, to witness the mixed look of astonishment and vexation which marked the grizzly features of old Adams. After the exhibition on Thirteenth Street and Broadway had been open six weeks, the doctor insisted that Adams should sell out his share in the animals and settle up his worldly affairs, for he assured him that he was growing weaker every day, and his earthly existence must soon terminate. " I shall live a good deal longer than you doctors think for," replied Adams, doggedly ; and then, seeming after all to realize the truth of the doctor's asser- tion, he turned and said : " Well, Mr. Barnum, you must buy me out." A bargain was soon concluded. Arrangements had been made to exhibit the bears in Connecticut and Massachusetts during the summer, in connec- tion with the Museum, and Adams insisted that Barnum should engage him to travel for the season and manage the bears. He offered to do it for $60 a week and expenses. Barnum replied that he would gladly make such an arrangement, but he feared Adams was not strong enough to stand it. 446 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. " You are growing weaker every day," he said, "and would better go to your home and rest." "What will you give me extra if I will travel and exhibit the bears every day for ten weeks?" added old Adams, eagerly. " Five hundred dollars." " Done!" exclaimed Adams, "I will do it, so draw up an agreement to that effect at once. But mind you, draw it payable to my wife, for I may be too weak to attend to business after the ten weeks are up, and if I perform my part of the contract, I want her to get the $500 without any trouble." Barnum drew up a contract to pay him $60 per week for his services, and if he continued to exhibit the bears for ten consecutive weeks, to hand him, or his wife, $500 extra. "You have lost your $500!" exclaimed Adams on taking the contract ; " for I am bound to live and earn it." " I hope you may, with all my heart, and a hundred years more if you desire it," replied Barnum. "Call me a fool if I don't earn the $500!" ex- claimed Adams, with a triumphant laugh. The " show " started off in a few days, and at the end of a fortnight Barnum met it at Hartford f Connecticut. " Well" said he, "Adams, you seem tc stand it pretty well. I hope you and your wife are com- fortable?'' " Yes," he replied with a laugh ; " and you may as THE END OF GRIZZL Y ADAMS." 447 well try to be comfortable, too, for your $500 is a goner." " All right," Barnum replied, " I hope you will grow better every day." But the case was hopeless. Adams was dying. When Barnum met him three weeks later at New Bedford his eyes were glassy and his hands tremb- ling, but his courage and will were strong as ever. " This hot weather tells on me," he said, " but I'll last the ten weeks and more, and get your $500." Barnum urged him to quit work, to take half of the $500 and go home. But, no. He would not listen to it. And he did actually serve through the whole ten weeks, and got the $500 ; remarking, as he pocketed the cash, " Barnum, it's too bad you're a teetotaler, for I'd like to stand treat with you on this." When Adams set out on this last tour, Barnum had a fine new hunting-suit made of beaver-skins. He had procured it for Herr Driesbach, the animal tamer, whom he had engaged to take Adams' place whenever the latter should give out. Adams had asked him to loan him the suit, to wear occasionally when he had great audiences, as his own suit was badly worn. Barnum did so ; and at the end of the engagement, as he received the $500, Adams said : " Mr. Barnum, I suppose you are going to give me this new hunting-dress." " Oh, no," Barnum replied, " I got that for your LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. 448 successor, who will exhibit the bears to-morrow, be- sides, you have no possible use for it." "Now, don't be mean, but lend me the dress, if you won't give it to me, for I want to wear it home to my native village." Barnum could not refuse the poor old man any- thing, and he therefore replied : " Well, Adams, I will lend you the dress, but you will send it back to me ?" " Yes, when I have done with it," he replied, with an evident chuckle of triumph. Barnum thought, " he will soon be done with it," and replied: "That's all right." A new idea evidently struck Adams, for, with a brightening look of satisfaction, he said : " Now, Barnum, you have made a good thing out of the California menagerie, and so have I ; but you will make a heap more. So if you won't give me this new hunter's dress, just draw a little writing, and sign it, saying that I may wear it until I have done with it." Barnum knew that in a few days, at longest, he would be " done " with this world altogether, and, to gratify him, he cheerfully drew and signed the paper. " Come, old Yankee, I've got you this time see if I hain't !" exclaimed Adams, with a broad grin, as he took the paper. Barnum smiled, and said: " All right, my dear fellow ; the longer you live the better I shall like it." THE PRINCE OF WALES'S VISIT. 449 They parted, and Adams went to Charlton, Wor- cester County, Massachusetts, where his wife and daughter lived. He took at once to his bed, and never rose from it again. The excitement had passed away, and his vital energies could accom- plish no more. The fifth day after arriving home, the physician told him he could not live until the next morning. He received the announcement in perfect calmness, and with the most apparent in- difference ; then, turning to his wife, with a smile he requested her to have him buried in the new hunt- ing-suit. " For," said he, " Barnum agreed to let me have it until I have done with it, and I was de- termined to fix his flint this time. He shall never see that dress again." That dress was indeed the shroud in which he was entombed. After Adams' death, Barnum incorporated the California Menagerie with the American Museum, for a time, but afterward sold most of the animals. The Museum was now most prosperous, and Bar- num was making steady progress toward paying off the debts that burdened him. In the fall of 1860 the Museum was visited by the Prince of Wales and his suite, in response to an invi- tation from Barnum. Unfortunately, Barnum himself had gone to Bridgeport that very morning, the invi- tation not having been accepted until about an hour before the visit. Mr. Greenwood, the manager, when he heard that the Prince was coming, caused the performance in the lecture-room to be com- 450 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. menced half an hour before the usual time, so as to clear the floors of a portion of the crowd, in order that he might have a better opportunity to examine the curiosities. When the Prince arrived, there was a great crowd outside the Museum, and hundreds more were soon added to the numbers assembled within the building. He was received by Mr. Green- wood, and immediately conducted to the second story, where the first object of interest pointed out was the "What Is It?" in which his Royal High- ness manifested much curiosity. In compliance with his wish, the keeper went through the regular account of the animal. Here, also, the party were shown the Albino family, concerning whom they made inquiries. The Siamese twins, the sea-lions, and the seal were also pointed out, and some of the animals were fed in the presence of the Prince at his own request. He was conducted through the build- ing, and his attention was called to many objects of special interest. At the close of a short visit, the Prince asked for Mr. Barnum, and regretted that he had not an opportunity of seeing him also. "We have," he said, " missed the most interesting feature of the establishment." A few days later Barnum called on the Prince in Boston and was cordially received. The Prince was much interested and amused at Barnum's remi- niscences of the visits to Buckingham Palace with Tom Thumb. He told Barnum that he had been much pleased with the Museum, and had left his autograph there as a memento of his visit. CHAPTER XXXIII. BUILDING A CITY. AT HOME ONCE MORE GROWTH OF EAST BRIDGEPORT BARNUM'S OFFER TO MEN WANTING HOMES OF THEIR OWN REMARKABLE PROGRESS OF THE PLACE How THE STREETS WERE NAMED. It was now about five years since Barntim had had a settled home. The necessities of his business combined with the adversities of fortune had kept him knocking about from pillar to post. Sometimes they lived in boarding-houses, and sometimes they kept house in temporary quarters. Mr. and Mrs. Barnum were now alone, two of their daughters being married and the third being away at a board- ing-school. Mrs. Barnum's health was much im- paired, and it was desirable that she should have a comfortable and permanent home. Accordingly, in 1860, Barnum built a pleasant house at Bridgeport, next to that of his daughter Caroline and not far from the ruins of Iranistan. His unfortunate enterprise in the clock business had not discouraged him from further business ven- tures. His pet city, East Bridgeport, was growing rapidly. An enormous sewing-machine factory had been built, employing a thousand workmen. Other r5 453 454 'L/FM OF P. T. BARNUM. large factories were springing up, many private resi- dences were being erected, and there was a great demand for houses of all kinds, but especially for small cottages suitable for mechanics and other laboring men. The farm-land which Barnum had purchased only a few years before was rapidly be- coming a city. It was characteristic of Barnum to place himself in the forefront in this city-building movement, and in the double role of speculator and public bene- factor. The enterprise which he undertook was calculated both to help those who were willing to help themselves to obtain independent homes, and at the same time to pay a handsome profit to Mr. Barnum. His scheme was described by himself as follows in the Bridgeport Standard : "NEW HOUSES IN EAST BRIDGEPORT. "EVERY MAN TO OWN THE HOUSE HE LIVES IN. " There is a demand at the present moment for two hundred more dwelling-houses in East Bridge- port. It is evident that if the money expended in rent can be paid towards the purchase of a house and lot, the person so paying will in a few years own the house he lives in, instead of always remain- ing a tenant. In view of this fact, I propose to loan money at six per cent, to any number, not exceeding fifty, industrious, temperate and respectable individ- uals, who desire to build their own houses. HOMES FOR ALL. 455 " They may engage their own builders, and build according to any reasonable plan (which I may ap- prove), or I will have it done for them at the lowest possible rate, without a farthing profit to myself or agent, I putting the lot at a fair price and advancing eighty per cent, of the entire cost; the other party to furnish twenty per cent, in labor, material, or money, and they may pay me in small sums weekly, monthly, or quarterly, any amount not less than three per cent, per quarter, all of which is to apply on the money advanced until it is paid. " It has been ascertained that by purchasing build- ing materials for cash, and in large quantities, nice dwellings, painted, and furnished with green blinds, can be erected at a cost of $1,500 or $1,800, for house, lot, fences, etc., all complete, and if six or eight friends prefer to join in erecting a neat block of houses with verandas in front, the average cost- need not exceed about $1,300 per house and lot^ If, however, some parties would prefer a single ot double house that would cost $2,500 to $3,000, 1 shall be glad to meet their views. P. T. BARNUM. "February 16, 1864." On this the editor of the paper commented as follows : "AN ADVANTAGEOUS OFFER. We have read with great pleasure Mr. Barnum's advertisement, offering assistance to any number of persons, not exceeding 456 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. fifty, in the erection of dwelling-houses. This plan combines all the advantages and none of the ob- jections of building associations. Any individual who can furnish in cash, labor, or material, one-fifth only of the amount requisite for the erection of a dwelling-house, can receive the other four-fifths from Mr. Barnum, rent his house, and by merely paying what may be considered as only a fair rent, for a few years, find himself at last the owner, and all further payments cease. In the meantime, he can be making such inexpensive improvements in his prop- erty as would greatly increase its market value, and besides have the advantage of any rise in the value of real estate. It is not often that such a generous offer is made to working men. It is a loan on what would be generally considered inade- quate security, at six -per cent, at a time when a much better use of money can be made by any capitalist. It is therefore generous. Mr. Barnum may make money by the operation. Very well, perhaps he will, but if he does, it will be by making others richer, not poorer; by helping those who need assistance, not by hindering them, and we can only wish that every rich man would follow such a noble example, and thus, without injury to themselves, give a helping hand to those who need it. Success to the enterprise. We hope that fifty men will be found before the week ends, each of whom desires in such a manner to obtain a roof which he can call his own." SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT. 457 A considerable number of men immediately availed themselves of Barn urn's offer, and succeeded after a time in paying for their homes without much effort. There were many others, however, who did not fully accept his proposals. They would not sign the temperance pledge, and they would not give up the use of tobacco. The result was, that they continued month after month and year after year to pay rent on hired tenements. "The money they have expended for whiskey and tobacco," remarked Mr. Barnum, moralizing upon this topic, " would have given them homes of their own if it had been devoted to that object, and their positions, socially and morally, would have been far better. How many infatuated men there are in all parts of the country who could now be independent, and even owners of their own carriages, but for their slavery to these miserable habits ! " This East Bridgeport land was originally pur- chased by Barnum at an average cost of about $200 per acre. A few years after the above-de- scribed enterprise, a considerable part of it was assessed in the tax list at from $3,000 to $4,000 per acre. It was presently annexed to the city, and connected with it by three bridges across the river. A horse-railroad was also built, of which Mr. Bar- num was one of the original stockholders. This part of the city was laid out by General Noble and Mr. Barnum, and various streets were named after members of the two families. Hence 458 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. there are Noble street, Barnum street, William street (General Noble's first name), Harriet street (Mrs. Noble's name), Hallett street (Mrs, Barnum's maiden name), and Caroline street, Helen street, and Pauline street, the names of Barnum's three daughters. A public school was also named for Mr. Barnum. The streets were lined with beauti- ful shade trees, set out by thousands by Barnum and Noble, and the same gentlemen gave to the city its beautiful Washington Park of seven acres. CHAPTER XXXIV. A GREAT YEAR AT THE MUSEUM. CAPTURING AND EXHIBITING WHITE WHALES NEWSPAPER COMMENTS A TOUCHING OBITUARY THE GREAT BEHEMOTH A LONG " LAST WEEK "COMMODORE NUTT REAL LIVE INDIANS ON EXHIBITION. The year 1861 was notable in the history of the American Museum. Barnum heard that some fish- ermen at the mouth of the St. Lawrence river had captured alive a fine white whale. He was also told that such an animal, if packed in a box filled with sea-weed and salt water, could be transported over land a considerable distance without danger to its life or health. He accordingly determined to secure and place on exhibition in his Museum a couple of live whales. So he built in the basement of the building a tank of masonry, forty feet long and eighteen feet wide, to contain them. Then he went to the St. Lawrence river on a whaling expedition. His objective point was the Isle au Coudres, which was populated by French Canadians. There he engaged a party of twenty- four fishermen, and in- structed them to capture for him, alive and un- harmed, a couple of the white whales which at 459 460 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. almost any time were to be seen in the water not far from the island. The plan decided upon was to plant in the river a "kraal," composed of stakes driven down in the form of a V, leaving the broad end open for the whales to enter. This was done in a shallow place, with the point of the kraal towards shore ; and if by chance one or more whales should enter the trap at high water, the fishermen were to occupy the entrance with their boats, and keep up a tremendous splashing and noise till the tide receded, when the frightened whales would find themselves nearly " high and dry," or with too little water to enable them to swim, and their capture would be next thing in order. This was to be effected by securing a slip- noose of stout rope over their tails, and towing them to the sea-weed lined boxes in which they were to be transported to New York. Many times fine whales were seen gliding close by the entrance to the trap, but they did not enter it, and the patience of Barnum and his fishermen was sorely tried. One day one whale did enter the kraal, and the fishermen proposed to capture it, but Barnum was determined to have two, and while they waited for the second one to enter the first one went out again. After several days of waiting, Barnum was aroused early one morning by the excited and delighted shouts of his men. Hastily dressing, he found that two whales were in the trap and were sure of being captured. Leaving the rest of the task WHALES IN NEW YORK. 461 to his assistants, he hurried back to New York. At every station on the route he gave instructions ta the telegraph operators to take off all whaling mes- sages that passed over the wires to New York, and to inform their fellow-townsmen at what hour the whales would pass through each place. The result of these arrangements may be imagined ; at every station crowds of people came to the cars to see the whales which were travelling by land to Barnum's Museum, and those who did not see the monsters with their own eyes, at least saw some one who had seen them, and thus was secured a tremen- dous advertisement, seven hundred miles long, for the American Museum. Arrived in New York, dispatches continued to come from the whaling expedition every few hours. These were bulletined in front of the Museum and copies sent to the papers. The excitement was in- tense, and, when at last, these marine monsters ar- rived and were swimming in the tank that had been prepared for them, anxious thousands literally rushed to see the strangest curiosities ever exhibited in New York. Barnum's first whaling expedition was thus a great success. Unfortunately he did not know how to feed or take care of the animals. A supply of salt water could not be obtained, so they were put into fresh water artificially salted, and this did not agree with them. The basement of the Museum building was also poorly ventilated and the air was unwholesome. 462 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. As the result of these circumstances the whales died within a week, although not until they had been seen by thousands of people. Barnum immediately re- solved to try again. In order to secure a better home for his pets, he laid an iron pipe under the streets of the city, from his Museum clear outinto New York bay. Through this, by means of a steam- engine, he was able to secure a constant supply of genuine sea-water. In order that the whales should have good air to breathe, he constructed for them another tank on the second floor of the Museum building. This tank had a floor of slate, and the sides were made of French plate-glass, in huge pieces six feet long, five feet wide, and one inch thick. These plates were imported by Barnum expressly for the purpose. The tank was twenty-four feet square. Two more white whales were soon caught in the same manner as before, and were conveyed in a ship to Quebec and thence by rail to New York. Barnum was always proud of this enterprise, and it yielded him handsome profits. The second pair of whales, however, soon died. Barnum remarked that their sudden and immense popularity was too much for them. But a third pair was quickly secured to take their place. Envious and hostile critics de- clared that they were not whales at all, but only por- poises, but this did no harm. Indeed, Barnum might well have paid them to start these malicious reports, for much good advertising was thereby secured. The illustrious Agassiz was appealed to. He came WHALES IN NEW YORK. 463 to see the animals, gave Barnum a certificate that they were genuine white whales, and this document was published far and wide. The manner in which the showman advertised his curiosities may be seen from the following, taken from one of the daily papers of the time : B ARNUM'S AMERICAN MUSEUM. After months of unwearied labor, and spending NEARLY TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS NEARLY TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS NEARLY TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in capturing and transporting them from that part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence nearest Labrador, the Manager is enabled to offer his visitors TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, a male and a female. Everybody has heard of WHALES IN NURSERY TALES and " SAILOR'S YARNS," IN NURSERY TALES and SAILOR'S YARNS," everybody has read of WHALES in story, song, and history, and everybody WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, and now they have the opportunity. Barnum has CAPTURED TWO OF THE LEVIATHANS, CAPTURED TWO OF THE LEVIATHANS, CAPTURED TWO OF THE LEVIATHANS, has built a small ocean in his Museum, filled it from the briny deep, and there THE TWO LIVING WHALES, THE TWO LIVING WHALES, 464 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. THE TWO LIVING WHALES, THE TWO LIVING WHALES, measuring respectively fifteen and twenty feet in length, may be seen at all hours sporting in their native element. Who will miss the opportunity of seeing them ? Another may not offer in a lifetime. Embrace this ere it be too late. See Mr. Barnum's card below. LAST TWO DAYS OF WILLIAM TILLMAN AND WILLIAM STEDDING, The Colored Steward and German Sailor of the SCHOONER S. J. WARING, Who slew three of the piratical prize crew, and rescued themselves and the vessel from their power. WHAT IS IT? OR, MAN MONKEY. MADAGASCAR ALBINOS, PURE WHITE NEGROES, OR MOORS. SEA LION, MAMMOTH BEAR SAMSON, with a variety of other living Bears; MONSTER SNAKES, AQUARIA, HAPPY FAMILY, LIVING SEAL, WAX FIGURES, &c. In the Lecture-Room, a great Dramatic Novelty is offered, EMBRACING FARCE, VAUDEVILLE and BURLETTA, with a brilliant and talented company, including LITTLE LOLA, THE INFANT WONDER, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. REYNOLDS; Miss DORA DAWRON, DOUBLE-VOICED SINGER, LA PETITE ADDIE LE BRUN, The favorite Juvenile Danseuse, always popular. MARIE; THE CHILD OF SORROW, With a laughable farce, every day at 3 and 7^ o'clock. Admission to all, 25 cents ; Children under 10, 15 cents. A CARD FROM P. T. BARNUM. LIVING WHALES on exhibi- tion. Having learned from fishermen and eminent naturalists, includ- ing the written statement of the celebrated Prof. Agassiz, that the White Whale could be found in that portion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence nearest to Labra- dor, I made a journey there in June last, accompanied by my agent. I re- mained there a fortnight, and made every arrangement for capturing and keeping alive two of these monsters. This arrangement included the service of thirty-five men, beside my special agent. I then returned and had erected in the Museum a reservoir fifty feet in length and twenty-five feet in width, in EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 465 which was placed sea-water, and arrangements made for a continual fresh supply. I also made arrangements with steamers and railroads to convey these leviathans to New York at the fastest possible speed, without regard to the expense. I am highly gratified in being able to assure the public that they have arrived Safe and well, a MALE and FEMALE, from 15 to 20 feet long, and are now swimming in the miniature ocean in my Museum, to the delight of visitors. As it is very doubtful whether these wonderful creatures can be kept alive more than a few days, the public will see the importance of seizing the first moment to see them. P. T. BARNUM. AMERICAN MUSEUM, Thursday, August 8, 1861. "A real live whale," said an editorial writer in the New York Tribune of that date, " is as great a curiosity as a live lord or prince, being much more difficult to catch, and far more wonderful in its appearance and habits. After all people are people, and have much the same ways of feeling and doing. But when we get among the whales, we catch glimpses of a new and neat thing in nose, recall the narrative of Jonah without throwing a shadow of a doubt upon its authenticity, and appreciate keenly the difficulties with which mermaid society must have to contend. "We owe the presence of two whales in our midst to the enterprise of Mr. P. T. Barnum. He has had them in tow for a long while, but has kept his secret well, and it was not until his own special whaler telegraphed from Troy that he had come so far into the bowels of the earth with his submarine charge, and all well, that he felt warranted in whis- pering whale to the public. The public was delighted, but not surprised, because it feels that the 466 LIFE OF p - genius that is equal to a What Is It is also equal to the biggest thing, and would experience no unusual thrill of wonder if a real iceberg, or a section of the identical North Pole, should be announced on the bills of the Museum. " But flocks of the public sought the Museum yesterday, and were not disappointed. They saw not, as Polonius, something ' very like a whale/ but the original animal in its original element. The bears, and the anacondas, the hatchet, and the seal, sank into merited insignificance, although they will have their day again if the whales should expire. The transfer of the fish was neatly effected. They travelled the whole distance in first-class hermetical boxes, filled with water and thickly lined with sea- weed, and were landed, if the expression may be used, in the new and excellent tank provided for them in the basement of the Museum. This tank is fifty feet deep and twenty-five in width, has seven feet of sea-water in it, and seems to suit the whales eminently. Mr. Barnum has fears that the pets will have but a brief, if brilliant, career, in their new quarters, but we prefer to predict for them a long and happy one. " These are white whales, and were taken near the Labrador coast by a crew of thirty-five men. The largest has attained the extreme size reached by this species, and is about 22 feet long; the other is 18 feet long. Their form and motion are graceful, and their silver backs and bellies show brightly through OBITUARY. 467 the water. A long-continued intimacy has endeared them to each other, and they go about quite like a pair of whispering lovers, blowing off their mutual admiration in a very emphatic manner. Just at pres- ent they are principally engaged in throwing their eyes around the premises, and pay small attention to visitors, upon whom, indeed, the narrative of Jonah has a strong hold. And yet neither of these whales could make a single mouthful of a man of ordinary size. Even if one of them should succeed in swallowing a man, he could just stand up with the whale, and make it, at least, as uncomfortable as himself. " Here is a real ' sensation/ We do not believe the enterprise of Mr. Barnum will stop at white whales. It will embrace sperm whales and mer- maids, and all strange things that swim or fly or crawl, until the Museum will become one vast microcosm of the animal creation. A quarter seems positively contemptible weighed against such a treat." And this was the public tribute, from the same pen, to the first of the cetaceans that died through too much publicity : " The community was shocked to hear of the death of one of Barnum's whales yesterday morning. Death apparently loves a shining mark. It seems but yesterday in fact it was the day before we gazed upon the youthful form, instinct with life, and looking forward to a useful and pleasant career. 468 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. The whale shared not the forebodings of its friends. Mr. Barnum was possessed with a strange presenti- ment of calamity, and summoned the public to either a house of mourning or a house of joy, he knew not which, but at all events to be quick. At daybreak, we believe, the great natural curiosity passed away. " The blow is a severe one. To Mr. Barnum it must be a shocking reminder of the emptiness of all human plans. Enterprise, liberal expenditure, cour- age what are they all before the fell destroyer? Even whales have their time to sink and rise no more. To the dear companion of all the joys and sorrows of the troubled life of the deceased the bereavement must be sore indeed. Delicacy forbids that we should lay bare such sorrows. No twenty-five cent ticket should admit to them, including the lecture- room. Such as witnessed the tender endearments between these white whales, and saw how they had hearts that beat as one, and how they were not happy when they were not pretty near each other in the tank, may, perhaps, realize the anguish of their separation. We are not surprised to learn, indeed, that the affliction has borne so heavily upon the sur- vivor that there may be tidings at any moment of the flight of its spirit also. May both whales meet again in the open seas of immortality! The loss of the public is great, although not irreparable. The world moves on, and many natural curiosities remain to fill up the gaps caused by death. Mr. Barnum's spirit, although saddened, is not broken. He sees WELCOME TO OBITUARY. 47! the objects of his care and best management snatched from him, and yet he announces that he will imme- diately send on for two more whales of the same sort. We shall soon forget the lost whales in con- templation of the new. Such is life, it is well known. " The decease may be attributed in a great meas- ure to bear. It is true that there might have been something injurious to the health of the fish in a long overland journey. 'A fish out of water ' is a case that tries the utmost skill of the faculty. If a man were confined in the most comfortable of water- tight boxes and carried, under the care of a special agent, hundreds of miles beneath the water, we should not be startled to hear that his constitution was much shattered at the end of the journey. And yet we are more encouraged to think that the whale owed his death to other causes than the overland transportation, because the sea lion does so well, and the fishes in the aquaria appear to be so hearty and contented. To bear, then, we must attribute our loss. This animal abounded in the basement where the tank is, and whether through jealousy of the fame of the new-comers, or through some settled antipathy between flesh and fish, or simply through his natural beastliness, he communicated effluvia to the atmosphere that were perfectly unendurable by whale, which promptly expired from want of good breath. " This agent of destruction will be removed from 26 472 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM, the premises before the next whales arrive, and suit- able measures will be taken to guard against such a mournful catastrophe. There is a whale in Boston whose health is so good that it never requires medical attendance. " The deceased was about sixty years of age. It bore an excellent character. Its patience and sweet disposition under the most trying circumstances will long be remembered. The remains, weighing not less than twenty-six hundred pounds, will be suitably disposed off. While the public mourns it may also console itself with the reflection that there are plenty more where it came from, and that the energy of Barnum is not to be abated by any of the common disasters of life, and may hopefully anticipate a speedy announcement of an entirely new whale. Vale! Vale!" The tank in the basement of the Museum was now devoted to a yet more interesting exhibition. On August 12, 1861, Barnum placed in it the first live hippopotamus that had ever been seen in America. The brute was advertised most extensively and ingeniously as " the great behemoth of the Scriptures/' and thousands of scientific men, biblical students, clergymen and others, besides the great host of the common people, flocked to see it. There was fully as much excitement in New York over this wonder in the animal creation as there was in London when the first hippopotamus was placed in the Regent's Park Zoo." "THE GREAT BEHEMOTH." 473 Barnum began by advertising that the animal was on exhibition for a short time only. Then he an- nounced the " last week " of the novel show. Then, " by special request," another week was added. And thus the "last week of the hippopotamus" was pro- longed through many months. The following is a fair sample of the advertisements with which the daily papers literally teemed : T>ARNUM'S MUSEUM. SECOND WEEK OF THAT WONDERFUL LIVING HIPPOPOTAMUS, FROM THE RIVER NILE IN EGYPT, THE GREAT BEHEMOTH OF THE SCRIPTURES, AND THE MARVEL OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. The history of this animal is full of interest, and to every class, especially the educated and intelligent, but above all to the biblical student, who has read with interest the glowing description of THE GREAT BEHEMOTH in the Book of Job. He is strictly an AMPHIBIOUS ANIMAL, living in the water and out of it ; under the water, or on the top of it ; floats on its surface with perfect ease, or beneath the surface, midway between the top and the bottom. In their natural state these animals are wild and ferocious; though on the land, they are not very formidable, but when pursued they fly to the rivers, DESCEND TO THE BOTTOM AND WALK ACROSS, frequently appearing on the opposite side without the least indication of their course on the surface of the stream. If exasperated by assaults, in the water they are the most FRIGHTFUL ANTAGONISTS, their gigantic proportions and herculean strength, giving them power over every opposing force, frequently destroying whole boat-loads of men and their boats, crushing with their huge jaws everything that comes in their way. In the Museum the specimen here exhibited has an ARTIFICIAL OCEAN OR RIVER, where he is to be seen in all his natural peculiarities, floating on, and swim* 474 LIFE OF p - T > BARNUAL ming beneath the surface, walking on the bottom several feet beneath, exhibit- ing, in short, all the peculiarities of his nature; and to perfect the scene, a native ARABIAN KEEPER, SALAAMA, who is himself a curiosity as a specimen of that historic tribe of men, who exhibits all the stolidity and Arabian dignity of that Oriental race ; the only man who can control or exhibit his Hippopotamiship, is in constant attend- ance. They are both to be seen at all hours, DAY and EVENING. This is the FIRST AND ONLY REAL HIPPOPOTAMUS ever seen in America. He is engaged at a cost of many thousand of dollars, and will remain A SHORT TIME ONLY. A SHORT TIME ONLY. Also just obtained at great expense, and now to be seen swimming in the large tank in the Aquarial Hall, A LIVING SHARK, beside a great variety of other living Fish, Turtles, &c., &c. WHAT IS IT? OR, MAN MONKEY. SEA LION, MAMMOTH BEAR SAMSON, MONSTER SNAKES, AQUARIA, HAPPY FAMILY, LIVING SEAL, &c. The Lecture-Room Entertainments embrace PETITE DRAMA, VAUDEVILLE, BURLETTA and FARCE. By a company of rare musical and dramatic talent. Miss DAWRON, DOUBLE- VOICED VOCALIST, Mile. MATILDA E. TOEDT, The Talented Young Violinist, &c. Admission to all, 25 cents; Children under 10, 15 cents. Nor did the monster fail to receive much other notice in the press. Said one writer: "Nothing discomfitted by the sudden death tiat overtook the gentle and loving whales, Mr. Barnum has again invested untold heaps of money in a tremendous water-monster. The great tank has again a tenant, and the great public have huge amphibious matter for their wonderment. The new curiosity comes to us staggering under the unwieldy name of Hippo- "THE GREAT BEHEMOTH." 475 potamus. He is a comely gentleman, fair and beauteous to look upon ; and the strange loveliness of his countenance cannot fail to captivate the crowd. His youth, too, gives him a special claim to the consideration of the ladies, for he is a little dar- ling of only three years a very baby of a hippo- potamus in fact, who, only a few months ago, daily sucked his few gallons of lacteal nourishment from the fond bosom of mamma Hippo, at the bottom of some murmuring Egyptian river. The young gentleman is about as heavy as an ox, and gives you the idea that he is the result of the amalgamation of a horse, a cow, two pigs, a seal, a dozen India- rubber blankets, and an old-fashioned horse-hide covered trunk. Big as he is, unwieldy as he is, strange, uncouth, and monstrous as he is, he appears after all to be most mild and even-tempered. In truth, he is no more vicious than a good-natured muley cow ; and if by chance he should hurt any- body, he would have to achieve it much in the same manner that such a cow would, by running against him, or rolling over upon him. So that the red- breeched individual, who so valiantly gets over the railing and stands by the side of young Hippo, doesn't, after all, do a deed of such superhuman daring, for all he does it with such an air of reck- less sacrifice of self for the public good. The hippopotamus is certainly one of the most interest- ing and attractive of all the strange creatures ever yet caught by Mr. Barnum, and offered for the de- LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. lectation of the paying public. He is well worth a visit, and an hour's inspection. He receives daily, from 9 A. M. to some time after dark." Having now a good supply of salt water Barnum greatly enlarged his aquarium, which was the first show of the kind ever seen in America. He ex- hibited in it living sharks, porpoises, sea-horses and many rare fishes. For several seasons he kept a boat cruising the ocean in search of marine novel- ties. In this way he secured many of the beautiful angel fishes and others that never had been seen in New York before. He also purchased the Aquarial Gardens in Boston, and removed the entire collection to his Museum. The story of another of Barnum's greatest hits must be told in his own words: "In December, 1861," he related, "I was visited at the Museum by a most remarkable dwarf, who was a sharp, intelli- gent little fellow, with a deal of drollery and wit. He had a splendid head, was perfectly formed, and was very attractive, and, in short, for a * showman,' he was a perfect treasure. His name, he told me, was George Washington Morrison Nutt, and his father was Major Rodnia Nutt, a substantial farmer, of Manchester, New Hampshire. I was not long in dispatching an efficient agent to Manchester, and in overcoming the competition with other showmen who were equally eager to secure this extraordinary pigmy. The terms upon which I engaged him for three years were so large that he was christened the COMMODORE NU7T. 477 $30,000 Nutt ; I, in the meantime, conferring upon him the title of Commodore. As soon as I engaged him, placards, posters and the columns of the news- papers proclaimed the presence of * Commodore Nutt' at the Museum. I also procured for the Commodore a pair of Shetland ponies, miniature coachman and footman, in livery, gold-mounted har- ness, and an elegant little carriage, which, when closed, represented a gigantic English walnut. The little Commodore attracted great attention, and grew rapidly in public favor. General Tom Thumb was then travelling in the South and West. For some years he had not been exhibited in New York, and during these years he had increased considerably in rotundity and had changed much in his general appearance. It was a singular fact, however, that Commodore Nutt was almost ^fac-simile of General Tom Thumb, as he looked half-a-dozen years before. Consequently, very many of my patrons, not making allowance for the time which had elapsed since they had last seen the General, declared that there was no such person as * Commodore Nutt ; * but that I was exhibiting my old friend Tom Thumb under a new name. " Commodore Nutt enjoyed the joke very much. He would sometimes half admit the deception, sim- ply to add to the bewilderment of the doubting portion of my visitors. " It was evident that here was an opportunity to turn all doubts into hard cash, by simply bringing the 478 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. two dwarf Dromios together, and showing them on the same platform. I therefore induced Tom Thumb to bring his Western engagements to a close, and to appear for four weeks, beginning with August n, 1862, in my Museum. Announcements headed * The Two Dromios/ and ' Two Smallest Men, and Greatest Curiosities Living/ as I expected, drew large crowds to see them, and many came especially to solve their doubts with regard to the genuineness of the * Nutt/ But here I was considerably non- plussed, for, astonishing as it may seem, the doubts of many of the visitors were confirmed ! The sharp people who were determined ' not to be humbugged, anyhow/ still declared that Commodore Nutt was General Tom Thumb, and that the little fellow whom I was trying to pass off as Tom Thumb, was no more like the General than he was like the man in the moon. It is very amusing to see how people will sometimes deceive themselves by being too incred- ulous. "In 1862 I sent the Commodore to Washington, and, joining him there, I received an invitation from President Lincoln to call at the White House with my little friend. Arriving at the appointed hour, I was informed that the President was in a special Cabinet meeting, but that he had left word if I called to be shown in to him with the Commodore. These were dark days in the rebellion, and I felt that my visit, if not ill-timed, must at all events be brief. When we were admitted, Mr. Lincoln received us THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT. 479 cordially, and introduced us to the members of the Cabinet. When Mr. Chase was introduced as the Secretary of the Treasury, the little Commodore remarked : "'I suppose you are the gentleman who is spend- ing so much of Uncle Sam's money?* " ' No, indeed,' said the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, very promptly ; ' I am spending the money.' 44 4 Well,' said Commodore Nutt, ' it is in a good cause, anyhow, and I guess it will come out all right.' 44 His apt remark created much amusement. Mr. Lincoln then bent down his long, lank body, and taking Nutt by the hand, he said : 44 4 Commodore, permit me to give you a parting word of advice. When you are in command of your fleet, if you find yourself in danger of being taken prisoner, I advise you to wade ashore/ The Commodore found the laugh was against him, but placing himself at the side of the President, and gradually raising his eyes up the whole length of Mr. Lincoln's very long legs, he replied: " * I guess, Mr. President, you could do that better than I could.' " In no place did extremes ever meet in a more practical sense than in the American Museum. Commodore Nutt was the shortest of men ; and at the same time the Museum contained the tallest of women. Her name was Anna Swan, and she came from Nova Scotia. Barnum first heard of her 480 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. through a Quaker, who was visiting the Museum. This visitor came to Barnum's office, and told him of a wonderful girl, only seventeen years old, who lived near him at Pictou. Barnum soon sent an agent up there, who brought the young lady back to New York. She was an intelligent girl, and, despite her enormous stature, was decidedly good-looking. For a long time she was a leading attraction at Barnum's Museum, and afterwards went to England and attracted great attention there. For many years Barnum had been in the habit of engaging parties of American Indians from the far West to exhibit at the Museum. He had also sent several parties of them to Europe, where they were regarded as extraordinary curiosities. In 1864 ten or twelve chiefs, of as many different tribes, visited the President of the United States, at Washington. By a pretty liberal outlay of money, Barnum succeeded in inducing the interpreter to bring them to New York, and to pass some days at the Museum. Of course, getting these Indians to dance, or to give any illustration of their games or pastimes, was out of the question. They were real chiefs of powerful tribes, and would no more have consented to give an exhibition of themselves than the chief magistrate of our own nation would have o done. Their interpreter could not therefore promise that they would remain at the Museum for any definite time ; " for," said he, " you can only keep them just so long as they suppose all your patrons REAL LIVE INDIANS. 48 r come to pay them visits of honor. If they suspected that your Museum was a place where people paid for entering," he continued, "you could not keep them a moment after the discovery." On their arrival at the Museum, therefore, Barnum took them upon the stage and personally introduced them to the public. The Indians liked this attention from him, as they had been informed that he was the proprietor of the great establishment in which they were invited and honored guests. His patrons were of course pleased to see these old chiefs, as they knew they were the " real thing/' and several of them were known to the public, either as being friendly or cruel to the whites. After one or two appearances on the stage, Barnum took them in carriages and visited the Mayor of New York in the Governor's room at the City Hall. Here the Mayor made them a speech of welcome, which, being inter- preted to the savages, was responded to by a speech from one of the chiefs, in which he thanked the " Great Father " of the city for his pleasant words, and for his kindness in pointing out the portraits of his predecessors hanging on the walls of the Gov- ernor's room. On another occasion Barnum took them by special invitation to visit one of the large public schools up- town. The teachers were pleased to see them, and arranged an exhibition of special exercises by the scholars, which they thought would be most likely to gratify their barbaric visitors. At the close of LIFE OF P. T. BARNUAf. these exercises, one old chief arose, and simply said : "This is all new to us. We are mere unlearned sons of the forest, and cannot understand what we have seen and heard." On other occasions he took them to ride in Cen- tral Park, and through different portions of the city. At every street-corner which they passed they would express their astonishment to each other, at seeing the long rows of houses which extended both ways on either side of each cross-street. Of course, after each of these outside visits Barnum would return with them to the Museum, and secure two or three appearances upon the stage to receive the people who had there congregated " to do them honor." As they regarded him as their host, they did not hesitate to trespass upon his hospitality. Whenever their eyes rested upon a glittering shell among his specimens of conchology, especially if it had several brilliant colors, one would take off his coat, another his shirt, and insist that he should exchange the shell for the garment. When he declined the ex- change, but on the contrary presented the coveted article, he soon found he had established a danger- ous precedent. Immediately they all commenced to beg for everything in the vast collection which they happened to take a liking to. This cost Bar- num many valuable specimens, and often "put him to his trumps " for an excuse to avoid giving them things which he could not part with. The chief of one of the tribes one day discovered REAL LIVE INDIANS. 433 an ancient shirt of chain-mail which hung in one of the cases of antique armor. He was delighted with it, and declared he must have it. Barnum tried all sorts of excuses to prevent his getting it, for it had cost a hundred dollars, and was a great curiosity. But the old man's eyes glistened, and he would not take " no " for an answer. " The Utes have killed my little child," he said through the interpreter ; and now he must have this steel shirt to protect himself; and when he returned to the Rocky Mountains he would have his revenue. Barnum remained inexor- o able until the chief finally brought a new buckskin Indian suit, which he insisted upon exchanging. Barnum then felt compelled to accept his proposal ; and never did anyone see a man more delighted than the Indian seemed to be when he took the mailed shirt into his hands. He fairly jumped up and down with joy. He ran to his lodging-room, and soon appeared again with the coveted armor upon his body, and marched down one of the main halls of the Museum, with folded arms, and head erect, occasionally patting his breast with his right hand, as much as to say, " Now, Mr. Ute, look sharp, for I will soon be on the war-path ! " Among these Indians were War Bonnet, Lean Bear, and Hand-in-the-water, chiefs of the Cheyen- nes ; Yellow Buffalo, of the Kiowas ; Yellow Bear, of the same tribe ; Jacob, of the Caddos ; and White Bull, of the Apaches. The little wiry chief known as Yellow Bear had killed many whites as they had 484 LIFE of p - travelled through the " far West." He was a sly, treacherous, bloodthirsty savage, who would think no more of scalping a family of women and children than a butcher would of wringing the neck of a chicken. But now he was on a mission to the "Great Father" at Washington, seeking for presents and favors for his tribe, and he pretended to be exceedingly meek and humble, and continually urged the interpreter to announce him as a "great friend to the white man." He would fawn about Barnum, and although not speaking or understand- ing a word of our language, would try to convince him that he loved him dearly. In exhibiting these Indian warriors on the stage, Barnum explained to the large audiences the names and characteristics of each. When he came to Yellow Bear he would pat him familiarly upon the shoulder, which always caused him to look up with a pleasant smile, while he softly stroked Barnum's arm with his right hand in the most loving manner. Knowing that he could not understand a word he o said, Barnum pretended to be complimenting him to the audience, while he was really saying something like the following : 44 This little Indian, ladies and gentlemen, is Yellow Bear, chief of the Kiowas. He has killed, no doubt, scores of white persons, and he is probably the meanest black-hearted rascal that lives in the far "West." Here Barnum patted him on the head, and he, supposing he was sounding his praises, would REAL LIVE INDIANS. 485 smile, fawn upon him, and stroke his arm, while he continued : " If the bloodthirsty little villain under- stood what I was saying, he would kill me in a moment ; but as he thinks I am complimenting him, I can safely state the truth to you, that he is a lying, thieving, treacherous, murderous monster. He has tortured to death poor, unprotected women, mur- dered their husbands, brained their helpless little ones ; and he would gladly do the same to you or to me, if he thought he could escape punishment. This is but a faint description of the character of Yellow Bear." Here Barnum gave him another patronizing pat on the head, and he, with a pleasant smile, bowed to the audience, as much as to say that the words were quite true, and that he thanked Barnum very much for the high encomiums he had so generously heaped upon him. After the Indians had been at the Museum about a week they discovered the real character of the place. They found they were simply on exhibition, and that people paid a fee for the privilege of coming in and gazing at them. Forthwith there was an outcry of discontent and anger. Nothing would induce them again to appear upon the stage. Their dignity had been irretrievably offended, and Barnum was actually fearful lest they should wreak vengeance upon him with physical violence. It was with a feeling of great relief that he witnessed their departure for Washington the next day. In the fall of this year Barnum produced at his 486 L ' FE OF p - T > BARNUM. Museum a dramatization of Dickens's " Great Ex- pectations." On the opening night of the play, before the curtain rose, the great showman himself went upon the stage and made this poetical address of welcome to the audience : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: " That Prince of Humbugs, Barnum," so it appears Some folks have designated me for several yean. Well, I don't murmur ; indeed, when they embellish it, To tell the truth, my friends, I rather relish it, Since your true humbug's he, who as a host, For the least money entertains you most. In this sense I'm a " humbug," I succumb! Who as a " General " thing brought out Tom Thumb? Who introduced (you can't say there I sinned) The Swedish Nightingale, sweet Jenny Lind? Who brought you Living Whales from Labrador ? The Hippopotamus from Nilus's shore. The Bearded Lady with her (h)airs and graces, The Aztec Children with their normal faces, The Twins of Siam rarest of dualities Two ever separate, ne'er apart realities ? The Family of Albinos ? the Giraffe ? The famous Baby Show that made you laugh ? The Happy Family cats, rats, doves, hawks, harmonious f Their voices blend in tones euphonious. The great Sea Lion from Pacific's coast, The " Monarch of the Ocean," no empty boast ; Old Adam's Bears, cutest of brute performers, In modern " peace meetings" models for reformers. That living miracle, the Lightning Calculator, Those figures confound Hermann the " Prestidigitator." The Grand Aquaria, an official story Of life beneath the waves in all its glory ; The curious " What is It ? " which you, though spunky, Won't call a man and cannot call a monkey. These things and many more time forbids to state, I first introduced, if I did not originate ; &s 8-s-s 2 ly s 5 1 I 8 g If ? S _ 'j> f* |l if i GREAT EXPECTATIONS. 489 "The World's Seven Wonders," pooh! let them invite you, Here " seven " saloons all wonder-full delight you. To call this " humbug " admits of no defence, For all is shown for five and twenty cents. And now, good friends, to use less rhyme than reason, To-day re-opens our dramatic season ; Therefore I welcome you ! And though we're certain To raise " Great Expectations" with the curtain, And "play the Dickens" afternoon and nightly, I bid you welcome none the less politely, To these my " quarters," merry and reliable, That yours are always welcome 'tis undeniable ! And Patrick Henry like I say, I boast of it, If that be " humbug," gentlemen, " make the most of it." The foregoing address may be correctly said to have as much truth as poetry. It is a graceful sum- mary of the curiosities which Barnum had brought before the world up to his sixtieth year. It does not include the Sacred White Elephant of Siam, the mammoth Jumbo and other wonders of nature which he was yet to reveal to astonished and delighted millions. Nor does it indicate that grand genius of aggregation by which in later years he surpassed all his previous performances masterly as they were. Not till the veteran had reached the age of seventy the allotted span of life did he gather and create " The Greatest Show on Earth." In connection with the dramatization of Dickens' novel, it seems surprising that the Great Showman had little intercourse with the Great Novelist. He was on intimate terms with Thackeray and gave him useful hints for his lecturing tour in the United 27 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. 490 States, by which the humorist duly profited. But Dickens, who reached the popular heart as Barnum did their senses, seems to have held aloof from one whose knowledge of men rivalled his own. CHAPTER XXXV. GENERAL AND MRS. TOM THUMB. Miss LAVINIA WARREN THE RIVALS Miss WARREN'S ENGAGEMENT TO TOM THUMB THE WEDDING GRAND RECEPTION LETTER FROM A WOULD BE GUEST, AND DR. TAYLOR'S REPLY. In 1862 Mr. Barnum heard of an extraordinary dwarf girl named Lavinia Warren, who was living at Middleboro', Massachusetts, and sent an invitation to her and her parents to visit him at Bridgeport : they came, and Barnum found her to be a very intelligent and refined young lady. He immediately made a contract with her for several years, she agreeing to visit the Old World. He purchased a splendid wardrobe for her, includ- ing many elegant dresses, costly jewels and every- thing else that could add to her naturally charming person. She was placed on exhibition at the Museum, and from the first was a great success. Commodore Nutt was exhibited with her, and although he was several years her junior, he at once took a violent fancy to her. One day Mr. Barnum gave Miss Warren a diamond and emerald ring, and as it did not exactly fit her finger, he offered to get her 492 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. another one just like it, and told her to present this one to Commodore Nutt in her own name. She did so, and the Commodore, who possessed a full proportion of masculine vanity, construed the gift to be a love token, and poor Lavinia was much distressed, for she considered herself quite a woman, and the Commodore only "a nice boy." Still she did not like to offend him, and continued to treat him kindly, while not actually encouraging his atten- tions. At the time Tom Thumb was not on exhibition at the Museum ; he was taking a vacation at his home in Bridgeport. One day he came to New York quite unexpectedly, and naturally called on Mr. Barnum at the Museum. Lavinia was holding one of her levees when he came in, and -he was presented to her. After a short interview with her he went directly to Mr. Barnum's private office and asked to see him alone. The door was closed and the General sat down. His first question gave Mr. Barnum a slight inkling of the object of the interview. The General wanted to know all about the family of Lavinia Warren. Mr. Barnum gave him all information, and the General said, earnestly, " That is the most charming little' lady I ever saw, and I believe she was created to. be my wife. Now, Mr. Barnum, you've always been a friend of mine, and I want you to say a good word for me to her. I've got plenty of money and I want to marry and settle down, and TOM THUMB IS SMITTEN. 493 I really feel as though I must marry that young lady." Mr. Barnum laughed, and recalling his ancient joke, said : " Lavinia is already engaged, General." "Jo whom? Commodore Nutt?" asked Tom Thumb, jealously. "No, tome." " Oh ! " laughed the General, much relieved. " Never mind ; you may exhibit her for a while, and then give up the engagement ; but I do hope you will favor my suit with her." "Well, General," replied Barnum, "I will not oppose your suit, but you must do your own court- ing. I will tell you, however, that Commodore Nutt will be jealous of you, and more than that, Miss Warren is nobody's fool, and you will have to pro- ceed very cautiously if you succeed in winning her." The General promised to be very discreet. A change now came over him. He had been very fond of his country home at Bridgeport, where he spent all his leisure time with his horses and his yacht, for he had a great passion for the water; but now he was constantly running down to the city, and the horses and yacht were sadly neglected. He had a married sister living in New York, and his visits to her multiplied to such an extent that his mother, who lived in Bridgeport, remarked that Charles had never before shown so much brotherly affection, nor so much fondness for city life. His visits to the Museum were frequent, and it 494 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. was very amusing to watch his new relations with Commodore Nutt, who strutted around like a bantam rooster whenever the General approached Lavinia. One day the rivals got into a friendly scuffle in the dressing-room, and the Commodore laid the General very neatly on his back. But while the Commodore was performing on the stage, and on Sunday afternoons and evenings, the General found plenty of opportunities to talk to Lavinia, and it was evident that his suit was pro- gressing. Finally, Tom Thumb returned to Bridgeport, and privately begged Mr. Barnum to bring Lavinia up the next Saturday evening, and also to invite him to the house. His immediate object was that his mother might see Miss Warren. Mr. Barnum agreed to the proposition, and on the following Friday, while Miss Warren and the Commodore were sitting in the green-room, he said : " Lavinia, would you like to go up to Bridgeport with me to-morrow, and stay until Monday? " "I thank you," she replied, "it will be a great relief to get into the country for a couple of days." " Mr. Barnum," said the Commodore, " I should like to go up to Bridgeport to-morrow." " What for?" asked Barnum. " I want to see my ponies ; I have not seen them for several months ; " he replied. Mr. Barnum remarked that he was afraid he could MR. BARNUM HELPS ALONG. 495 not spare the Commodore from the Museum, but he said: " Oh ! I can perform at half past seven o'clock and then jump on the evening train and go up by myself, reaching Bridgeport at eleven, and return early Monday morning." Fearing a clash of interests between the two little men, but wishing to please the Commodore, Mr. Barnum consented, especially as Miss Warren seemed to favor it. The Commodore had made his feelings almost as plain to the manager as had General Tom Thumb, but Lavinia Warren's secret was her own. She kept up a wonderful self-possession under the cir- cumstances, for she must have known the reason of the General's frequent visits to the Museum. Bar- num was afraid that she intended to reject Tom Thumb, and he told him as much ; the General was nervous but determined ; hence his anxiety to have Lavinia meet his mother, and also to see the extent of his possessions in Bridgeport. The General met his lady-love and Mr. Barnum at the station Saturday morning, and drove them to the latter's house in his own carriage the coachman being tidily dressed, with a broad velvet ribbon and a silver buckle on his hat, especially for the occasion. After resting for a half hour at Lindencroft, he came back and took Lavinia out to drive. They stopped at his mother's house, where she saw the apartments which had been built for him and filled 496 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. .s with the most gorgeous furniture, all corresponding to his diminutive size. Then he took her to East Bridgeport, and undoubtedly took occasion to point out all of the houses which he owned, for he de- pended much on his wealth making an impression on her. He stayed to lunch at Lindencroft, and was much pleased when Lavinia expressed her opinion that " Mr. Barnum or Tom Thumb owned about all Bridgeport." The General took his leave and returned to five o'clock dinner, accompanied by his mother, who was delighted with Lavinia. The General took Mr. Bar- num aside and begged him for an invitation to stay all night, "For," said he, "I intend to ask her to marry me before the Commodore arrives." After tea Lavinia and the General sat down to play backgammon. By and by the rest went to their separate rooms, but Tom Thumb had volun- teered to sit up for the Commodore, and persuaded Miss Warren to keep him company. The General was beaten at backgammon, and after sitting a few minutes, he evidently thought it time to put a clincher on his financial abilities. So he drew from his pocket a policy of insurance and handed it to Lavinia, asking her if she knew what it was. n Examining it, she replied, " It is an insurance policy. I see you keep your property insured." " But the beauty of it is, it is not my property," THE AFFAIR COMES OFF. 497 replied the General, "and yet I get the benefit of the insurance in case of fire. You will see," he con- tinued, unfolding the policy, " this is the property of Mr. Williams, but here, you will observe, it reads ' loss, if any, payable to Charles S. Stratton, as his interest may appear.' The fact is, I loaned Mr. Williams three thousand dollars, took a mortgage on his house, and made him insure it for my benefit. In this way, you perceive, I get my interest, and he has to pay the taxes. " That is a very wise way, I should think," remarked Lavinia. " That is the way I do all my business," replied the General, complacently, as he returned the huge insurance policy to his pocket. " You see," he continued, " I never lend any of my money without taking bond and mortgage security, then I have no trouble with taxes ; my principal is secure, and I receive my interest regularly." The explanation seemed satisfactory to Lavinia, and the General's courage began to rise. Drawing his chair a little nearer to hers, he said : " So you are going to Europe, soon ? " " Yes," replied Lavinia, " Mr. Barnum intends to take me over in a couple of months." "You will find it very pleasant," remarked the General ; " I have been there twice, in fact I have spent six years abroad, and I like the old countries very much." " I hope I shall like the trip, and I expect I shall," 49 8 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. responded Lavinia ; "for Mr. Barnum says I shall visit all the principal cities, and he has no doubt I will be invited to appear before the Queen of Eng- land, the Emperor and Empress of France, the King of Prussia, the Emperor of Austria, and at the courts of any other countries which we may visit. Oh! I shall like that, it will be so new to me." " Yes, it will be very interesting indeed. I have visited most of the crowned heads," remarked the General, with an evident feeling of self-congratula- tion. " But are you not afraid you will be lonesome in a strange country? " asked the General. " No, I think there is no danger of that, for friends will accompany me," was the reply. " I wish I was going over, for I know all about the different countries, and could explain them all to you," remarked Tom Thumb. " That would be very nice," said Lavinia. " Do you think so ? " said the General, moving his chair still closer to Lavinia's. " Of course," replied Lavinia, coolly, " for I, being a stranger to all the habits and customs of the peo- ple, as well as to the country, it would be pleasant to have some person along who could answer all my foolish questions." " I should like it first rate, if Mr. Barnum would engage me," said the General. " I thought you remarked the other day that you had money enough, and was tired of traveling," said THE COMMODORE IS TOO LATE. 499 Lavinia, with a slightly mischievous look from one corner of her eye. " That depends upon my company while traveling," replied the General. " You might not find my company very agreeable." " I would be glad to risk it." " Well, perhaps Mr. Barnum would engage you, if you asked him," said Lavinia. " Would you really like to have me go ? " asked the General, quietly insinuating his arm around her waist, but hardly close enough to touch her. " Of course I would," was the reply. The little General's arm clasped the waist closer as he turned his face nearer to hers, and said : " Don't you think it would be pleasanter if we went as man and wife ? " And after a little hesitation she agreed that it would. A moment later a carnage drove up to the door, the bell rang and the Commodore entered. " You here, General ? " said the Commodore as he espied his rival. "Yes," said Lavinia, "Mr. Barnum asked him to stay, and we were waiting for you " " Where is Mr. Barnum ? " asked the Commodore. " He has gone to bed," answered Tom Thumb, "but a supper has been prepared for you." "I am not hungry, thank you," said the Commo- dore petulantly, "What room does Mr. Barnum sleep in ? " 5 CO LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. He was answered, and immediately went to Mr. Barnum whom he found reading 1 in bed. "Mr. Barnum," he said sarcastically, "does Tom Thumb board here ? " "No," said Mr. Barnum, "Tom Thumb does not board here. I invited him to stop over night, so don't be foolish, but go to bed." "Oh, it's no affair of mine. I don't care anything about it. Only I thought he'd taken up his resi- dence here." And off he went to bed, in a very bad humor. Ten minutes after, Tom Thumb rushed into the room in the greatest excitement, and cried joyfully : "We're engaged, Mr. Barnum ! We're engaged !" " Is that possible ? " said Barnum. "Yes sir, indeed it is," responded the General, "but you must'nt mention it. We've agreed to tell no one, so don't say a word. I'm going to ask her Mother's consent Tuesday." Barnum swore secrecy, and the General went off radiant with happiness. The next day the family plied Lavinia with all sorts of questions, but not a breath passed her lips that would give the slightest indication as to what had transpired. She was most amiable to the Commodore, and as the General concluded to go home the next morning, the Commodore's happi- ness and good humor were fully restored. The General made a call Sunday evening 1 and managed to have an interview with Lavinia. The next morn- THE COMMODORE IS TOO LATE. 50! ing she and the Commodore returned to New York, without Mr. Barnum. The General called on Monday to tell Mr. Barnum that he had concluded to send his letter to Lavinia's mother by his friend, Mr. Wells, who had consented to go to Middleboro' the next day, and to urge the General's suit if necessary. The General went to New York on Wednesday to wait there for Mr. Wells's return. That same day he and Lavinia came to Mr. Barnum, and Tom Thumb said: "Mr. Barnum, I want somebody to tell the Commodore that Lavinia and I are engaged, for I'm afraid there will be a row when he hears of it." " Why don't you do it yourself, General ? " asked Barnum. " Oh! "said the General, almost shuddering, "I would not dare do it, he might knock me down." " I will do it myself," said Lavinia. So the General retired and the Commodore was sent for. When he had joined them, Mr. Barnum began by saying, " Commodore, do you know what this little witch has been doing ? " " No, I don't," he answered. " Well, she has been cutting up the greatest prank you ever heard of. She almost deserves to be shut up for daring to do it. Can't you guess what it is ? " He mused a moment, and then said in a low tone, and looking full at her, " Engaged? " "Yes," said Barnum, "actually engaged to be 502 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. married to General Tom Thumb. Did you ever hear of such a thing ? " " Is it so, Lavinia? " he asked, earnestly. "Yes," said Lavinia, "it is really so." The Commodore turned pale, choked a little, and turning on his heel, he said, in a broken voice: " I hope you may be happy." As he passed out the door a tear rolled down his cheek. "That's pretty hard," said Barnum. "Yes it is hard," said Lavinia, "and I am very sorry. Only I could'nt help it. It was all the fault of your emerald and diamond ring." Half an hour later the Commodore returned to the office and said : " Mr. Barnum do you think it would be right for Miss Warren to marry Charlie Stratton if her mother should object?" " No, indeed," replied Mr. Barnum. " Well, she says she will marry him anyway ; that she gives her mother the chance to consent, but if she objects, she will have her way and marry him." "On the contrary," said Barnum, T - BARNUM. " Sorry," replied Barnum ; " why, my dear sir, I shall not have time to be sorry in a week ! It will take me at least that length of time before I can get over laughing at having whipped you all so nicely on that bill." But he did find time to be sorry when, next day, he went to New York and saw nothing of what had been the American Museum but a smouldering mass of debris. Here was destroyed, in a few hours, the result of many years' toil in accumulating from every part of the world myriads of curious productions of nature and art a collection which a half a million of dollars and a quarter of a century could not restore. In addition to these, there were many Revolution- ary relics and other articles of historical interest that could never be duplicated. Not a thousand dollars worth of property was saved ; the loss was irrepa- rable, and the insurance was only forty thousand dollars. The fire probably originated in the engine-room, where steam was constantly kept up to pump fresh air into the waters of the aquaria and to propel the immense fans for cooling the atmosphere of the rooms. All the New York newspapers made a great "sensation" of the fire, and the full particulars were copied in journals throughout the country. A facetious reporter,* Mr. Nathan D. Urner, of the Tribune, wrote the following amusing account, which NEWSPAPER DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE. 539 appeared in that journal, July 14, 1865, and was very generally quoted from and copied by provincial papers, many of whose readers accepted every line of the glowing narrative as " gospel truth : " "Soon after the breaking out of the conflagration, a number of strange and terrible howls and moans proceeding from the large apartment in the third floor of the Museum, corner of Ann street and Broadway, startled the throngs who had collected in front of the burning building, and who were at first under the impression that the sounds must proceed from human beings unable to effect their escape. Their anxiety was somewhat relieved on this score, but their consternation was by no means decreased upon learning that the room in question was the principal chamber of the menagerie connected with the Museum, and that there was imminent danger of the release of the animals there confined, by the action of the flames. Our reporter fortunately occupied a room on the north corner of Ann street and Broadway, the windows of which looked im- mediately into this apartment ; and no sooner was he apprised of the fire than he repaired there, con- fident of finding items in abundance. Luckily the windows of the Museum were unclosed, and he had a perfect view of almost the entire interior of the apartment. The following is his statement of what followed, in his own language. " Protecting myself from the intense heat as well as I could by taking the mattress from the bed and LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. 540 erecting it as a bulwark before the window, with only enough space reserved on the top so as to look out, I anxiously observed the animals in the opposite room. Immediately opposite the window through which I gazed was a large cage containing a lion and lioness. To the right hand was the three- storied cage, containing monkeys at the top, two kangaroos in the second story, and a happy family of cats, rats, adders, rabbits, etc., in the lower apartment. To the left of the lions' cage was the tank containing the two vast alligators, and still further to the left, partially hidden from my sight, was the grand tank containing the great white whale, which has created such a furore in our sight- seeing midst for the past few weeks. Upon the floor were caged the boa-constrictor, anacondas and rattlesnakes, whose heads would now and then rise menacingly through the top of the cage. In the extreme right was the cage, entirely shut from my view at first, containing the Bengal tiger and the Polar bear, whose terrific growls could be distinctly heard from behind the partition. With a simul- taneous bound the lion and his mate sprang against the bars, which gave way and came down with a great crash, releasing the beasts, which for a moment, apparently amazed at their sudden liberty, stood in the middle of the floor lashing their sides with their tails and roaring dolefully. "Almost at the same moment the upper part of the three-storied cage, consumed by the flames, fell LAWRENCE BARRETT. ; NEWSPAPER DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE. 543 forward, letting the rods drop to the floor, and many other animals were set free. Just at this time the door fell through and the flames and smoke rolled in like a whirlwind from the Hadean river Cocytus. A horrible scene in the right-hand corner of the room, a yell of indescribable agony, and a crashing, grating sound, indicated that the tiger and Polar bear were stirred up to the highest pitch of excite- ment. Then there came a great crash, as of the giving way of the bars of their cage. The flames and smoke momentarily rolled back, and for a few seconds the interior of the room was visible in the lurid light of the flames, which revealed the tiger and the lion, locked together in close combat. " The monkeys were perched around the windows, shivering with dread, and afraid to jump out. The snakes were writhing about, crippled and blistered by the heat, darting out their forked tongues, and expressing their rage and fear in the most sibilant of hisses. The * Happy Family ' were experiencing an amount of beatitude which was evidently too cordial for philosophical enjoyment. A long tongue of flame had crept under the cage, completely sing- ing every hair from the cat's body. The felicitous adder was slowly burning in two and busily engaged in impregnating his organic system with his own venom. The joyful rat had lost his tail by a falling bar of iron ; and the beatific rabbit, perforated by a red-hot nail, looked as if nothing would be more grateful than a cool corner in some Esquimaux 30 544 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. farm-yard. The members of the delectated convo- cation were all huddled together in the bottom of their cage, which suddenly gave way, precipitating them out of view in the depths below, which by this time were also blazing like the fabled Tophet. "At this moment the flames rolled again into the room, and then again retired. The whale and alli- gators were by this time suffering dreadful torments. The water in which they swam was literally boiling. The alligators dashed fiercely about, endeavoring to escape, and opening and shutting their great jaws in ferocious torture ; but the poor whale, almost boiled, with great ulcers bursting from his blubbery sides, could only feebly swim about, though blowing excessively, and every now and then sending up great fountains of spray. At length, crack went the glass sides of the great cases, and whale and alligators rolled out on the floor with the rushing and steaming water. The whale died easily, having been pretty well used up before. A few great gasps and a convulsive flap or two of his mighty flukes were his expiring spasm. One of the alli- gators was killed almost immediately by falling across a great fragment of shattered glass, which cut open his stomach and let out the greater part of his entrails to the light of day. The remaining alligator became involved in a controversy with an anaconda, and joined the melee in the centre of the flaming apartment. "A number of birds which were caged in the NEWSPAPER DESCRIPTION OF THE . 545 upper part of the building were set free by some charitably inclined person at the first alarm of fire, and at intervals they flew out. There were many valuable tropical birds, parrots, cockatoos, mocking- birds, humming-birds, etc., as well as some vultures and eagles, and one condor. Great excitement existed among the swaying crowds in the streets below as they took wing. There were confined in the same room a few serpents, which also obtained their liberty ; and soon after the rising and devour- ing flames began to enwrap the entire building, a splendid and emblematic sight was presented to the wondering and upgazing throngs. Bursting through the central casement, with flap of wings and lashing coils, appeared an eagle and a serpent wreathed in fight. For a moment they hung poised in mid-air, presenting a novel and terrible conflict. It was the earth and air (or their respective representatives) at war for mastery; the base and the lofty, the groveller and the soarer, were engaged in deadly battle. At length the flat head of the serpent sank; his writh- ing, sinuous form grew still ; and wafted upward by the cheers of the gazing multitude, the eagle, with a scream of triumph, and bearing his prey in his iron talons, soared towards the sun. Several monkeys escaped from the burning building to the neighboring roofs and streets ; and considerable excitement was caused by the attempts to secure them. One of the most amusing incidents in this respect, was in con- nection with Mr. James Gordon Bennett. The 546 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. veteran editor of the Herald was sitting in his private office, with his back to the open window, calmly discussing with a friend the chances that the Herald establishment would escape the conflagration, which at that time was threateningly advancing up Ann street towards Nassau street. In the course of his conversation, Mr. Bennett observed : Although I have usually had good luck in cases of fire, they say that the devil is ever at one's shoulder, and ' here an exclamation from his friend inter- rupted him, and turning quickly he was considerably taken aback at seeing the devil himself, or some- thing like him, at his very shoulder as he spoke. Recovering his equanimity, with the ease and suav- ity which is usual with him in all company, Mr. Bennett was about to address the intruder, when he perceived that what he had taken for the gentleman in black was nothing more than a frightened orang- outang. The poor creature, but recently released from captivity, and. doubtless thinking that he might fill some vacancy in the editoral corps of the paper in question, had descended by the water-pipe and instinctively taken refuge in the inner sanctum of the establishment. Although the editor perhaps from the fact that he saw nothing peculiarly strange in the visitation soon regained his composure, it was far otherwise with his friend, who immediately gave the alarm. Mr. Hudson rushed in and boldly attacked the monkey, grasping him by the throat. The book-editor next came in, obtaining a clutch NEWSPAPER DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE. upon the brute by the ears ; the musical critic followed and seized the tail with both hands, and a number of reporters, armed with inkstands and sharpened pencils, came next, followed by a dozen policemen with brandished clubs ; at the same time, the engineer in the basement received the precon- certed signal and got ready his hose, wherewith to pour boiling hot water upon the heads of those in the streets, in case it should prove a regular sys- tematized attack by gorillas, Brazil apes, and chim- panzees. Opposed to this formidable combination the rash intruder fared badly, and was soon in durance vile. Numerous other incidents of a similar kind occurred ; but some of the most amusing were in connection with the wax figures. " Upon the same impulse which prompts men in time of fire to fling valuable looking-glasses out of three-story windows, and at the same time tenderly to lower down feather beds soon after the Museum took fire, a number of sturdy firemen rushed into the building to carry out the wax figures. There were thousands of valuable articles which might have been saved if there had been less of solicitude displayed for the miserable effigies which are usually exhibited under the appellation of 'wax figures/ As it was, a dozen firemen rushed into the apart- ment where the figures were kept, amid a multitude of crawling snakes, chattering monkeys and escaped paroquets. The ' Dying Brigand ' was unceremoni- ously throttled and dragged towards the door; 548 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. liberties were taken with the tearful ' Senorita * who has so long knelt and so constantly wagged her doll's head at his side ; the mules of the other bandits were upset, and they themselves roughly seized. The full-length statue of P. T. Barnum fell down of its own accord, as if disgusted with the whole affair. A red-shirted fireman seized with either hand Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan by their coat-collars, tucked the Prince Imperial of France under one arm and the Veiled Murderess under the other, and coolly departed for the street. Two ragged boys quarreled over the Tom Thumb, but at length settled the controversy by one of them taking the head, the other satisfying himself "with the legs below the knees. They evidently had Tom under their thumbs, and intended to keep him down. While the curiosity-seeking policeman was garroting Benjamin Franklin, with the idea of ab- ducting him, a small monkey, flung from the window- sill by the strong hand of an impatient fireman, made a straight dive, hitting Poor Richard just below the waistcoat, and passing through his stomach, as fairly as the Harlequin in the ' Green Monster* pantomime ever pierced the picture with the slit in it, which always hangs so conveniently low and near. Patrick Henry had his teeth knocked out by a flying missile, and in carrying Daniel Lambert down stairs, he was found to be so large that they had to break off his head in order to get him through the door. At length the heat became NEWSPAPER DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE. 549 intense, the ' figgers ' began to perspire freely, and the swiftly approaching flames compelled all hands to desist from any further attempt at rescue. Throwing a parting glance behind as we passed down the stairs, we saw the remaining dignitaries in a strange plight. Some one had stuck a cigar in General Washington's mouth, and thus, with his chapeau crushed down over his eyes and his head leaning upon the ample lap of Moll Pitcher, the Father of his Country led the van of as sorry a band of patriots as not often comes within one's experience to see. General Marion was playing a dummy game of poker with General Lafayette ; Governor Morris was having a set-to with Nathan Lane, and James Madison was executing a Dutch polka with Madam Roland on one arm and Lucretia Borgia on the other. The next moment the advanc- ing flames compelled us to retire. " We believe that all the living curiosities were saved ; but the giant girl, Anna Swan, was only res- cued with the utmost difficulty. There was not a door through which her bulky frame could obtain a passage. It was likewise feared that the stairs would break down, even if she should reach them. Her best friend, the living skeleton, stood by her as long as he dared, but then deserted her, while, as the heat grew in intensity, the perspiration rolled from her face in little brooks and rivulets, which pattered musically upon the floor. At length, as a last re- sort, the employees of the place procured a lofty LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. derrick which fortunately happened to be standing near, and erected it alongside of the Museum. A portion of the wall was then broken off on each side of the window, the strong tackle was got in readi- ness, the tall woman was made fast to one end and swung over the heads of the people in the street, with eighteen men grasping the other extremity of the line, and lowered down from the third story, amid enthusiastic applause. A carriage of extraor- dinary capacity was in readiness, and, entering this, the young lady was driven away to a hotel. " When the surviving serpents, that were released by the partial burning of the box in which they were contained, crept along on the floor to the balcony of the Museum and dropped on the sidewalk, the crowd, seized with St. Patrick's aversion to the rep- tiles, fled with such precipitate haste that they knocked each other down and trampled on one another in the most reckless and damaging manner. " Hats were lost, coats torn, boots burst and pantaloons dropped with magnificent miscellaneous- ness, and dozens of those who rose from the miry streets into which they had been thrown looked like the disembodied spirits of a mud bank. The snakes crawled on the sidewalk and into Broadway, where some of them died from injuries received, and others were dispatched by the excited populace. Several of the serpents of the copper-head species escaped the fury of the tumultuous masses, and, true to their in- stincts, sought shelter in the World and News offices. NEWSPAPER DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE. $$i A large black bear escaped from the burning Museum into Ann street, and then made his way into Nassau, and down that thoroughfare into Wall, where his appearance caused a sensation. Some superstitious persons believed him the spirit of a departed Ursa Major, and others of his fraternity welcomed the animal as a favorable omen. The bear walked quietly along to the Custom House, ascended the steps of the building, and became be- wildered, as many a biped bear has done before him. He seemed to lose his sense of vision, and, no doubt, endeavoring to operate for a fall, walked over the side of the steps and broke his neck. He suc- ceeded in his object, but it cost him dearly. The appearance of Bruin in the street sensibly affected the stock market, and shares fell rapidly ; but when he lost his life in the careless manner we have de- scribed, shares advanced again, and the Bulls triumphed once more. " Broadway and its crossings have not witnessed a denser throng for months than assembled at the fire yesterday. Barnum's was always popular, but it never drew so vast a crowd before. There must have been forty thousand people on Broadway, between Maiden Lane and Chambers street, and a great portion stayed there until dusk. So great was the concourse of people that it was with difficulty pedestrians or vehicles could pass. "After the fire several high-art epicures, groping among the ruins, found choice morsels of boiled 552 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. whale, roasted kangaroo and fricasseed crocodile, which, it is said, they relished ; though the many would have failed to appreciate such rare edibles. Probably the recherche epicures will declare the only true way to prepare those meats is to cook them in a Museum wrapped in flames, in the same manner that the Chinese, according to Charles Lamb, first discovered roast pig in a burning house, and ever afterward set a house on fire with a pig inside, when they wanted that particular food." All the New York journals, and many more in other cities, editorially expressed their sympathy with the misfortune, and their sense of the loss the community had sustained in the destruction of the American Museum. The following editorial is from the New York Tribune of July 14, 1865 : "The destruction of no building in this city could have caused so much excitement and so much regret as that of Barnum's Museum. The collec- tion of curiosities was very large, and though many of them may not have had much intrinsic or memorial value, a considerable portion was certainly of great worth for any Museum. But aside from this, pleasant memories clustered about the place, which for so many years has been the chief resort for amusement to the common people who cannot often afford to treat themselves to a night at the more expensive theatres, while to the children of the city, Barnum's has been a fountain of delight, ever EDITORIAL SYMPATHY. 553 offering new attractions as captivating and as im- plicitly believed in as the Arabian Nights Entertain- ments : Theatre, Menagerie and Museum, it amused, instructed, and astonished. If its thousands and tens of thousands of annual visitors were bewildered sometimes with a Wooly Horse, a What is It ? or a Mermaid, they found repose and certainty in a Giraffe, a Whale or a Rhinoceros. If wax effigies of pirates and murderers made them shudder lest those dreadful figures should start out of their glass cases and repeat their horrid deeds, they were re- assured by the presence of the mildest and most amiable of giants, and the fattest of mortal women, whose dead weight alone could crush all the wax figures into their original cakes. It was a source of unfailing interest to all country visitors, and New York to many of them was only the place that held Barnum's Museum. It was the first thing often the only thing they visited when they came among us, and nothing that could have been contrived, out of our present resources, could have offered so many attractions, unless some more ingenious showman had undertaken to add to Barnum's collection of waxen criminals by putting in a cage the live Boards of the Common Council. We mourn its loss, but not as without consolation. Barnum's Museum is gone, but Barnum himself, happily, did not share the fate of his rattlesnakes and his, at least, most "un- Happy Family." There are fishes in the seas and beasts in the forest ; birds still fly in the air, 554 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. and strange creatures still roam in the deserts; giants and pigmies still wander up and down the earth ; the oldest man, the fattest woman, and the smallest baby are still living, and Barnum will find them. " Or even if none of these things or creatures existed, we could trust to Barnum to make them out of hand. The Museum, then, is only a temporary loss, and much as we sympathize with the proprietor, the public may trust to his well-known ability and energy to soon renew a place of amusement which was a source of so much innocent pleasure, and had in it so many elements of solid excellence." As already stated, Mr. Barnum's insurance was but forty thousand dollars while the loss was fully four hundred thousand, and as his premium was five per cent., he had already paid the insurance compa- nies more than they returned to him. His first impulse, on reckoning up his losses, waa to retire from active life and all business occupations, beyond what his real estate interests in Bridgeport and New York would compel. He went to his old friend, Horace Greeley, and asked for advice on the subject. " Accept this fire as a notice to quit, and go a- fishing," said Mr. Greeley. "What?" exclaimed Barnum. " Yes, go a-fishing," replied Greeley. " Why, I have been wanting to go for thirty years, and have never yet found time to do so." MR. GREELEY'S ADVICE. 555 And but for two considerations Barnum might have taken this advice. One hundred and fifty em- ployees were thrown out of work at a season when it would ^have been difficult to get anything else to do. That was the most important consideration. Then, too, Barnum felt that a large city like New York needed a good Museum, and that his experi- ence of a quarter of a century in that direction afforded the greatest facilities for founding another establishment of the kind. So he took a few days for reflection. The Museum employees were tendered a benefit at the Academy of Music, at which most of the dramatic artists in the city gave their services. At the conclusion Barnum was called for, and made a brilliant speech, in which he announced that he had decided to establish another Museum, and that, in order to give present occupation to his employees, he had engaged the Winter Garden Theatre for a few weeks, his new establishment promising to be ready by fall. The New York Sun commented on the speech as follows : " One of the 'happiest impromptu oratorical efforts that we have heard for some time was that made by Barnum at the benefit performance given for his employees on Friday afternoon. If a stranger wanted to satisfy himself how the great showman had managed so to monopolize the ear and eye of the public during his long career, he could not have 556 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. had a better opportunity of doing so than by listen- ing to this address. Every word, though delivered with apparent carelessness, struck a key-note in the hearts of his listeners. Simple, forcible and touch- ing, it showed how thoroughly this extraordinary man comprehends the character of his countrymen, and how easily he can play upon their feelings. "Those who look upon Barnum as a mere charla- tan, have really no knowledge of him. It would be easy to demonstrate that the qualities that have placed him in his present position of notoriety and affluence would, in another pursuit, have raised him to far greater eminence. In his breadth of views, his profound knowledge of mankind, his courage under reverses, his indomitable perseverance, his ready eloquence and his admirable business tact, we recognize the elements that are conducive to success in most other pursuits. More than almost any other living man, Barnum may be said to be a representa- tive type of the American mind." CHAPTER XXXVIII. POLITICAL LIFE. IN THE CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE THE GREAT RAILROAD FIGHT BARNUM'S EFFECTIVE STROKE CANVASSING FOR A UNITED STATES SENATOR BARNUM'S CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN A CHALLENGE THAT WAS NOT ACCEPTED. i During his legislative career Mr. Barnum made many new friends and pleasant acquaintances, and there were many events great and small which tended to make the session memorable. Barnum was by no means an idle member. On several occasions, indeed, he took a most conspicuous part in debates and in framing legislation. On one occasion, a Representative, who was a lawyer, intro- duced resolutions to reduce the number of Repre- sentatives, urging that the "House" was too large and ponderous a body to work smoothly ; that a smaller number of persons could accomplish busi- ness more rapidly and completely; and, in fact, that the Connecticut Legislature was so large that the members did not have time to get acquainted with each other before the body adjourned sine die. Bar- njm replied, that the larger the number of Repre- sentatives, the more difficult it would be to tamper 557 558 LIF& OF P. T. BARNUM. with them ; and if they all could not become person- ally acquainted, so much the better, for there would be fewer " rings," and less facilities for forcing im- proper legislation. 44 As the House seems to be thin now, I will move to lay my resolutions on the table," remarked the member ; " but I shall call them up when there is a full House." " According to the gentleman's own theory," Bar- num replied, "the smaller the number, the surer are we to arrive at correct conclusions. Now, therefore, is just the time to decide; and I move that the gentleman's resolutions be considered." This prop- osition was seconded amid a roar of laughter ; and the resolutions were almost unanimously voted down, before the member fairly comprehended what was going on. He afterwards acknowledged it as a pretty fair joke, and at any rate as an effective one. At this time Connecticut had two capitals, Hart- ford and New Haven. The State House at Hartford was a wretched old building, too small and entirely unfit for the purposes to which it was devoted ; and that at New Haven was scarcely better. Barnum made a strong effort to secure the erection of new buildings in both cities, and was made chairman of the committee having the matter in charge. During his investigations he ascertained that Bridgeport, Middletown and Meriden would each be willing to erect a fine new State House at its own cost, for the MRS.&P. T. BARNUM. FIGHTING THE RAILROADS. $fa sake of being made the capital of the State. Thus the jealousy of Hartford and New Haven was greatly aroused, and committees of citizens waited upon Mr. Barnum, beseeching him not to press the matter of removing the capital. In the end nothing definite tvas done, but years afterward Hartford was made the sole capital and one of the finest public buildings in the world was erected there. The most notable event of the whole session however occurred near its close, when Barnum introduced a bill to amend the railroad law of the State by inserting in it the following : " Section 508. No railroad company, which has had a system of commutation fares in force for more than four years, shall abolish, alter, or modify the same, except for the regulation of the price charged for such commutation ; and such price shall, in no case, be raised to an extent that shall alter the ratio between such commutation and the rates then charged for way fare, on the railroad of such com- pany." The New York and New Haven Railroad Com- pany seemed determined to move heaven and earth to prevent the passage of this law. The halls of legislation were thronged with railroad lobbyists, who button-holed nearly every member. Barnum's motives were attacked, and the most foolish slanders were circulated. Not only every legal man -in the House was arrayed against him, but occasionally a " country member/' who had promised to stick by 81 562 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. and aid in checking the cupidity of railroad mana- gers, would drop off, and be found voting on the other side. " I devoted," says Barnum, " many hours, and even days, to explaining the true state of things to the members from the rural regions, and, although the prospect of carrying this great reform looked rather dark, I felt that I had a ma- jority of the honest and disinterested members of the House with me. Finally, Senator Ballard in- formed me that he had canvassed the Senate, and was convinced that the bill could be carried through that body if I could be equally successful with the House." The date of the final debate and vote was fixed for the morning of July 13. At that time the ex- citement was intense. The State House was crowded with railroad lobbyists ; for nearly every railroad in the State had made common cause with the New York and New Haven Company, and every Representative was in his seat, excepting the sick man, who had doctored the railroads till he needed doctoring himself. The debate was led off by skirmishers on each side, and was finally closed on the part of the railroads by Mr. Harrison, of New Haven, who was chairman of the railroad com- mittee. Mr. Harrison was a close and forcible debater and a clear-headed lawyer. His speech exhibited considerable thought, and his earnestness and high character as a gentleman of honor carried much weight. Besides, his position as chairman of FIGHTING THE RAILROADS. 563 the committee naturally influenced some votes. He claimed to understand thoroughly the merits of the question, from having, in his capacity as chairman, heard all the testimony and arguments which had come before that committee ; and a majority of the committee, after due deliberation, had reported against the proposed bill. Mr. Barnum arose to close the debate. He en- deavored to state briefly the gist of the whole case. "Only a few years before," he said, "the New York and New Haven Company had fixed their own price for commuters' tickets along the whole line *of the road, and had thus induced hundreds of New York citizens to remove to Connecticut with their families, and build their houses on heretofore unimproved property, thus vastly increasing the value of the lands, and correspondingly helping our receipts for taxes. He urged that there was a tacit understanding between the railroad and these com- muters and the public generally, that such persons as chose thus to remove from a neighboring State, and bring their families and capital within Con- necticut's borders, should have the right to pass over the railroad on the terms fixed at the time by the president and directors ; ' that any claim that the railroad could not afford to commute at the prices they had themselves established was absurd, from the fact that, even now, if one thousand families who reside in New York, and had never been in our own State, should propose to the rail- LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. 564 road to remove these families (embracing in the aggregate five thousand persons) to Connecticut, and .build one thousand new houses on the line of the New York and New Haven Railroad, provided the railroad would carry the male head of the family at all times for nothing, the company could well afford to accept the proposition, because they would receive full prices for transporting all other members of these families, at all times, as well" as full prices for all their visitors and servants.' "And now," he said, "what are the facts? Do we desire the railroad to carry even one-fifth of these new-comers for nothing? Do we, indeed/ desire to compel them to transport them for any definitely fixed price at all ? On the contrary, we find that during the late rebellion, when gold was selling for two dollars and eighty cents per dollar, this company doubled its prices of commutation, and retains the same prices now, although gold is but one-half that amount ($1.40). We don't ask them to go back to their former prices ; we don't compel them to rest even here ; we simply say, increase your rates, pile up your demands just as high as you desire, only you shall not make fish of one and fowl of another. You have fixed and increased your prices to passengers of all classes just as you liked, and established your own ratio between those who pay by the year and those who pay by the single trip ; and now, all we ask is, that you shall not change the ratio. Charge ten dollars per FIGHTING THE RAILROADS. 565 passenger from New York to New Haven, if you have the courage to risk the competition of the steamboats ; and whatever percentage you choose to increase the fare of transient passengers, we permit you to increase the rates of commuters in the same ratio. "The interests of the State, as well as com- munities, demand this law ; for if it is once fixed by statute that the prices of commutation are not to be increased, many persons will leave the localities where extortion is permitted on the railroads, and will settle in our State. But these railroad gentle- men say they have no intention to increase their rates of commutation, and they deprecate what they term 'premature legislation/ and an uncalled-for meddling with their affairs. Mr. Speaker, ' an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' Men en- gaged in plots against public interests always ask to be 'let alone.' Jeff Davis only asked to be Met alone,' when the North was raising great armies to prevent the dissolution of the Union. The people cannot afford to let these railroads alone. This hall, crowded with railroad lobbyists, as the frogs thronged Egypt, is an admonition to all honest legislators that it is unsafe to allow the monopolies the chance to rivet the chains which already fetter the limbs of those whom circumstances place in the power of these companies." At this point in his speech he was interrupted by a messenger, who placed in his hands a dispatch 5 66 LIFE OF p - T - BAR NUM. from his son-in-law in New York, marked "Urgent. 1 * He opened and read it. It announced that his Museum had been totally destroyed by fire. He laid it upon his desk, and without the slightest change of manner continued his argument, as follows : "These railroad gentlemen absolutely deny any intention of raising the fares of commuters, and profess to think it very hard that disinterested and conscientious gentlemen like them should be judged by the doings of the Hudson River and Harlem Railroads. But now, Mr. Speaker, I am going to expose the duplicity of these men. I have had detectives on their track, for men who plot against public interest deserve to be watched. I have in my pocket positive proofs that they did, and do, intend to spring their trap upon the unprotected commuters on the New York and New Haven Railroad." He then drew from his pocket and read two telegrams received that morning, one from New York and the other from Bridgeport, announcing that the New York and New Haven Railroad Direct- ory had held a secret meeting in New York the day before, for the purpose of immediately raising the fares of commuters twenty per cent, so that in case his bill became a law they could get ahead of him. He continued: " Now, Mr. Speaker, I know that these dispatches are true ; my information is from the inside of the camp. I see a director of the New York and New IN NATIONAL POLITICS. 567 Haven Railroad sitting in this hall ; I know that he knows these dispatches are true ; and if he will go before the railroad committee and make oath that he don't know that such a meeting took place yes- terday, for exactly this purpose, I will forfeit and pay one thousand dollars to the families of poor soldiers in this city. In consideration of this attempt to forestall the action of this Legislature, I offer an amendment to the bill now under consideration, by adding after the word ' ratio ' the words ' as it existed on the ist day of July, 1865.' In this way we shall cut off any action which these sleek gentlemen may have taken yesterday. It is now evident that these railroad gentlemen have set a trap for this Legisla- ture ; and I propose that we now spring the trap, and see if we cannot catch these wily railroad directors in it. Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question." This revelation astounded the opposition, and the " previous question " was ordered. On the final vote the bill was carried through triumphantly, and has ever since remained an important item in the statute-book of the State. In the spring of 1866 Barnum was re-elected to represent the town of Fairfield in the Legislature. He had not intended to serve again. But one of the directors of the railroad, who had led the op- position to Barnum's new railroad law, had openly boasted about the town that Barnum should not be allowed to hold the office again. It was in response 5 68 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. to these boasts that Barnum decided to accept the nomination, and he was handsomely elected. The leading issue before that Legislature was the election of a United States Senator. Andrew John- son was then President of the United States, and had begun to break away from the Republican party. One of the Connecticut Senators was follow- ing him in this action. The other Senator was now a candidate for re-election. Barnum had been an earnest admirer of him, but now ascertained that he too was siding with Johnson. This caused Barnum to take an active part in opposing him, and the showman-legislator spent many days and nights endeavoring to impress upon his colleagues the im- portance of defeating this candidate and electing the Hon. O. S. Ferry to the Senatorship. Excitement ran high. At first Mr. Ferry had only a few votes. But under Barnum's skilful leadership he at last obtained a majority in the party caucus and was accordingly elected. During that summer Barnum entertained many eminent politicians and other public men at his beautiful residence, Lindencroft. Governor Hawley wanted him to serve as a Commissioner to the Paris Exposition of 1867, but he was unable to do so. In the spring of 1867 he was nominated for Con- gress by the Republicans of the Fourth District. In referring to this episode, he afterward remarked : " Politics were always distasteful to me. I possessed, naturally, too much independence of mind, and too IN NATIONAL POLITICS. strong a determination to do what I believe to be right, regardless of party expediency, to make a lithe and oily politician. To be called on to favor appli- cations from office-seekers, without regard to their merits, and to do the dirty work too often demanded by political parties; to be 'all things to all men," though not in the apostolic sense ; to shake hands with those whom I despised, and to kiss the dirty babies of those whose votes were courted, were political requirements which I felt I could never acceptably fulfil. Nevertheless, I had become, so far as business was concerned, almost a man of leisure ; and some of my warmest personal friends insisted that a nomination to so high and honorable a position as a member of Congress was not to be lightly rejected, and so I consented to run. Fairfield and Litchfield counties composed the district, which, in the preceding Congressional election, in 1865, a d just after the close of the war, was Republican. In the year following, however, the district in the State election went Democratic. I had this Democratic majority to contend against in 1867, and as the whole State turned over and elected the Democratic ticket, I lost my election. In the next succeeding Congres- sional election, in 1869, the Fourth District also elected the only Democratic Congressman chosen from Connecticut that year. " I was neither disappointed nor cast down by my defeat. The political canvass served the purpose of giving me a new sensation, and introducing me to LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. new phases of human nature a subject which I had always great delight in studying. The filth and scandal, the slanders and vindictiveness, the plottings and fawnings, the fidelity, meanness and manliness, which by turns exhibited themselves in the exciting scenes preceding the election, were novel to me, and were so far interesting. " Shortly after my opponent was nominated I sent him the following letter, which was also published in the Bridgeport Standard : "'BRIDGEPORT, Conn., February 21, 1867. " ' W. H. BARNUM, Esq., Salisbury, Conn. : " ' Dear Sir: Observing that the Democratic party has nominated you for Congress from this district, I desire to make you a proposition. " ' The citizens of this portion of our State will be compelled, on the first Monday in April next, to de- cide whether you or myself shall represent their interests and their principles in the Fortieth Congress of the United States. " ' The theory of our government is, that the will of the people shall be the law of the land. It is im- portant, therefore, that the people shall vote under- standingly, and especially at this important crisis in our national existence. In order that the voters of this district shall fully comprehend the principles by which each of their Congressional candidates is guided, I respectfully invite you to meet me in a serious and candid discussion of the important IN NATIONAL POLITICS. 571 political issues of the day at various towns in the Fourth Congressional District of Connecticut, on each week-day evening, from the fourth day of March until the thirtieth day of the same month, both inclusive. " * If you will consent to thus meet me in a friendly discussion of those subjects, now so near and dear to every American heart, and, I may add, possessing at this time such momentous interest to all civilized nations in the world who are suffering from misrule, I pledge myself to conduct my portion of the debate with perfect fairness, and with all due respect for my opponent, and doubt not yon will do the same. " ' Never, in my judgment, in our past history as a nation, have interests and questions more important appealed to the people for their wise and careful consideration. It is due to the voters of the Fourth Congressional District that they have an early and full opportunity to examine their candidates in re- gard to these important problems, and I shall esteem it a great privilege if you will accept this proposition. " ' Please favor me with an early answer, and oblige " ' Truly vours, "'P. T. BARNUM.'" To this letter Mr. William H. Barnum replied, positively declining to accept his rival's proposition. When Congress met P. T. Barnum was surprised to see in the newspapers an announcement that the seat of his successful rival was to be contested on the ground of bribery and fraud. " This," he said, " was the first intimation that I had ever received of such an intention, and I was never, at any time before or afterwards, consulted upon the subject. The movement proved to have originated with neighbors and townsmen of the successful candidate, who claimed to be able to prove that he had paid large sums of money to purchase votes. They also claimed that they had proof that men were brought from an adjoining State to vote, and that in the office of the successful candidate naturalization papers were forged to enable foreigners to vote upon them. But, I repeat, I took no part nor lot in the matter, but concluded that if I had been defeated by fraud, mine was the real success." CHAPTER XXXIX. FIGHTING A NEWSPAPER. DISPOSING OF THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM SITE THE BARGAIN WITH MR. BENNETT BARNUM'S REFUSAL TO BACK OUT A LONG AND BITTER WAR WITH "THE HERALD" ACTION OF THE OTHER MANAGERS THE RETURN OF PEACE. After the destruction of his museum by fire, Bar- num determined to open another and still finer establishment. It would not be on the old site, however, but further up town. The unexpired lease of the two lots at Ann Street and Broadway he pro : posed to sell ; and he quickly had numerous offers for it. This lease still had about eleven years to run, and the annual rental was only $10,000; and there was a provision that, in case of the burning of the building, the owner was to spend $24,000 in aiding Barnum to rebuild, and then, at the expiration of the lease, was to pay Barnum the appraised value of the building, not exceeding $100,000. This lease had seemed extravagant when Barnum had made it, but the great growth of the city had so in- creased the value of property in that vicinity, that now the rental of $10,000 seemed ridiculously small. An experienced real estate broker, whom Barnum engaged for the purpose, estimated the 573 574 LIFE OF p - T - BARNUM. value of the lease at $275,000. Barnum was so anxious, however, to get the matter settled at once that he decided to offer the lease for sale at $225,000. The next day he met James Gordon Bennett, the elder, the owner of the New York Herald. Mr. Bennett told him that he thought of buying both the lease and the fee simple of the property itself, and erecting there a fine building for his great news- paper. Barnum therefore, offered him the lease for $200,000, and after a few day's consideration Mr. Bennett accepted the offer. His attorney thereupon handed to Mr. Barnum a check on the Chemical Bank for $200,000, which Barnum immediately used in the purchase of Government Bonds. Mr. Ben- nett had agreed to purchase the fee of the property for $500,000. He had been informed that the prop- erty was worth some $350,000 to $400,000, and he did not mind paying $100,000 extra for the purpose of carrying out his plans. But the parties who esti- mated for him the value of the land knew nothing of the fact that there was a lease upon the property, else of course they would in their estimate have deducted the $200,000, which the lease would cost. When, therefore, Mr. Bennett saw it stated in the newspapers that the sum which he had paid for a piece of land measuring only fifty-six by one hun- dred feet was more than was ever paid before in any city in the world for a tract of that size, he discov- ered the serious oversight which he had made ; and the owner of the property was immediately in- THE FIGHT WITH THE HERALD. 575 formed that Bennett would not take it. But Ben- nett had already signed a bond to the owner, agree- ing to pay $100,000 cash, and to mortgage the prem- ises for the remaining $400,000. Supposing that by this step he had shaken off the owner of the fee, Bennett was not long in seeing that, as he was not to own the land, he would have no possible use for the lease, for which he had paid the $200,000 ; and accordingly his next step was to shake Barnum off also, and get back the money he had paid him. In speaking of what followed, Mr. Barnum after- wards said : " My business for many years, as manager of the Museum and other public entertain- ments, compelled me to court notoriety ; and I always found Bennett's abuse far more remunerative than his praise, even if I could have had the praise at the same price, that is for nothing. Especially was it profitable to me when I could be the subject of scores of lines of his scolding editorials free of charge, instead of paying him forty cents a line for advertisements, which would not attract a tenth part so much attention. Bennett had tried abusing me, off and on, for twenty years, on one occasion refusing my advertisement altogether for the space of about a year ; but I always managed to be the gainer by his course. Now, however, when new difficulties threatened, all the leading- managers in New York were members of the ' Managers' Asso- ciation,' and as we all submitted to the arbitrary 576 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. and extortionate demands of the Herald, Bennett thought he had but to crack his whip, in order to keep all and any of us within the y traces. Accord- ingly one day Bennett's attorney wrote me a letter, saying that he would like to have me call on him at his office the following morning. Not dreaming of the object, I called as desired, and after a few pleas- ant commonplace remarks about the weather, and other trifles, the attorney said : " ' Mr. Barnum, I have sent for you to say that Mr. Bennett has concluded not to purchase the museum lots, and therefore that you had better take back the lease, and return the $200,000 paid for it/ " ' Are you in earnest ? ' I asked with surprise. " ' Certainly, quite so/ he answered. " 'Really/ I said, smiling, 'I am sorry I can't ac- commodate Mr. Bennett ; I have not got the little sum about me ; in fact, I have spent the money/ " ' It will be better for you to take back the lease/ said the attorney, seriously. " 'Nonsense/ I replied, 'I shall do nothing of the sort; I don't make child's bargains. The lease was cheap enough, but I have other business to attend to, and shall have nothing to do with it/ " The attorney said very little in reply ; but I could see, by the almost benignant sorrow ex- pressed upon his countenance, that he evidently pitied me for the temerity that would doubtless lead me into the jaws of the insatiable monster of the Herald. The next morning I observed that the BARNUM'S AD VER'TISEMENT REFUSED. 577 advertisement of my entertainments with my museum company at Winter Garden was left out of the Herald columns. I went directly to the editorial rooms of the Herald ; and learning that Bennett was not in, I said to Mr. Hudson, then managing editor : " ' My advertisement is left out of the Herald ; is there a screw loose ? ' " 'I believe there is,' was the reply. '"What is the matter? ' I asked. " 'You must ask the Emperor,' said Mr. Hudson, meaning of course Bennett. " ' When will the " Emperor " be in? ' I inquired. 'Next Monday,' was the answer. "'Well, I shall not see him,' I replied; 'but I wish to have this thing settled at once. Mr. Hudson, I now tender you the money for the insertion of my museum advertisement on the same terms as are paid by other places of amusement ; will you pub- lish it?' "'I will not/ Mr. Hudson peremptorily replied. " * That is all,' I said. Mr. Hudson then smilingly and blandly remarked, ' I have formally answered your formal demand, because I suppose you require it ; but you know, Mr. Barnum, I can only obey orders.' I assured him that I understood the matter perfectly, and attached no blame to him in the prem- ises. I then proceeded to notify the secretary of the ' Managers' Association ' to call the managers together at twelve o'clock the following day ; and 32 578 LIFE OF P. f. BAR NUM. there was a full meeting at the appointed time. I stated the facts in the case in the Herald affair, and simply remarked, that if we did not make common cause against any newspaper publisher who ex- cluded an advertisement from his columns simply to gratify a private pique, it was evident that either and all of us were liable to imposition at any time. " One of the managers immediately made a mo- tion that the entire Association should stop their advertising and bill printing at the Herald office, and have no furthur connection with that establish- ment. Mr. Lester Wallack advised that this motion should not be adopted until a committee had waited upon Bennett, and had reported the result of the interview to the Association. Accordingly, Messrs. Wallack, Wheatley and Stuart were delegated to go down to the 'Herald office to call on Mr. Bennett. "The moment Bennett saw them, he evidently suspected the object of their mission, for he at once commenced to speak to Mr. Wallack in a patroniz- ing manner ; told him how long he had known, and how much he respected his late father, who was ' a true English gentleman of the old school/ with much more in the same strain. Mr. Wallack replied to Bennett that the three managers were appointed a committee to wait upon him to ascertain if he in- sisted upon excluding from his columns the museum advertisements not on account of any objection to the contents of the advertisements, or to the museum itself, but simply because he had a private business BOYCOTTING THE HERALD. 579 disagreement with the proprietor ; intimating that such a proceeding, for such a reason, and no other, might lead to a rupture of business relations with other managers. In reply, Mr. Bennett had some- thing to say about the fox that had suffered tail wise from a trap, and thereupon advised all other foxes to cut their tails off ; and he pointed the fable by setting forth the impolicy of drawing down upon the Association the vengeance of the Herald. The committee, however, coolly insisted upon a direct answer to their question. "Bennett then answered: *I will not publish Barnum's advertisement ; I do my business as I please, and in my own way/ " 'So do we,' replied one of the managers, and the committee withdrew. " The next day the Managers' Association met, heard the report, and unanimously resolved to with- draw their advertisements from the Herald, and their patronage from the Herald job establishment, and it was done. Nevertheless, the Herald for* several days continued to print gratuitously the advertisements of Wallack's Theatre and Niblo's Garden, and inordinately puffed these establish- ments, evidently in order to ease the fall, and to convey the idea that some of the theatres patronized the Herald, and perhaps hoping by praising these managers to draw them back again, and so to nul- lify the agreement of the Association in regard to the Herald. Thereupon, the mangers headed their 580 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. advertisements in all the other New York papers with the line, 'This establishment does not adver- tise in the New York Herald' and for many months this announcement was kept at the top of every theatrical advertisement and on the posters and playbills. " The Herald then began to abuse and villify the theatrical and opera managers, their artists and their performances, which, of course, was well un- derstood by the public, and relished accordingly. Meanwhile the theatres prospered amazingly. Their receipts were never larger, and their houses never more thronged. The public took sides in the mat- ter with the managers and against the Herald, and thousands of people went to the theatres merely to show their willingness to support the managers and to spite ' Old Bennett/ The editor was fairly caught in his own trap. Other journals began to estimate the loss the Herald sustained by the action of the managers, and it was generally believed that this * loss in advertising and job printing was not less than from $75,000 to $100,000 a year. The Herald's circulation also suffered terribly, since hundreds of people, at the hotels and elsewhere, who were accustomed to buy the paper solely for the sake of seeing what amusements were an- nounced for the evening, now bought other papers. This was the hardest blow of all, and it fully ac- counted for the abuse which the Herald daily poured out upon the theatres. BENNE TT S DEFEA T. 581 " Bennett evidently felt ashamed of the whole transaction. He would never publish the facts in his columns, though he once stated in an editorial that it had been reported that he had been cheated in purchasing the Broadway property ; that the case had gone to court, and the public would soon know all the particulars. Some persons supposed by this that Bennett had sued me ; but this was far from being the case. The owner of the lots sued Bennett, to compel him to take the title and pay for the property as per agreement ; and that was all the 'law* there was about it. He held James Gordon Bennett's bond, that he would pay him half a million of dollars for the land, as follows: $100,- 000 cash, and a bond and mortgage upon the prem- ises for the remaining $400,000. The day before the suit was to come to trial, Bennett came forward, took the deed, and paid $100,000 cash, and gave a bond and mortgage of the entire premises for $400,000. " Had I really taken back the lease, as Bennett desired, he would have been in a worse scrape than ever ; for having been compelled to take the prop- erty, he would have been obliged, as my landlord, to go on and assist in building a Museum for me, according to the terms of my lease, and a Museum 1 should certainly have built on Bennett's property, even if I had owned a dozen Museums up town. "In the autumn of 1868, the associated managers came to the conclusion that the punishment of Ben- 582 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. nett for two years was sufficient, and they consented to restore their advertisements to the Herald. I was then carrying on my new Museum, and although I did not immediately resume advertising in the Herald, I have since done so." Such is the account Barnum gave, in his own words, of this ectraordinary quarrel. He was, it will be seen, unsparing of criticism and denunciation. Kindly as was his nature, he was " a good hater," and never was there a more relentless fighter. In denouncing Mr. Bennett he was perfectly sin- cere, and believed himself to be entirely in the right. At thfe same time he never hesitated to give a full meed of appreciative praise to the great jour- nalist, for his extraordinary enterprise and com- manding talents. Both the men are now dead, after careers of marvellous success, and the animosity that raged between them is also long dead ; it perished years before they did. It is here rehearsed merely as an integral and essential part of this biography, to be regarded in a spirit of philosophic contempla- tion, entirely devoid of bitterness or acrimony. CHAPTER XL. BRIDGEPORT. THE FIGHT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SEASIDE PARK LAYING OUT CITY STREETS IMPATIENCE WITH " OLD FOGIES " BUILDING A SEASIDE HOME WALDEMERE A HOME IN NEW YORK CITY. A remarkable feature of Mr. Barnum's life was his loyalty to the place he had chosen as his home, and his devotion to its interests. He had great faith in Bridgeport, and worked unceasingly to jus- tify it. He looked far ahead, saw the prospective growth of the place, and laid broad plans of pre- paration for the future. Apart from his great services in laying out East Bridgeport, he was the author of the improvements on the water-front known as Seaside Park. The idea of such a thing occurred to him first in 1863, when he rode over the ground and observed its fitness for the purpose. He then began agitating the matter, and urging the immediate acquirement by the city of land for a park and public drive-way along the margin of the Sound. It was necessary, he repre- sented, to do it at once, before the natural increase in the value of the land made such an undertaking too expensive. That it would be a profitable venture he felt certain ; for such an improvement would 5 84 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. make every bit of real estate in the city more valu- able, and would attract many new residents to the place. There were, however, many conservatives, "old fogies" he called them, who opposed him. He then approached the farmers who owned the land lying immediately upon the shore, and tried to convince them that, if they would give the city, free, a deep slip next to the water, to be used as a public park, it would increase in value the rest of their land so much as to make it a profitable opera- tion for them. But it was like beating against the wind. They were " not so stupid as to think that they could become gainers by giving away their property." He succeeded, however, in getting the active aid and co-operation of Messrs. Nathaniel Wheeler, James Loomis, Francis Ives, Frederick Wood, and some others, who went with him to the land- owners and added their persuasions to his. After much urging, they finally got the terms upon which the proprietors would give a portion and sell another portion of their land, which fronted on the water, provided the land thus disposed of should forever be appropriated to the purposes of a public park. But, unfortunately, a part of the land it was desir- able to include was a farm, of some thirty acres, then belonging to an unsettled estate, and neither the administrator nor the heirs could or would give away a rod of it. But the whole farm was for sale - LA YING -OUT A CITY. 585 and, to overcome the difficulty in the way of its transfer for the public benefit, Barnum bought it for about $12,000, and then presented the required front to the park. He did not want this land or any portion of it, for his own purposes or profit, and he offered a thousand dollars to any one who would take his place in the transaction ; but no one ac- cepted, and he was quite willing to contribute so much of the land as was needed for so noble an object. Besides this, he gave $1,400 toward pur- chasing other land and improving the park , and, after months of persistent personal effort, he suc- ceeded in raising, by private subscription, the sum necessary to secure the land needed. This was duly paid for, deeded to, and accepted by the city, and Barnum had the pleasure of naming this new and great public improvement, " Seaside Park." When Mr. Barnum first selected Bridgeport as his home, as already stated in a preceding chapter, the place was commended to him by its nearness to New York, its convenience of access, and the beauty of its situation. " Nowhere," said he, "in all my travels in America and abroad had I seen a city whose very position presented so many and varied attractions. Situated on Long Island Sound, with that vast water-view in front, and on every other side a beautiful and fertile country with every variety of inland scenery, and charming drives which led through valleys rich with well-cultivated farms, and over hills thick-wooded with far-stretching for- 586 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. ests of primeval growth all these natural attractions appeared to me only so many aids to the advance- ment the beautiful and busy city might attain, if public spirit, enterprise, and money grasped and improved the opportunities the locality itself ex- tended. I saw that what Nature had so freely lav- ished must be supplemented by yet more liberal Art." It was in pursuance of this object that he built the famous Iranistan ; and when he did so he felt confident that this superb place would so increase the value of surrounding property that none but first-class residences would be erected in the vicinity. He, however, went on to improve the surrounding property as much as possible. He opened numerous fine avenues through land pur- chased by himself, and freely gave them to the city. In this way he opened miles of new streets and planted them with thousands of shade trees. The planting of trees was almost a mania with him, in pursuit of the doctrine laid down in Scott's " Heart of Mid-Lothian " : " When ye hae naething else to do, ye may be aye sticking in a tree ; it will be growing when ye' re sleeping." Barnum was always for enterprise and progress. " Conservatism," he said, " may be a good thing in the State, or in the Church, but it is fatal to the growth of cities, and the conservative notions of old fogies make them indifferent to the requirements which a very few years in the future will compel, and blind to A SEASIDE HOME. 587 their own best interests. Such men never look be- yond the length of their noses, and consider every in- vestment a dead loss unless they can get the sixpence profit into their pockets before they go to bed. My own long training and experience as a manager im- pelled me to carry into such private enterprises as the purchase of real estate that best and most es- sential managerial quality of instantly deciding, not only whether a venture was worth undertaking, but what, all things considered, that venture would re- sult in. Almost any man can see how a thing will begin, but not every man is gifted with the foresight to see how it will end, or how, with the proper effort, it may be made to end. In East Bridgeport where we had no ' conservatives ' to contend with, we were only a few years in turning almost tenantless farms into a populous and prosperous city. On the other side of the river, while the opening of new avenues, the planting of shade trees, and the build- ing of many houses, have afforded me the highest pleasures of my life, I confess that not a few of my greatest annoyances have been occasioned by the opposition of those who seem to be content to simply vegetate through their existence, and who looked upon me as a restless, reckless innovator, because I was trying to remove the moss from everything around them, and even from their own eyes." Mrs. Barnum's health continued to decline, and in the summer of 1867 her doctor commanded her to live on the seashore. Accordingly her husband sold 588 LIFK OF P. T. BARNUM. Lindencroft, and they removed for the summer to a small farm-house adjoining Seaside Park. So de- lighted were they with life by the water during the hot days of the summer that they determined there- after to spend every summer on the very shore of Long Island Sound. Finding it impossible to pre- pare a house of their own in time for the next sea- son, they spent the summer of 1868 in a new and handsome house which Mr. Barnum owned but which he had built for sale. In the fall of 1868, however, he purchased a large and beautiful grove of hickory trees adjoining Seaside Park, and decided to build a permanent residence there. But there was a vast deal to do in grading and preparing the ground, in opening new streets and avenues as approaches to the property, and in set- ting out trees near the proposed site of the house ; so that ground was not broken for the foundation till October. He planned a house which should com- bine the greatest convenience with the highest com- fort, keeping in mind always that houses were made to live in as well as to look at, and to be " homes " rather than mere residences. So the house was made to include abundant room for guests, with dressing-rooms and baths to every chamber ; water from the city throughout the premises ; gas manu- factured on the ground ; and that greatest of all comforts, a semi-detached kitchen, so that the smell as well as the secrets of the cuisine might be con- fined to its own locality. The stables and gardens A SEASIDE HOME. 589 were located far from the mansion, on the opposite side of one of the newly-opened avenues, so that in the immediate vicinity of the house, on either side and before both fronts, stretched large lawns, broken only by the grove, single shade-trees, rock-work, walks, flower-beds, and drives. The whole scheme as planned was faithfully carried out in less than eight months The first foundation stone was laid in October, 1868 ; and they moved into the completed house in June following, in 1869. On taking possession of this new residence, Bar- num formally named it " Waldemere." Literally this name was " Wald-am-Meer," or " Woods-by-the Sea," but Barnum preferred the more euphonious form. On the same estate he built at the same time two beautiful cottages, called " Petrel's Nest," and "Wavewood," the homes of his two daughters, Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Seeley the latter his youngest. Here Barnum decided to spend five months of every year, and for his home during the other seven months he purchased a splendid mansion on Mur- ray Hill, in New York City, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 39th Street. CHAPTER XLI. HONORS AND ADULATIONS. SECOND MARRIAGE THE KING OF HAWAII ELECTED MAYOR OF BRIDGE- PORTSUCCESSFUL TOUR OF THE HIPPODROME BARNUM'S RETIREMENT FROM OFFICE. In the autumn of 1874 Mr. Barnum married the daughter of his old English friend, John Fish. The wedding took place in the Church of the Divine Paternity, Fifth Avenue, New York, and after a brief bridal tour, they returned to Waldemere. In December, 1874, David Kalakau, King of the Sandwich Islands, visited New York, and with his suite was invited to attend the Hippodrome. During the performance Barnum sat beside the King, who kept up a pleasant conversation with him for two hours. The King expressed himself as highly delighted with the entertainment, and said he was always fond of horses and racing. Some twelve thousand spectators were present, and before the exhibition was finished they began to call loudly ' The King! The King ! " Turning to his host, Kalakau inquired the mean- ing of their excitement. " Your Majesty," replied (590) THE KING OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 59! Barnum, " this vast audience wishes to give you an ovation. The building is so large that they cannot distinguish your Majesty from every part of the house, and are anxious that you should ride around the circle in order that they may greet you." At the moment, Barnum's open barouche was driven into the circle and approached the royal box. " No doubt your Majesty would greatly gratify my countrymen, if you would kindly step into this carriage and ride around the circle." The King immediately arose, and amidst tremen- dous cheering, stepped into the carriage. Barnum took a seat by his side, and the King smilingly re- marked, "We are all actors." The audience rose to their feet, cheered and waved their handkerchiefs, as the King rode around the circle, raising his hat and bowing. The excite- ment was simply tremendous. In March, 1875, tne nomination for Mayor of Bridgeport was offered Barnum, but he refused it, until assured that the nomination was intended as a compliment, and that both parties would sustain it. Politically the city is largely Democratic, but Barnum led the Republican ticket, and was easily elected. His Inaugural address before the new Common Council, April 1 2, is given below. GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMON COUNCIL : Intrusted as we are, by the votes of our fellow-citizens, with the care and management of their interests, it behooves us to en- deavor to merit the confidence reposed in us. We are sometimes 592 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. called the "fathers of the city." Certainly our duty is, and our pleasure should be, to admininister the municipal govern- ment as a good and wise father conducts his household, caring for all, partial to none. No personal feelings should dictate our official acts. We are not placed here to gratify personal or party resentment, nor to extend personal or party favor in any manner that may in the remotest degree conflict with the best interests of our city. As citizens we enjoy a great common interest. Each individual is a member of the body corporate, and no mem- ber can be unduly favored or unjustly oppressed without injury to the entire community. No person or party can afford to be dishonest. Honesty is always the best policy, for "with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again." A large portion of this honorable body are now serving offi- cially for the first time, and therefore may not be fully acquainted with the details of its workings ; but we are all acquainted with the great principles of Justice and Right. If we fail to work according to these eternal principles, we betray the confidence placed in us, and this our year of administration will be remem- bered with disapprobation and contempt. Let us bring to our duties careful judgment and comprehensive views with regard to expenditure, so that we may be neither par- simonious nor extravagant, but, like a prudent householder, ever careful that expenses shall be less than the income. Our city is peculiarly adapted for commercial purposes; it should be our care, therefore, to adopt such measures as tend to promote trade, manufactures and commerce. Its delightful and healthy locality makes it also a desirable place of residence. We should strive to enhance its natural beauty, to improve our streets and, with moderate expenditure, to embellish our parks, by which means we shall attract refined and wealthy residents. As conservators of the public peace and morals it is our duty to prevent, so far as possible, acts which disturb one or the other, and to enforce the laws in an impartial and parental spirit. The last report of our Chief of Police says : " 'Tis a sad and painful duty, yet candor compels us to state that at least ninety BARNUM ELECTED MA YOR OF BRIDGEPORT. 593 per cent, of the causes of all the arrests during the year are directly traceable to the immoderate use of intoxicating liquors, not to speak of the poverty and misery it has caused families which almost daily come under our observation." In the town of Vineland, N. J., where no intoxicating drinks are sold, the overseer of the poor stated in his annual report that in a population of 10,000 there was but one indictment in six months, and that the entire police expenses were but seventy-five dollars per year the sum paid to him and the poor expenses a mere trifle. He further says: " We practically have no debt, and our taxes are only one per cent, on the valuation." Similar results are reported in the town of Greeley, Colorado, where no liquors are sold. Our laws license the sale of intoxicating drinks under certain restrictions on week days, but no man can claim the right under such license to cause mobs, riots, bloodshed or murder. Hence no man has, or can have, any right by license or otherwise to dis- pense liquors to intoxicated persons, nor to furnish sufficient liquor to cause intoxication. Our duty is therefore to see that the police aid in regulating to the extent of their legal power a traffic which our laws do not wholly prohibit. Spirituous liquors of the present day are so much adulterated and doubly poisoned that their use fires the brain and drives their victims to madness, violence and murder. The money annually expended for intoxi- cating drinks, and the cost of their evil results in Bridgeport, or any other American city where liquor selling is licensed, would pay the entire expenses of the city (if liquors were not drank), ' including the public schools, give a good suit of clothes to every poor person of both sexes, a barrel of flour to every poor family living within its municipal boundaries, and leave a handsome surplus on hand. Our enormous expenses for the trial and pun- ishment of criminals, as well as for the support of the poor, are mainly caused by this traffic. Surely, then, it is our duty to do all we can, legally, to limit and mitigate its evil. As no person ever became a drunkard who did not sincerely regret that he or she ever tasted intoxicating drinks, it is a work of mercy, as weU 53 594 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. as justice, to do all in our power to lessen this leprous hindrance to happiness. We should strive to exterminate gambling, prosti- tution and other crimes which have not yet attained to the dignity of a "license." The public health demands that we should pay attention to necessary drainage, and prevent the sale of adulterated food. The invigorating breezes from Long Island Sound, and the absence of miasmatic marshes serve to make ours one of the most healthy cities in America. Scientific experiments made daily during the whole of last year have established the fact that our atmosphere is impregnated with OZONE, or concentrated oxygen, to an extent not hitherto discovered on this continent. No city of the same size in America is so extensively known throughout our own land and in Europe as Bridgeport. It should be our pleasure to strengthen all natural advantages which we possess as a city by maintaining a government of cor- responding excellence. It is painful to the industrious and moral portions of our people to see so many loungers about the streets, and such a multitude whose highest aspirations seem to be to waste their time in idle- ness, or at base ball, billiards, etc. No person needs to be unemployed who is not over fastidious about the kind of occupation. There are too many soft hands (and heads) waiting for light work and heavy pay. Better work for half a loaf than beg or steal a whole one. Mother earth is always near by, and ready to respond to reasonable drafts on -her never-failing treasury. A patch of potatoes raised "on shares " is preferable to a poulticed pate earned in a whisky scrim- mage. Some modern Micawbers stand with folded hands wait- ing for the panic to pass, as the foolish man waited for the river to run dry and allow him to walk over. The soil is the foundation of American prosperity. When multitudes of our consumers become producers ; when fashion teaches economy, instead of expending for a gaudy dress what would comfortably clothe the family ; when people learn to walk until they can afford to ride ; when the poor man ceases to A DESERVED COMPLIMENT. 595 spend more for tobacco than for bread ; when those who com- plain of panics learn that ' ' we cannot eat our cake and keep it," that a sieve will not hold water, that we must rely on our own exertions and earn before we expend, then will panics cease and prosperity return. While we should by no means unreasonably restrict healthy recreation, we should remember that "time is money." that idleness leads to immoral habits, and that the peace, prosperity and character of a city depend on the intelli- gence, integrity, industry and frugality of its inhabitants. Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper of July 24th, contained a picture entitled " His Honor, P. T. Barnum, Mayor of Bridgeport, Presiding at a Meeting of the Common Council of that City. " The editor's remarks are as follows : " Mayor Barnum's message was a model of brevity and practical thought. Having at the beginning of his official career declared war against the whisky dealers, he next proceeded to open the struggle. For twenty years the saloons had been kept open on Sundays, and it was declared impossi- ble to close them. Mr. Barnum has all his life acted upon the quaint French aphorism that ' nothing is so possible as the impossible. ' He gave notice that the saloons must be closed. A select committee of citizens volunteered to aid in collecting testimony in case the sellers should disregard the proclamation, and leave the latch-string to their back doors displayed on the outside. Although the doors were open, the keepers refused to sell except to personal friends. The committee-men stood opposite the saloons, and took the names of a dozen or so who 596 LIFE OF r - T - BARIUM. were admitted. The next morning the saloon- keepers were arrested, and when they found their ' friends ' had been subpoenaed to appear as witnesses, they pleaded guilty and immediately brought out their pocket-books to pay the judicial 'shot.' This plan effectually broke up Sunday traffic in liquor, thus insuring a quiet day for the citizens, and greatly accommodating the saloon- keepers, the best portion of whom really favor a general closing on Sunday. " By nature an organizer of men and systems, he is his own best executive officer. No one knows so well as he how men may be best governed, and no one can so pleasantly polish off the rough sides of mankind. Successful beyond the usual measure as an intelligent, courteous and considerate showman, he has already proved himself the most acceptable of Mayors." In 1875, tne Hippodrome was transported by rail throughout the United States, going as far east as Portland, Maine, and west to Kansas City, Missouri. Notwithstanding the depressed state of finances generally that year, the season was a fairly profit- able one. A very painful event in connection with the show, occurred in July. The aeronaut, Donaldson, made his customary daily ascension from the Hippodrome grounds at Chicago, and was never heard from after- ward. He took with him Mr. N. S. Grimwood, a reporter of the Chicago Journal, whose body was SUCCESS OF THE HIPPODROMS. found a few weeks later in Lake Michigan. There was a terrible storm the night of the ascension and it was doubtless then that the men perished. About the middle of June Barnum visited Niagara Falls with Mrs. Barnum and a party of English friends. Leaving the party at Niagara, Mr. and Mrs. Barnum went to Akron, Ohio, where the "Travelling World's Fair" was to exhibit. The Mayor of Akron called upon them and invited them to a concert, where, in response to loud calls, Bar- num gave a short speech ; they were afterward tendered a reception and a serenade at the hotel. The next day they were escorted to Buchtel College by the founder of the institution, Mr. J. R. Buchtel, and the Reverend D. C. Tomlinson. The students received Barnum enthusiastically, and he gave them one of his delightful speeches. Returning to Buffalo, they rejoined their friends, and also met the Hippodrome. Early in the morn- ing of the second day of the exhibition Barnum despatched a special train to Niagara Falls, with some hundreds of the Hippodrome Company, to whom he wished to give the pleasure of viewing the cataract. The band which accompanied them crossed Suspension Bridge playing " God Save the Queen," and "Yankee Doodle," and returned to Buffalo in time for the afternoon performance. In July, Barnum visited the Hippodrome at St. Louis and Chicago, and then returned to Waldemere for the rest of the summer. 598 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. During the autumn of 1875, under the auspices of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, in Boston, Mr. Barnum found time to deliver some thirty times, a lecture on "The World and How to Live in It," going as far east as Thomaston, Maine, and west to Leavenworth, Kansas. When the tour was finished the Bureau wrote him that " In parting for the season please allow us to say that none of our best lecturers have succeeded in delighting our audiences and lecture committees so well as yourself." The National Jubilee year was celebrated by the Hippodrome Company in a very patriotic manner. It was said, that they gave the people, a Fourth of July celebration every day. The establishment traveled in three trains of railroad cars ; they took along a battery of cannon, and every morning fired a salute of thirteen guns. Groups of persons cos- tumed in the style of Continental troops, and sup- plemented with the Goddess of Liberty, a live eagle and some good singers, sang patriotic songs, accom- panied with bands of music, and also with cannon placed outside the tents and fired by means of electricity. The performance was closed by singing " America," the entire audience rising and joining in the chorus. At night there were fireworks in which Revolutionary scenes were brilliantly depicted. The street parade was a gorgeous feature. It began to move when the salute was fired, and the town bells were always rung to aid the effect of the National Jubilee. MR. BARNUM RETIRES FROM OFFICE. 599 Barnum's official term as Mayor of Bridgeport, expired April 3, 1876. Preferring to travel part of the time with his Centennial show, he refused a re- nomination. The last meeting of the Common Council under his administration, met March 29. The New York Daily Graphic, of March 30, read : " Mr. P. T. Barnum, Mayor of Bridgeport, has uttered his valedictory message. The document is very much like the man. He disapproves of the reports of the Chief of Police and Clerk of the Police Commissioners, because they declare that liquor saloons and brothels cannot be closed, and he even reproves - the latter for his ' flippant manner ' of dealing with the subject. Barnum must have his joke or two, withal, and he can no more subsist without his fun than could a former Mayor of this city. He ventures to allude in this solemn document to the management of the New York and New Haven Railroad Company, as 'the good bishop and his directors ; ' makes a first rate pun on the names of two citizens ; and says to the Aldermen, * And now we have, like the Arabs, only to ' fold our tents and silently steal away/ congratulating ourselves that this is the only stealing which has been performed by this honorable body.' Mr. Barnum's administration in Bridgeport has been mild, but characterized by firmness and independence. His trouble with the Jews was of 6OO LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. short duration, for he is most respectful toward all theologies. He has not been able to carry out his extreme temperance views ; but he has made a very good Mayor of a city, for whose prosperity he has labored for half a lifetime/' It can safely be said that Barnum amused and in- structed more persons than any man who ever lived. In the course of his career as manager of public en- tertainments, the number of his patrons was enor- mous. Here is his own estimate, in 1889: " During the forty years that I have been a man- ager of public amusements, the number of my patrons has been almost incredible. From a careful exami- nation of my account books for the different exhibi- tions which I have owned and controlled, I find that more than eighty-two millions of tickets, in the ag- gregate, were disposed of, and numerous exhibitions which I have had at various times are not included in this statement." The traveling exhibitions which I managed during the six years preceding my purchase of the New York American Museum, in 1841, were attended by . . 1,500,000 persons. The American Museum which I managed from 1841 to 1865, when it was destroyed by fire, sold . . . 37,560,000 tickets. My Broadway Museum, in 1865-6-7 and 8, sold . . 3,640,000 *' My Philadelphia Museum, 1849, 1850 and 1851, sold 1,800,000 " My Baltimore Museum, sold 900,000 " My traveling Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Menagerie, in 1851-2-3 and 4, sold 5,824,000 " My great traveling World's Fair and Hippodrome, in 1871-2-3-4-5 and 6, sold 7,920,000 " Carried forward, 59,144,000 FROM MR. MARNUM'S ACCOUNT BOOKS. 6O I Brought forward, 59,144,000 My other traveling exhibitions in America and Europe, sold 2,200,000 tickets. General Tom Thumb has exhibited for me 34 years, and sold 20,400,000 " Jenny LinoTs Concerts, under my management, were attended by 600,000 persons. Catharine Hayes's 60 Concerts in California, under my contract, sold 120,000 tickets. Thus, my patrons amount to the enormous number of 82,464,000 In addition to that, he delivered over seven hun- dred public lectures which were attended in the aggregate by 1,300,000 persons, and wrote three books of reminiscences. Is it to be wondered at, that such a well-known character should receive a letter from New Zealand addressed simply, " Mr. Barnum, America " ? SOME REMINISCENCES OF P, T. BARNUM. My first recollection of Mr. Barnum goes back to the period of my small-boyhood, when he came to the country village near my home to lecture upon temperance. I still remember the animation of his discourse on that occasion ; its humor and its anec- dote ; and, with what absorbing interest the large audience sat out the hour and a half or more which the speaker so well filled. In describing the drunk- ard and the illusions which master him, he showed a keen perception of human nature ; and, in every part of his address there was no end of spirited ap- peal and analysis, mingled with unbounded mirth and pathos, as the fluctuating argument went on. A few years later, when I had grown old enough to visit the metropolis, I made it one of the chief items of my concern to visit the old museum on the corner of Ann Street and Broadway, where the Herald Building now stands. There was, even then, no curiostty there more impressive than its propri- etor, who was the very embodiment of life, kindly feeling, and wholesome joy. I noticed that he was in all parts of the museum in very rapid succession, and that nothing escaped his attention. Something in his manner caught every eye. It was said of 6oa SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BARNUM. 603 Daniel Webster that when he walked through the streets of London, strangers who met him turned around for another look after he passed by. And, I confess I yielded in Mr. Barnum's presence, as others did, to this same sight-seeing inclination. It was not merely that he was so well known, and that his name had gone about the world with the circuit of the sun ; it was because the force that made this thing possible worked also in other ways, and com- pelled you to give its owner attention. He had a kind word or an entertaining one for everybody who came near him, as occasion offered, whether he was an old acquaintance or a stranger. The occasion did not come to me, though I remem- ber wishing it had, when I left the museum. Proba- bly I should have deliberately sought it if I had had more assurance and experience at that time ; and if I had known, too, that we were afterward to meet intimately, and that for more than twenty years the latch-string of his different homes, in Bridgeport and New York, was to respond so many dozens of times to my touch, for days and weeks of remarka- ble hospitality. My opportunity for knowing Mr. Barnum person- ally came about when I was, as a young man, con- ducting, almost single-handed, a lecture course in a. very small country town in the later sixties, soon after the close of the war. The night for Mr. Bar- num to come to us was a very cold and forbidding one in February. A snow-storm, the most formida- 504 UFE OF p - ble one of the winter, sprang up to apparently thwart the success of the performance ; and so certain was Mr. Barnum that nobody would appear to hear him, he offered not only to release me from the contract between us, but, in addition to that, would pay me the price I was to pay him, or more, to be permitted to return to New York. u There is nothing on earth I hate to do so much/' said he, "as to lecture to empty benches." I said to him : " Please trust me for the avoidance of that. If it had been a pleasant night, instead of this howling storm, I would have filled the hall and the yard in front to the front gate. But, as it now is, I will still guarantee to fill the hall." And filled it was, to our equal delight. Before entering and discovering this fact, I ven- tured to say to Mr. Barnum that, owing to the gen- eral untovvardness and inclemency of the night, I would introduce him in my own way, and not in the conventional one, if he did not object. " By all means," said he ; " if you can awaken any warmth or hilarity on as sorrowful an outlook as this, do not spare me, or hesitate for a moment." On arriving at our seats on the platform, I arose and said, in some such words as these : " LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : You will bear me out in saying it has been my usual custom to introduce the speaker of the evening in the briefest way pos- sible, and not to trouble you with any talk of my SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BARNUM. own. To-night, in view of the storm, and while Mr. Barnum is resting for a moment, I will break my rule and tell you a story. Some years ago a queer fellow from the country went to New York, and, among the sights and experiences he had planned for, he went to Barnum's Museum. Mr. Green- wood was then its manager, and noticed with some interest his patron's rusticity when he called for a ticket. He asked Mr. Greenwood, after having paid for the card of admittance, * Where is Barnum ?' As Mr. Barnum happened to be in sight on the en- trance floor, Mr. Greenwood, pointing to him said, 'There he is/ "At once the querist started in the direction named. He got very near Mr. Barnum and stood looking intently at him. Then he moved a little segment in the circle he was describing, and looked again. Several times he repeated these inspections, until he had from all points viewed the object of his curiosity and had completed the circle, when he started for the door, Mr. Greenwood watching him all the time. When he came near enough Mr. Greenwood said to him : 'My friend, you have not seen the Museum yet. There is a whale down- stairs and any number of things up-stairs, a moral play soon to come off, etc.' ' I know it/ said the rustic, 'and I don't care. I've seen Barnum, and I've got my money's worth/ " Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have not been able to bring to you the American Museum to-* 6o6 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. night, but I have done what is better I have brought to you Mr. Barnum." Mr. Barnum then arose, not in the least non- plussed, but greatly pleased with the packed house and the hearty cheers which greeted him : "MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I cannot, for the life of me, see why you should have sent so far as New York for me to come and ad- dress you. I am not really a lyceum lecturer at all. I am only a showman, and it seems you have a man here who can show up the showman." The whole story may read very meekly in print ; for Mr. Barnum's tones of voice, and gestures and mobility of feature are not communicable to cold type. But the playfulness of this unusual preface not only stirred the audience on a dismal night, but put the lecturer at his very best. Mr. Barnum's lecture was elastic. It might be shaped for an hour, as it was not fully written, or it might consume more time. On this occasion it was two hours and over. While the snow was still falling in open sleighs, that could find no shelter, their owners, not minding this, were enjoying one of the most delightful evenings of a whole winter of many winters, perhaps. And all this leads me to say that Mr. Barnum, while claiming no part of a professional lecturer's endowment, and only made oratory a casual if it was sometimes a frequent matter, was, neverthe- SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BARNUM. less, admirably equipped to entertain an audience. He could tell a story inimitably. His mimetic fac- ulty, like Cough's, gave him something of the qual- ity of an actor, so that he illustrated well what he had to say. No lectures have proved much more in- structive and entertaining than Mr. Barnum's on The Art of Money Getting; and, wherever he went to address an audience, he was sure to be called again. When I met him in Bridgeport for the first time, I found he was easily the chief man of the place. He was living then at Lindencroft, on Fairfield Avenue. His Oriental palace, Iranistan, had burned down some years before. But, wherever he lived, his house gave open welcome to many guests, illus- trious and other; and no one who had the good for- tune to enter it, ever went away without connecting with his visit the happiest of memories. At the table he especially shone. Wit, repartee, and even puns, when occasion offered, coruscated over the meal, and diffused universal good humor. He had always at hand innumerable anecdotes, which he made peculiarly his own, and which he told with in- imitable grace and unction. I am sure nobody will ever tell them again as he told them ; for, contrary to the proverb, the prosperity of the jest in his case lay, nine-tenths, in his way of relating it though it was never a dull one. It mattered not what the business of the day might be, or what obstacles or discouragements had been encountered, his cheerfulness was perennial LIFE OF p > and unfailing. Mirth and good cheer were appar- ently inborn and organic with him. He could no more suppress them than a fountain could cease bubbling up, or a river turn backward in its course. And what men and women he has had, first and last, at his table ; it is impossible to exhaust the list or exaggerate its quality. Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher, E. H. Chapin, Bayard Taylor, Mark Twain, and the Gary sisters, were a few among Amer- icans; and Thackeray, Matthew Arnold, George Augustus Sala, and I know not how many others, from abroad. No catalogue of them, but only types can be given here. He was almost never without people who made no claim to distinction ; and to them, too, he was the genial, urbane, and entertain- ing host There was a depth of warm humanity in Mr. Bar- num's inmost texture that his public fame does not fully disclose. That children liked him has been already often said; but those in maturer youth young gentlemen and ladies felt, somehow, that he never ceased, at any age, to be their cotemporary. No younger and more hopeful thoughts were offered than his. If, as sometimes happened, when he or- ganized, as he persistently did, the summer picnic, inland or on the coast, there was a party made for each direction, the struggle was to see which could capture Mr. Barnum. Which way the rest of us might go was not of so much consequence ; but the party which lost him in behalf of the other, felt like SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BARNUM. 609 one trying to enjoy Hamlet with the chief character missing. At one time he actually kept a seaside caterer at a distant beach to receive his guests of twenty or more on a place of his own, whenever, on summer days, he could collect guests enough and give them attention. It was only necessary to send word in the morning, and the tables were ready, and the party was conveyed to the shady grounds from Mr. Barnum's door. Swings were not forgotten for the children, nor was anything forgotten that conduced to rational joy. If some poor sick person was heard of in the city, one carriage, Mr. Barnum's own, would go somewhat out of the way to stop and leave delicacies and presents, not without a few words of sympathy and comfort. When, on one oc- casion that I remember, he took two or three hun- dred people from several towns in the State, and from New York, to Charles Island, a summer place midway between Bridgeport and New Haven, the hospitality was royal, and even the steamboat tickets were mysteriously provided for all. I have never noticed, in the multitude of printed sketches of Mr. Barnum's doings, any general men- tion of his lavish hospitality poured out for years, but there will be hundreds who can testify to and will remember it. It was as if he had said : "As we go along through life let us make others happy." And he did this with no niggardliness or stint, in his private life as well as in his public career. 34 LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. There is a series of stories of Mr. Barnum's hu- mane endeavors longer than ^Esop's or Pilpays* fables combined, and it is impossible to relate them all. But I have heard one recently that will very well illustrate the beneficial manner of his charity, and which shows that, by native sagacity, he had early learned the scientific way of giving to give so that the gift may be more than its surface ex- pression, and so as not to produce chronic pauper- ism. It seems that a poor widow, some years ago, went to Mr. Barnum's house and told him she was very poor, and had a large family to support ; she could not, in fact, decently support them. But if Mr. Barnum would only loan her $75 with which to buy a sewing-machine, she assured him she could do enough better to be able to save a little, and to pay the money back. Mr. Barnum, thinking her honest and truthful, said she might have the money on the terms suggested, but told her when she had saved the requisite amount to bring it to him. After some struggle and privation, in due time she did this, and laid it before him. "Well," said he, "my good woman, you have now fairly earned your sewing- machine, and you have done one thing more, you have, learned kow to save'' And thereupon he handed back the money, and told her to put it in safe keeping. Mr. Barnum's deep attachment for Bridgeport grew year by year, and was most strikingly mani- SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BARNUM. Tested. The thousands of trees he had set out there, the new streets he opened, and the Seaside Park, which was his creation mainly, are but a few of the evidences of his public enterprise. The Bar- num Historical and Scientific Institute, and the Bar- num Gymnasium were among his latest endow- ments. East Bridgeport he practically gave exist- ence to, and both that and the city proper are so essentially his monument that you cannot now di- vorce the name of Bridgeport from that of Barnum. Some years ago, when certain experiments were made to test the presence of ozone in the air, and much was said of its value to health, Mr. Barnum had the air at Bridgeport put on trial, and proved exultingly that no climate in this country was so salubrious as that of Bridgeport, especially in the region of the Seaside Park. He was very enthu- siastic on the subject, and wrote to the local papers, to myself, and to others about it to give the fact publicity and proper emphasis. It may be said by some that Mr. Barnum, in many of his real estate enterprises, made money ; and so he did, by his foresight, faith, and sagacity concern- ing his adopted town. He partly foresaw the fu- ture of Bridgeport, and then largely made it. But if he had not made money and his example was open for others to follow he could have had no money to give. He used to say himself, half jok- ingly : " I believe in a profitable philanthropy," which illustrates one of his characteristic traits his abso- LIFE OF P. T. BARNUM. lute frankness. In fact, he was so open-hearted about himself that no account he ever gave of his private doings was ever flattering or exalted. He wore no phylacteries, and was as far away as possi- ble from Pecksniffian pretensions. In early life he suffered hardship and deprivations, and no Mark Tapley ever met them with more com- posure and, on occasions, with more hilarity. But he knew well what comfort and convenience are, and when they were at his command he enjoyed their best gifts. He once told me that it pained him to see Mr, Greeley omit those little cares for him- self in later life to which he was surely entitled, and so, when he was his guest for many days together, he took care to provide him with a loose morning coat and comfortable slippers, and would not have him drop in an ordinary chair by accident, but se- cured for him the easiest one. Busy as Mr. Barnum was, he found many hours for social and other pleasures. He did this by his systematic allotment of his time. All the machinery of his household and his business ran with a smooth- ness and punctuality that would have delighted George Washington. Everything was on time ; his meals were regular not movable feasts. It was a wonder how he wrote so many letters, foreign and domestic; dispatched so promptly his household and his city affairs, and his out-of-town business ; met all sorts of callers on all sorts of errands ; and yet spared time for rides, a social game or talk, and an SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BAR NUM. 6x3 evening out with so much frequency. Absolute idle- ness was positively painful to him ; occupation of some sort he must have, and to the very end he had and enjoyed it. I can scarcely realize, even now, that he is really gone so clear of mind and active was he to the very last. Nor can it be easily imagined how Bridgeport in this generation can accustom itself to so great a loss. To hear that the average man of distinction even has died, seems common and cred- ible. But the message which announced Mr. Bar- nuin's death came like a troubled dream from which we somehow expect to awaken. That one so full of life as to be its very embodiment, should leave us, it will take time to fully comprehend. If, in the world, his demise leaves a striking and peculiar void to a multitude of friends it comes with a tender sorrow that shall tincture indelibly many flowing years. J. B. Among letters that have come to hand we select the following as the tribute of a representative American divine : BROOKLYN, April i6th, 1891. Dear Mr. Benton : There was a Mr. Barnum whom all the world knew, and whose name is familiar in every civilized land ; but there was another Mr. Barnum whom we, his .intimate friends knew, and regarded with a hearty affection. That he was a most courteous gentleman and the entertaining companion at his 614 HF& OF P. T. BARNVM. table and hospitable fireside, is but a part of th truth. He had a big warm heart that bound all his friends to him with hooks of steel. I first met him on the platform of a grand temper- ance banquet, in Tripler Hall, New York, thirty-nine years ago where he and Mr. Beecher, and Dr. Chapin, Hon. Horace Mann, Gen. Houston, of Texas, and myself were the speakers. A gold medal was presented that evening to the Hon. Neal Dow, of Maine, the father of the " Pro- hibitory Law." Mr. Barnum made a very vivacious and vigorous address. In alter years he delivered several addresses in behalf of Total Abstinence in my church, and they were admirable speci- mens of close argument, most pungently pre- sented. He indulged in but few witticisms or amus- ing stories ; for, as he well said, " The Temperance Reform was too serious a matter for trifling jokes and buffooneries." During the first year of my married life, 1853, Mr. Barnum visited me at Trenton, N. J,, and he often spoke of the happy hour he spent at our table, and the cozy dinner my young wife prepared for him. In after years he often sat at my table, and on two occasions he entertained me with princely hos- pitality at his Bridgeport mansion. On one occasion he invited the leading clergymen of the town to meet me. We differed very decidedly in our religious creeds, and never fell into arguments about them. I honored his conscientious convictions, and his staunch adherence to what he believed to be the right interpretation of God's Word. With the scoffing scepticism of the day he had no sympathy, and utterly abhorred it. His kind heart made him a SOME REMINISCENCES OI< P. T. BARNUM. ^ philanthropist, and in his own peculiar way he loved to do good to his fellow- men. Surrounded by innumerable temptations, he maintained a clean, chaste, and honest life, and found his happiest hours in the society of wife and children, under his own roof-tree. Had Mr. Barnutn devoted himself to po- litical life he would have made an excellent figure; for he had keen sagacity, vast and varied obser- vations of human nature, and sturdy common sense. In conversation with intellectual men he always held his own with admirable acumen and vicror of ex- o pression. He was altogether one of the most unique characters that his native State has produced, and when his name ceases to be connected with shows and zoological exhibitions, he will be lovingly re- membered as the genial friend, the sturdy patriot, the public-spirited and philanthropic neighbor, and the honest, true-hearted man. Yours respectfully, THEODORE L. CUYLER. THE FUNERAL. April loth, 1891, was the day set for Mr. Barnum's funeral. The morning was cold, gray, and dismal. Nature's heart, with the spring joy put back and deadened, symboled the melancholy that had fallen upon Bridgeport. No town was ever more trans- formed than was this city by one earthly event. On the public and private buildings were hung the habil- iments of woe ; flags were at half mast, and, in the store windows were to be seen innumerable por- traits and likenesses of the dead citizen, surrounded by dark drapery, or embedded in flowers. Nor was this all. The people on the street and in the windows of their houses seemed to be think- ing of but one thing their common loss. The pe- destrian walked slower; the voices of talkers, even among the rougher classes, were more subdued, and in their looks was imprinted the unmistakable signals of no common or ordinary bereavement. The large church was not only filled, with its lec- ture-room, a considerable time before the hour set for the services ; but thousands of people crowded the sidewalks near-by for hours, knowing they could only see the arrival and departure of the funeral cortege. The private services at the house, "Ma- rina," near the Seaside Park, which preceded the 616 DR. COLLYER'S 7RIBLTE. 6 if public services in the church, were simple and were only witnessed and participated in by the relatives and immediate friends. DR. COLLYER'S TRIBUTE. The immense congregation that filled to repletion the South Congregational Church, while the last services were being held over the remains of Hon. P. T. Barnum, were deeply impressed with the touching tribute which was paid the great showman and public benefactor by his old friend, Rev. Robert Collyer, D. D. It was a pathetic picture which met the eyes of the vast throng. The aged preacher, with long white hair hanging loosely on his shoulders, and an expression of keen sorrow on his kindly face, stand- ing in a small pulpit looking down on the remains of his old and cherished friend. The speaker's voice was strong and steady throughout his sermon. Each word of that sad panegyric could be distinctly heard in all parts of the edifice, but in offering up the last prayer, he broke down. The aged preacher made a strong effort to control himself, but his voice finally became husky, and tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks. The audience was deeply touched by this display of feeling, and many ladies among the congregation joined with the preacher and wept freely. The immense gathering were unusually quiet when the aged minister took his place in the pulpit, and his words were strangely clear ; and distinct in ail portions of the church. In his feeling tribute, Dr. Collyer said : LIFE OF P, T. BARNUM. " P. T. Barnum was a born fighter for the weak against the strong, for the oppressed against the op- pressor. The good heart, tender as it was brave, would always spring up at the cry for help and rush on with the sword of assistance. This was not all that made him loved, for the good cheer of his na- ture was like a halo about him. He had always time to right a wrong and always time to be a good citizen and patriot of the town, State, or republic in which he lived. His good, strong face, was known almost as well on the other side. You may be proud of him as he was proud of his town. He helped to strengthen and beautify it, and he did beautiiy it in many places. ' It is said that the hand that grasps takes away the strength from the hand that ought to give/ and thatsuch a man must die without friends or blessings. He was not that man. He was al- ways the open and generous man, who could not do too much for Bridgeport. He often told me of his desire to help this place, and he was not content to wait until after death. What he has done for Bridge- port is the same as he has done for other noble works. As my brother, Rev. Mr. Fisher, said to- day, there was never anything proposed in this city that had any promise of goodness but that he was ready to pour out money and assistance for it. " Faith in one's self fails in the spring if one has not faith in God also. He had that faith I know. He had worship, reverence, and love in his heart, and as he rests from his labors we meet and linger here for a few minutes and pay respect and honor to the memory of a great and good man. We can forget that we belong to divers churches, and stand here as children of one faith and one baptism, hon- oring for the last time one who has finished his NO TABLE OB2TUAR Y EXPRESSIONS. $ ! g labors here and with a crown of glory for his re- ward, has joined in his eternal home the Father he served so well," When the church services were over, the proces- sion moved to Mountain Cemetery, a mile or more distant, where, in a beautiful plat, long ago ar- ranged, with a modest monument above it, rest the remains of Mr. Barnum's first wife. Here, in a place made beautiful by nature and improved by art, was consigned the mortal part of him whose story we have tried, weakly, perhaps, to tell. Great masses of flowers, similar to those displayed in the house and church, were upon the grave and about it, and the people, who came there in large numbers, did not leave for hours after the religious service had been read. A book of good size might be made of the notable expressions called forth by Mr. Barnum's death from leading journals and men known to fame. It is impossible to give any fair sample of them here, but the London Times' leader of April 8th may serve, perhaps, as a good specimen : " Barnum is gone. That fine flower of Western civilization, that arbiter elegantiarum to Demos, has lived. At the age of eighty, after a life of restless energy and incessant publicity, thegreat showman has lain down to rest. He ^ave, in the eyes of the seekers after amusement, a lustre to America. * * * He 620 2./A OF P. T. BAR NUM. created the metier of showman on a grandiose scale, worthy to be professed by a man of genius. He early realized that essential feature of a modern democracy, its readiness to be led to what will amuse and instruct it. He knew that 'the people' means crowds, paying crowds ; that crowds love the fashion and will follow it; and that the business of the great man is to make and control the fashion. To live / on, by, and before the public was his ideal. For their sake and his own, he loved to bring the public to see, to applaud, and to pay. His immense activity, covering all those years, marked him out as one of the most typical and conspicuous of Yankees. From Jenny Lind to Jumbo, no occasion of a public 'sensation ' came amiss to him. " Phineas Taylor Barnum, born in 1810, at Bethel, Connecticut how serious and puritanical it sounds ! would have died with a merely local reputation un- * less chance had favored him by putting in his way something to make a hit with. He stumbled across Charles H. Stratton, the famous, the immortal 'General Tom Thumb' of our childhood. Together they came to Europe and held 'receptions' every- where. It was the moment when the Queen's eld- est children were in the nursery, and Barnum saw that a fortune depended on his bringing them into friendly relations with Tom Thumb. He succeeded; and the British public flocked to see the amusing little person who had shown off his mature yet min- iature dimensions by the side of the baby Heir Ap- parent. Then came the Jenny Lind furore. Then came a publicity of a different sort. Mr. Barnum became a legislator for his State, and even, in 1875, Mayor of Bridgeport. Why not? The man who can organize the amusements of the people may NOTABLE OBITUARY EXPRESSIONS. 6 2 l very well be trusted to organize a few of their laws for them. "When, in 1889, the veteran brought over his ship- load of giants and dwarfs, chariots and waxworks, spangles and circus-riders, to entertain the people of London, one wanted a Carlyle to come forward with a discourse upon * the Hero as Showman/ It was the ne plus ultra of publicity. * * * There was a three-fold show the things in the stalls and cages, the showman, and the world itself And of the three perhaps Barnum himself was the most interesting. The chariot races and the monstrosities we can get elsewhere, but the octogenarian showman was unique. His name is a proverb already, and a pro- verb it will continue." RETURN TO the circulation desk ot any University ot California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station University ot California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS ' bringing Renewals and recharges may be made 4 'ays prior to due date. 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