A Unique Story of a Marvellous Career: Life of Hon. Phineas T. BarnumBenton, Joel
History
A Unique Story of a Marvellous Career: Life of Hon. Phineas T. Barnum
Benton, Joel
Barnum's American Museum; Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891; Circus owners -- United States -- Biography
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 tremendous 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 intense, and, when at last, these marine monsters arrived 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. 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 resolved 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 out into 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 declared that they were not
whales at all, but only porpoises, 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 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:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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