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8 Capital Journal, Salem, Ore., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 1950
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Remains of Barnum'i amour Fejee Mermaid.
P. 7. Barnum's Mermaid:
Was It Made in Japan?
St. Bonaventure, N. Y., Jan. 26 VP) The famous Fejee mermaid
with which Phlneas T. Barum made a small fortune a century ago
and which is credited with starting him on the road to fame as
showman has been brought to light again.
. The preserved oddity, believed to be at least 127 years old,
has the head, breast and arms
of a female monkey and the tail
of a fish.
It was acquired by a Fran
ciscan friar, Fr. Irenaeus Her-
scher, OFM, librarian at St.
Bonaventure college In New
York state. Father Irenaeus re
selved It as a gift from friends
who bought It an an auction of
the Stanford White collection In
New York City.
The Fejee mermaid Is now
less than two feet long. Orig
inally, Its length was closer to
three feet, but It has shrunk
and has lost part of Its tall.
Barnum acquired the mer
maid In the 1840's from Moses
Kimball of the Boston Museum,
who in turn had bought It from
a sailor. The sailor's father, a
sea captain, purchased it In 1822
from a group of Japanese sail
ors. When It was exhibited in
London in the same year, hun
dreds flocked to view the curio.
According to general be
lief, the mermaid was the
handiwork of a tireless Jap
anese. Barnum himself was
aware that certain Japanese
artists manufactured a great
variety of fabulous animals,
and he later admitted his mer
maid was "no doubt . a
specimen of that curious man
ufacture." But he liked its
realism. Its "mouth was open,
its tail turned over, and its
arms thrown up, giving it the
appearance of having died in
great agony."
To offset incredulity In mer
maids, Barnum worked up a ser
ies of newspaper stories stating
that a Prof. Griffin, "noted au
thority on anatomy," had found
this particular specimen, be
lieved It genuine, and was bring
ing It to New York for exhibi
tion. Barnum then engaged a
special hall, hired a bogus "Prof.
Griffin."
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Td view the oddity cost 25c.
The huge throngs that came to
see the Fejee mermaid assured
the future circus man that he
had found a gold mine.
Breeders Elect
Robert Reed
Officers of the Marion-Polk
County Guernsey Breeders' as
sociation were elected at the an
nual meeting in Rickreall Tues
day night with plans for a spring
show discussed.
Robert Reed, Sheridan, was
named president with Frank
Poepplng, Mt. Angel, vice presi
dent and T. R. Hobart, field
representative of Ladd and Bush
branch of the U. S. National
bank, secretary-treasurer. Mem
bers of the board of directors are
Mark O'Dell, Amity; William
Firth, St. Paul and Ray Hob
son, Amity, the latter retiring
president. Ben A. Newell, Mar
lon county agent, Is the retiring
secretary.
A meeting will be held at the
O'Dell place February 21 with
Charles A. Evans, Independence,
and Howard Gilbert the commit
tee In charge.
The U.N. Food and Agricul
ture Organization says Austra
lia, New Zealand, Argentina,
Denmark, Ireland and the U.S.
are the six best fed nations, in
that order.
Spook That's Haunting House
Gets Rites Supposed to Stop It
Bristol, Eng., Jan. 25 VP) If Mrs. Drury's ghost is still walking
around.the old Victorian house of William Baber today it won't
be the fault of the vicar.
. The ghost or whatever has been upsetting the Baber family
has been exorcised.
The Rev. Francis J. Maddock
went through all the rooms of
the old house last night, perfor
ming an ancient rite that is sup
posed to exorcise ghosts put
them to rest, or at least make
them stop walking around old
haunts.
The Baber family was on the
verge of moving out after it
complained that a spooky little
old lady in black, with a wlerd
glow around her head, followed
it around the house, woke up the
two children and generally up
set earthly routines.
The Babers think it was the
ghost of Mrs. Gladys Drury who
used to live there and died 18
year ago.
Rev. Maddock got permission
from the Church of England to
perform the old special services.
He studied up on ancient au
thorities ef the subject. The main
idea, he said, was that he had to
assume the spirit was really
there.
He wouldn't give any details
of the special service, but he said
he didn't use incense or sprinkle
holy water, which he said is call
ed for by the old teachings of
the Roman Catholic church.
"I used such form of exor
cism as Is In conformity with
the teachings of the Church of
England," he explained.
The Babers started having
trouble with the ghost six
months ago after Mrs. Baber
opened a closet door containing
a lot of old trunks that once
belonged to Mrs. Drury. It had
been locked since the old lady's
death.
After that the Babers said the
spirit appeared every morning at
about 6 o'clock and followed
them around the house.
The special service last night
brought most of the townfolk to
the scene of the old house. No
thing unusual seemed to happen,
but even the most skeptical were
anxious to know if the ghost had
been exorcised.
The Babers still aren't sure
they want to move back into the
house. They've been living with
relatives lately to get away
from the apparition. And they've
also applied to the local housing
authorities for fresh accommoda
Hons "on the ground of ghostly
disturbances in the present
home."
Pastor Advises Wedded Couples
Hug and Kiss First, Then Argue
By WILLIAM TUCKER
Atlanta, Jan. 25 (U.PJ Dr. Robert W. Burns is one man who
works at marriage. He has worked at every one of the thousands
he has solemnized In the last 20 years as pastor of the Peachtree
Christian church.
Many years ago as a 19-year-old student minister Burns was
called upon to preach his first-
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funeral sermon. The funeral
was for a man who had commit
ted suicide because of his wife's
infidelity.
Then and there the young
man of God decided that a min
ister's obligation to young cou
ples extends far beyond con
ducting the marriage service for
them.
And so it was that when the
wedding march pealed out In
Dr. Burns' church on a recent
Sunday not one, but hundreds
of couples came forward. They
were all "veterans", of Dr.
Burns' marriage ceremonies and
not a few of them owed the sal
vation of their marriages to his
counsel when domestic differ
ences arose.
It was the 20th annual "wed
ding bells' service at the church.
For the occasion, the couples re
peated the passage which Dr.
THE RISING TIDE "Smf
OF POLIO 1938-1949 A
MAW
'C0SeS prfevl I
7,960 pil, I -
The chart above tells the graphic story of how Infantile
paralysis has surged upward more than 182,000 cases in the
past 12 years. With mounting polio incidence has come a sharp
rise in the costs of providing medical care for the stricken.
It Is for this reason that the National Foundation for Infantile
Paralysis faces a crisis during its March of Dimes campaign
this January. Help meet the rising tide of polio by contribulng
generously to the March of Dimes.
Burns considers tha most en
during of all vows of devotion.
"Entreat me not to leave thee
. . . whither thou goest I shall
go . . . thy people shall be my
people.
Dr. Burns believes that "es
tablishing and maintaining
homes is the most Important
work a minister does. Unless
our homes are strong, nothing
about a church is solid."
Dr. Burns, who performed
more than 100 marriages last
year, makes it a point to talk
with each engaged couple infor
mally before he marries them.
And he urges them to come
back to see him and tell him
how they are getting along
within 30 days after the cere
mony and more often if they
are having trouble.
Two hours of each busy day
he sets aside for those seeking
counsel most of it about mar
riage problems.
"A husband is no saint out
of Heaven," Dr. Burns assures
distressed young couples. "And
neither is a wife. If you have a
disagreement about anything,
put your arms around each oth
er and keep them there. First
say how much you love each
other and then . . say anything
else you want to get off your
chest . . . Sandwich your fussing
with anection, with hugs and
kisses, and it will never get bit
ter or hateful."
Dr. Burns has been married
himself 22 years and he and his
wife have four children.
Sheridan Rebekahs
See New Officers
Sheridan At the local
meeting of the Rebekah lodge,
Leatha Phillips was installed as
financial secretary and was ap
pointed dues chairman. Adah
Green was appointed good of
the order chairman; Iola Meyers
was elected drill captain: Bea
Curry, character captain; Ruth
Wright, fraternal press; Grace
Bradley, trustee for three years;
Geanette Mann was appointed
publicity chairman.
The convention of District
No. 15 will be held Feb. 11 in
Carlton at 10 a.m., with a pot
luck dinner at noon. Noble
Grand Margaret Neely announ
ced plans were being made for
a food sale February 21.
Few people know that the
ctnfuo nf T.ihprtv holds the Dec
laration of Independence in her
left hand and that broken chains
of tyranny He at her feet.
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