Struggles and Triumphs · Chapter
Menagerie and Museum Memoranda explained
Barnum recounts his renewed management of the American Museum and his partnership with the legendary bear-tamer 'Grizzly' Adams, whose California menagerie of ferocious bears and other animals became a major attraction.
What happens
Barnum recounts his renewed management of the American Museum and his partnership with the legendary bear-tamer 'Grizzly' Adams, whose California menagerie of ferocious bears and other animals became a major attraction. Adams, mortally wounded by his own bears, wagers he can survive ten more weeks to win $500 from Barnum, and ultimately triumphs, only to die soon after. The chapter also includes anecdotes about Stephen A. Douglas's resemblance to Barnum, a barber-shop practical joke on Barnum that became a national story, and the continued financial recovery of the Museum.
Themes in this chapter
Showmanship and Humbug
Barnum's creation of 'California Golden Pigeons' by dyeing common pigeons, and the barber-shop practical joke, exemplify his embrace of humbug and publicity.
Resilience in Adversity
Grizzly Adams's determination to survive ten weeks despite a fatal skull wound, and Barnum's own efforts to pay off debts, highlight resilience.
Financial Wisdom and Economy
Barnum's careful management of the Museum's finances, paying off mortgages, and his wager with Adams reflect financial strategy and economy.
Characters to notice
- P. T. Barnum
Narrator and proprietor of the American Museum; partners with Grizzly Adams and engages in wagers and practical jokes.
- Grizzly Adams
Legendary bear-tamer and hunter, mortally wounded by grizzlies; partners with Barnum and wins a ten-week survival wager.
- Tom Higginson
Barber at the Park Hotel who participates in a practical joke on Barnum involving an Irish customer.
- Mr. James D. Johnson
A political acquaintance who compares Stephen A. Douglas's appearance to Barnum's.
- Stephen A. Douglas
Mentioned as passing through Bridgeport during an electioneering tour; his appearance is compared to Barnum's.
- Monsieur Guillaudeu
The Museum's naturalist who is deceived by Barnum's creation of 'California Golden Pigeons'.
Key passages
“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.”
Adams's skull was fractured from repeated blows by his bears, and the most recent attack from a bear named General Fremont had exposed his brain.
Describes the severity of Grizzly Adams's injuries from his bear-training.
“I thought to myself, he will soon be done with it, and replied: 'That's all right.' A new idea evidently struck him, 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 assumed Adams would die soon, so when Adams asked for a written agreement to wear the hunting suit until he was 'done with it,' Barnum agreed, knowing Adams's death was imminent.
Adams's final joke on Barnum: he was buried in the suit, ensuring Barnum never got it back.
“The joke went the rounds of the papers; and after a few months, an English friend sent me the whole story in a copy of the London Family Herald — a publication that issues about half a million of copies weekly.”
The barber-shop prank was widely reprinted in newspapers and even reached an English publication with a huge circulation.
Illustrates how Barnum's notoriety and humorous stories spread internationally.
