The Humbugs of the World · Chapter
IV explained
The chapter details the final days of Old Grizzly Adams, who, despite being mortally wounded from years of wrestling grizzly bears, makes a wager with Barnum to continue performing for ten weeks to earn an extra $500 for his wife.
What happens
The chapter details the final days of Old Grizzly Adams, who, despite being mortally wounded from years of wrestling grizzly bears, makes a wager with Barnum to continue performing for ten weeks to earn an extra $500 for his wife. Adams ultimately wins the bet, but dies shortly after, having tricked Barnum into letting him be buried in a new hunting suit.
Themes in this chapter
Advertising and Showmanship
Adams' determination to continue performing despite his fatal injuries exemplifies the extreme lengths to which showmen went to fulfill contracts and entertain audiences.
Gullibility and Human Nature
Barnum's willingness to be deceived by Adams' final trick highlights the theme of human gullibility and the playful nature of humbug.
Characters to notice
- Old Grizzly Adams
The dying bear tamer who makes a final wager with Barnum and tricks him into being buried in a new hunting suit.
- Mr. Barnum
Barnum narrates the story, making a bet with Adams and ultimately being outwitted by Adams' final request.
Key passages
“He received the announcement in perfect calmness, and with the most apparent indifference; then, turning to his wife, with a smile, he requested her to have him buried in the new hunting suit. 'For,' said he, 'Barnum agreed to let me have it until I have done with it, and I was determined to fix his flint this time. He shall never see that dress again.'”
Adams calmly asked his wife to bury him in the new hunting suit, explaining that he had tricked Barnum into letting him keep it forever.
This shows Adams' final act of humbug, outwitting Barnum even in death.
“I have attended preaching every day, Sundays and all, for the last six years. Sometimes an old grizzly gave me the sermon, sometimes it was a panther; often it was the thunder and lightning, the tempest, or the hurricane on the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, or in the gorges of the Rocky Mountains; but whatever preached to me, it always taught me the majesty of the Creator, and revealed to me the undying and unchanging love of our kind Father in heaven.”
Adams described how nature itself had been his preacher, teaching him about God's majesty and love through the wilds of the mountains.
This reflects Adams' spiritual side and his belief that the natural world revealed divine truths.