ARRANGEMENTS MADE BY MR. P. T. BARNUM, “THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ON EARTH,” TO
EXHIBIT JUMBO IN THE UNITED STATES.
When, in the year 1882, Mr. P. T. Barnum, “The Greatest Showman on
Earth,” had completed all arrangements for the exhibition of Jumbo to
the people of the United States, I consented, after considerable
persuasion, to accompany him on his voyage across the broad Atlantic,
and to exhibit him to the American nation, then numbering nearly fifty
millions of souls. One of the reasons which persuaded me was that I
anticipated meeting again many kind old friends who had left the Old
Country for the New, and had become happy and prosperous under the
“starry banner.” I must confess that I was somewhat curious to see what
kind of reception would be accorded Jumbo. I was not at all anxious, for
I felt he would make a great sensation, but curious to see how he would
be received in a strange land. I may add that I have not been
disappointed. On the contrary, I and Jumbo have received the utmost
courtesy, and the kindest hospitality wherever we have been, and on our
great western “ten-thousand-miles tour” in the far west Jumbo has been
received, applauded, and what I value most, _appreciated_ by the free
sons of toil who are clearing the finest country under the sun. The
ovations have been something beyond my most sanguine expectations, and I
am grateful to the American people for their reception of Jumbo.
General Tom Thumb acknowledged, when he visited us at Brockton, Mass.,
that Jumbo was “a bigger card” than himself. Well, this was amusing,
coming from the smallest man, and yet a man who, perhaps, had the
biggest record for sight-seeing on earth.