Waino and Plutano, The Wild Men of Borneo, were actually Hiram and Barney Davis, two mentally retarded dwarf brothers from Connecticut. Though a mere 40 inches tall and weighing in at about 45 pounds each, the brothers were possessed of extraordinary strength. On stage, the pair would lift heavy weights, members of the audience, and wrestle - both male audience members and each other. One advertisement claimed 'THOUGH DWARFS IN SIZE THEY EXHIBIT GREAT STRENGTH, LIFTING MANY HUNDRED POUNDS IN WEIGHT, or Throwing the most scientific Six-foot Athlete with Ease.'
The Davis brothers were discovered by a traveling showman in 1850. Dubbing them with new names, the showman concocted a story that the bloodthirsty pair had been captured by sailors in Borneo, but only after a desperate struggle requiring many guns, nets, and strong men.
Starting in 1880, Waino and Plutano began appearing with P. T. Barnum, whose uncanny knack for promotion caused their careers to soar. Under Barnum, the Wild Men of Borneo became one of the world’s most famous freakshow attractions. Over the course of their lifetimes, the pair earned $200,000, which was quite an impressive sum for its time.
The pair continued to work into the early part of the twentieth century, until Hiram’s death in 1905. Barney lived a while longer, but expired in 1912. The pair are buried under a marker inscribed 'Little Men' in Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Eisenmann, a German immigrant, opened his studio on the Bowery in 1879 and soon began to photograph the many entertainers and personalities who came to the neighborhood to perform at the theatres and dime museums that dominated the area. Famed for his portraits of sideshow freaks and even P.T. Barnum himself in 1885.(see 'Monsters Of The Gilded Age - The Photographs of Chas. Eisenmann' by Michael Mitchell, Gage Publishing 1979)
In Eisenmann's block the New York Museum (210 Bowery) featured, in person, The Ford Brothers who shot down Jesse James - perhaps this group appeared there as well.
$150 No. 3439 Questions?
