P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r pocketbook. Though popular, these displays were, of necessity temporary, as the olfactory senses would soon become overwhelmed by the unpleasant emanations of decaying flesh. Then, the crew rendered out the whale oil and hauled the creature out to sea for a rather inglorious watery burial. In the winter of 1872, PT Barnum got into the act by showcasing From Pacific Electric Magazine, Feb. 10, 1930 among his other exotic creatures, a “Monster Whale” in his “Greatest Show on Earth,” that traveled around the larger eastern cities. Cold weather preserved the whale during the winter months, but warmer weather soon produced unappealing aromas. Apparently unable to find a satisfactory solution, Barnum gave up the whale business and his newspaper ads no longer included the “Monster” in the extravaganzas. Malodorous as these displays may have been, the public still seemed to love them and the sound of jingling bags of silver quarters lured other entrepreneurs into the fray. In December 1880, a pair of promoters, George H. Newton and Fred J. Englehardt, embarked upon a traveling whale exhibition. A month earlier, Newton had purchased a right whale carcass at Provincetown, MA for $450.00.The whale was towed to Boston, hoisted out of the water, put aboard two 32′ railroad flatcars, and transported to Chicago. The 72-ton, 60-foot “Mass of Blubber and Bone” was exhibited as the “Prince of Whales” for a 4-week exhibition. The “Prince” visited Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, during that winter and spring. In May, the warmer weather again produced its effect on the poor beast and attempts were made to embalm the deteriorating carcass. It was an imperfect and ineffective process at best, but by the end of June the whale was again riding the rails, though not nearly as successful or fragrant as previously. Crisscrossing the Mid-West, South, and East, the men battled with odors and financial problems. Scenting defeat, they eventually dissolved their partnership, and the show went bust in September 1882 at Poughkeepsie, New York, when the troupe could not pay their bills to get out of town. The fate of the dethroned Prince remains unknown. Meanwhile, on the West coast, the whaling industry continued to sail on, despite the intense development of the petroleum oil business in the 1870s that replaced whale oil for general lighting purposes. By the 1900s whales were mostly stalked along the Pacific Coast, particularly near the off-shore islands. Vast
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