and even illness. During a long, hard winter the green branches were also a reminder that spring would come and plants and crops would grow again.
By 1860 the human curiosity—appearing in a museum, on thelegitimatestage, or in carnivalsideshows(so named because they required a separate fee for entry from the main circus or carnival midway)—had become one of the chief attractions for American audiences. A major moment during that period...