Four White Horses and a Brass Band
True Confessions from the World of Medicine Shows, Pitchmen, Chumps, Suckers, Fixers, and Shills
Violet McNeal ran away from her family's rural Minnesota farm in the late 1880s and fell under the spell of conman and patent medicine 'doctor' Will Archimbauld, who hooked her on opium and promises of fame and fortune. Violet soon learned to become Princess Lotus Blossom, and was the best pitchman, nostrum seller, and conwoman to roam the west in a torch-lit wagon. Four White Horses and A Brass Band is her story of life on the road with the medicine show, and reveals the secrets of the conman's trade.
Violet McNeal was a teenage runaway who gained fame on the medicine show circuit of the late 1800s through the early 20th Century. She left her abusive partner, quit opium, married and settled in Oregon and later California. She penned her autobiography which was originally released in 1947.
