Edouard Beaupré
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Edouard Beaupré had a dream of becoming a cowboy when he was growing up. Instead of riding them, he ended up lifting them.
As a young man Beaupré quickly grew into a first-rate horseman. He even grew out of horses. He measured more than seven feet by the time he was 17, the man would become known as the Willow Bunch Giant had to give up his dream of a cowboy life because his legs dragged on the ground when he rode horses.
He would spend the latter part of his life peforming in freak shows and circuses reportedly lifting horses as heavy as 900 pounds.
He was the elder child of 20 and was born to parents by the name of Chapard Beaupré and Florestine Piché in Willow Bunch. Beaupré was born on January 9, 1881. Reports vary that Beaupré did not appear abnormally large at birth. In fact, he grew at a relatively normal rate for the first three years of his life.
That would soon change. Beaupré then started growing at an alarming rate. At age nine, he was six feet tall. By 1902, he was measured at more than 8 feet 2 inches tall and weighed more than 400 pounds.
At the time of his death, doctors determined that even at the age of 23, Beaupré was still growing.
By the time Beaupré was 15, he would quit school as he went on to pursue his dreams of riding the open range. When he outgrew that goal, he used his size to his advantage to support his family.
At the urging of other, he would go on to tour the North American freak show curcuit. Over the years he would be stared at by onlookers, wrestle strongmen and perform feats of strength. His signature stunt was crouching underneath a horse and lifting it up to his shoulders.
He would then go on to star in Barnum and Bailey's circus. Even though life on the road was not easy for Beaupré, to accommodate his size, hotel staff would line up trunks to support a second mattress to lengthen his bed.
In 1902 the giant was diagnosed with tuberculosis. By the time he reached the St. Louis World's Fair his rapid growth and the diease were taking its toll on him. He became ill and died at a local hospital.
Gaspard Beaupré would make a trip to St. Louis to retrieve his son's body. When he reach his destination, Gaspard would turn back when he realized that he didn't have enough money to pay double fare to return home with the body
The elder Beaupré believed his son's body was going to be buried in St. Louis or used for medical experiements. But that was not the case. When the circus refused to pay for the transportation costs back to Willow Bunch, Edouard Beaupré's body was embalmed and put on display.
Around 1905, the giants body made its way to a museum in Montreal and then a circus. Upon the circus going bankrupt, the University of Montreal claimed the body.
The move to the university proved to be quite fortunate. Scientists then discovered the problem of Beaupré's giant status. The problem was withj a pituitary gland that secreted an abnormal amount of growth hormones throughout his body.
In 1975 Ovila Lespérance, Beaupré's nephew would discover the whereabouts of his uncle's body. Lespérance's efforts to return Beaupré's body back to Willow Bunch would be unsuccessful as university claimed it was still required for research.
An agreement was finally reached in 1989. To ensure that Beaupré would not be publicly displayed or used for personal gain, the university insisted that his body be cremated. His remains were brought to Willow Bunch and he was finally laid to rest in a memorial service on July 7, 1990.
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