Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1860-03-08
From the Cincinnati Gazette.
The Strong Men OF Cincinnati.

From the Cincinnati Gazette
The Strong Men OF Cincinnati.
The papers throughout the coautry, since
the debut of the strong doctor" in Boston,
have been teeming with records of the hercu
lean strength of different persons. If these
stories can be true, the degeneration of our
race is not going on as rapidly as some of our
distinguished sons of Hippocrates would have
us believe.
Some of the strongest men that have lived
during the last twenty-five years, resided in
Cincinnati.
Frank Buffalo-First and foremost comes
the giant lin strength) Frank Buffalo, COL
ored man, who lived here about the time Of
old Tip and Ty. He was man of medium
height, with powerful shoulders, and his arms
reached, when he was standing erect, several
inches below his knees This man once car
ried, twenty-three feet, a load of 500 lbs
! At another time, he carried an anchor weigh
ing no pounds, from the waters edge, about
100 feet below the Uncle Sam coffee house,
and laid it in the doorway of the old Cincin-
natl hotel, now the Spencer House. At an
other time, two men of reputed strength came
from the East with the expressed intention Of
having "mill' with Buffalo. Frank being
of peaceable disposition, endcavored to a.
void any difficulty, and actually suffered him
self to be knocked down several times before
he would resent his injuries. Tney had had
their time and now came his. Deliberately
pulling off his coat he said, go way, white
man, dis darkey can't stand dat treatment
any longer, no how" Not needing his
warning, they struck him again, whereupon
Frank Strengthened out" on them with his
long arms, and one stroke was enough. He
: stretched them both dead at his feet.
Many times in sport he would 60 behind a
wagon drawn by one or two horses, catch
hold of the back axle, and brace himself so as
to stop the horses. Many other surprising
feats are related of him. lie died in 1847.
Sampson Kirby--Another man whose name
will ever be remembered in the annals Of the
Strong Men, was Sampson Kirby, a member
of the old Invincible Fire Co. No. 5. Kirby,
after performing various feats Of almott un-
heard of strength, attempted to lift, and ac-
tually did lift, both hind wheels Of the fa-
nous fire engine Fame, which belonged to the
above company. Some idea may be formed
of the weight of this lift from the fact that
the engine weighed over 1000 pounds.
DR.. Richard Gatewood, better known as
flaw Bone Dick, the Herb Doctor" was as
famous as either Of the foregoing for his mus
Gle.
When the workmen were engaged in bull
ding the old Assembly Hall, on the south east
corner of Walnut and Pearl streets, Dick car
ried, in hod prepared for the occasion, $50
brick up four ladders without stopping and
laid them down on the roof. Estimating each
brick at weight four pounds, and the hod
at twenty-five pounds, the total weight Of the
load was 625 pounds But Dick, as all other
"good darkies," could not withstand the hand
of time, as he was found dead about u year
since, in his cabin on "AIllcreek's marshy
marge."
Ezra O'IIarra, who was killed in row at
the Empire House in Sixth street, was anoth-
er specimen of the half horse and half man,
some claiming for him greater strength than
that possessed by Frank Buffalo.
Some one or two Of his fcats are worth re-
lating MANY times he, for a small wager,
would carry three punches OF shingles up one,
two or three ladders, as the case might be-
At another tine he and Joseph Lewis, who
still resides here, lifted and carried few
feet hogshead of sugar.-Another one of his
common tricks was to take barrel of whis-
key, raise it above his head, and drink out Of
the bung-hole. He once did this trick with
man sitting astride Of barrel.
John S. Powers.--Our old and highly re-
spected Flour Inspector, John S. Powers, is
another model of bone and muscle When
the Cincinnati Grays" were in the zenith Of
their popularity, they had their cannon,
weighing 1000 pounds, down at the river
firing, as a tribute of respect to the memory
of Tippecanoe, whose remains were passing
on a steamer bound for North Bend. While
there, one of the wheels Of the gun-carriage
sank several inches in the mud, 80 that the
gun could not be used The horses could not
pull it out, but Sampson Powers easily lifted
the cannon off the carriage. while the others
were engaged in pulling out the wheels.