The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-07-10
A Woman with an Iron Jaw.

The Fayetteville (Tenn.) Express gives on
account of the serious illness of muscular
prodigy in Tennessee, besides something of her
history:
About the only attache of the international
Circus whose performances sustained the prom
ise of the posters was the woman with the iron
laws. Her teats were really wonderful, and
the immense strength evidently lodged in her
laws and in the muscles of the neck excited
general as.onishment. There is nothing in
her personal appearance to indicate the con-
centration of unusual physical power about
her mouth face or neck. She is little above
the medium height, rather stout, but symmct-
rically proportioned; somewhat masculine,
perhaps, in form and feature, with pleasant,
amiable face, rather broad at the lower part,
and mouth too large to be called either pretty
or feminine. Upon the whole, she might be
called, without bordering upon hattery, very
fine looking and handsome woman. But few
of the audience that saw her in the ring, gilt
tering with tinseled ornaments, and smiling
with we'll stimulated delight, imagined that she
was taxing her physical powers dreadfully, and
subiecting sensitive nervous organization to
acute torture for their amusement. Such, how
ever, was the case, and few hours afterwards
the poor creature, who appeared so radiant
under the canvas, and performed superhuman
feats of strength with apparent ease, was lying
in room at the hotel, shorn of her borrowed
splendor, convulsed by continuous nervous
shocks and quivering with intense pain. After
having gone through with her part of the after
noon performance she retired utterly prostra-
ted, to q private marquee, and while removing
her costume the centre pole of the tent was
blown down by the high wind, striking her on
the spine as it fell, and inficting severe inju-
ries. This accident, together with the effects
of her terrible exertions in the ring, threw her
into violent convulsions.
Saturday night she was unable to perform,
and Sunday morning when the circus left she
was still so i'll that she had to remain behind.
She received the best medical attention in this
place, and her peculiar condition aroused the
sincere sympathies of her physicians. The
real history of this singular prodigy is simple
enough when contrasted with her 1orid biog-
raphy as it appears on the illuminated posters
of the circus. She is now only eighteen years
old, although she would easily pass for wo-
man of twice that age. Left an orphan when
wee little child, poverty forced her to accept
employment on farm, where she performed
the work of common laborer until she be-
came twelve years of age, when she married
man named Leslie, gymnast, now attached to
the International Circus. She then entered
upon her professional career, and has pursued
it without intermission ever since. That her
present vocation, subjecting her as it does to
unnatural and cruel exertion, will speedily
kill Der, is fact she seems fully acquainted
with. Hence she manifests great desire to
abandon her present occupation and enter into
some quieter sphere better suited to her sex
and condition, where she will not be required
to yield up her life in daily installments for the
momentary qualification of curious crowds.
During her illness the individual whom she
calls her husband never once visited her. He
was in easy reach, and she requested his pres
ence several times, but he displayed no interest
in her whatever. Sunday morning this gym
mast with the iron heart packed up his traps
and left his afflicted spouse with the iron jaws,
without bothering himself about any formali-
ties in the way of leave taking.