Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1876-03-29
A Michigan Giant.

Anak. He looked eight feet high
at least, and three feet across tn
shoulders. His arm sprang from
his chest as large as any middle
sized mans body, and tapered dowI
to a hand three inches thick, anC
when doubled into q fist, as bis
and hard as a rail splitter's maui
He gave his age as seventeen, ant
he was growing. He hired for the
wages and work of an ordinary
hand but when he seized shove
it went through the clay like q
breaking-up pillow, and the handle
soon came off if the the blade held
An ordinary axe was but a feather
in his hand. 1t sank 10 the eye in
the wood, and the helve splintered
He dealt out strength by the whole
sale, and he could not weight out
his force in the measure of ordin-
airy men.
When he stood among a gang OF
laborers the contrast made them
look like children. The strolling
Indians would stare in amazement
a few moments, and then with a
deep "ugh !" get out of sight of
him as fast as their dignity would
let them. lie was put to do the
work Of three pairs of oxen. That
was the removing the trees cut in
ten or twelve foot lengths out Of
the way of the diggers; not hitch
ed to them like oxen to snake
them away, but with his right hand
under the end, raising it from the
ground, then balancing it across
his left forearm, be shot the saw
logs far to one side with all the
ease that a skillful workman piles
his pieces of split cord wood. And
thus, day after day, the giant
moved, until the canal was not
built any more.
He appeared again on the boats
that piled along the Huron river,
Michigan. He was engine and
tackle to handle heavy freight
What others could not shove nor
roll, be would pick up and carry
or toss. When the heavily freight
ed boat stuck on the rirples, he
Just stepped out of the stern and
boosted her over. Nobody would
have felt surprised if he had taken
the whole boat and cargo right IN
der his arms, as a woman carries a
dnugh-tray, and marched across by
land, when they came to long bends
in the river. Nobody ever said he
did this, because they never want
ed to exaggerate his feats, any
more than we do now.
But navigation did not pay, and
that stopped too. Some of the
''fancy" heard of the uncelebrated
giant, and took the notion that
there was money in him. He was
as simple as a child. Any one
could lead him. 1t never got
through his skull that he was re-
markable. The sharpers meant to
keep him so, and speculate on his
prodigious power. They coaxed
him off eastward. At Buffalo they
sent him into dock saloon with
sixteen hundred pound anchor uu-
der his left arm, Just as a chopper
carries his axe, to pawn it for
drinks. He got the drinks, and
the keeper was glad to treat him
for carrying it out again. Thus he
and his friends travelled on his
muscle to the sea coast, and across
to England. They intended to get
a soft thing on some English cham
pion. They had too much of
good thing. A friendly sparring
match as an experiment, with a
professional boxer, showed that
match with any living pugilist was
impossible. The giants face could
not be effectually reached. Blows
on the body might as well have
been planted on a sand-bag. When
his unskilled maui came down it
came with the force of pile-driver
and no matter what it met the OBJ
stacle went to the earth. BY the
ruse of representing him as large
and strong, but green, they made
match of science and skill against
power, with a noted pugilist.-
The parties came on the ground,
but at the first sight Of him his
turned away saying: al
came to fight with a large man, not
with a mountain" Seconds, refer