The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-04-02
FAHous FEATs OF STRENGTH.


Olympiad, triumphant in games enter
cd Agrigentum, his native home no
was attended by an escort Of jtJ chatl-
ots, each drawn 10y Two white horses,
and followed by the populaees cheering /
and waving banners. Milo SIN tunes ,
Won the palm at both the Olympic and .
Pythiau games. He IS said TO have run :
a mile with a fOur-yeaT-Old OK upon his .
shoulders. and afterward killed the ami I
NAL with blow of his fist, and ate the
entire carcass in one day. 50 great was
his muscular power that he would some
times bind cord round his head and
break it bv the swelling and pressure of .
the veins An ordinary meal for Milo
was twenty pounds of meat. as much
bread. and fifteen pints of wine. Poly
damus. of Thessalia, was-Of prOdigiOuS
strength and colossal height. and. it is
said. alone and without weapons, killed
an enormous and enraged lion. One
day lit is recorded he seized q bull by
one of its hind feet, and the animal es-
capped only 10y leaving the hOof in the
grasp of the athlete. The Roman En-
DerOr MaNimiuus was upward of eight
feet IN height, and, like Milo OF Gro
tone. could squeeze to powder the hard
est stone with his fingers and break the
leg or jaw of a horse by kick. His
wife's bracelet served him as a ring,
and his everyday meal was sixty pounds
Of meat and an amphOra of wine.
While a prisoner in Germany. Rich
ard l. accepted an invitation TO a boxing
match with the son Of the jaiier. He
received the first blow, which made him
stagger: but. recovering. with blow of
the fist killed his antagonist on the spot.
Topham, who was born in London in
I7fO. was possessed Of astonishing
gfr IA IN lItl
case of ordinary men, were with him
full of muscles and tCndOnS. lie would
take bar of iron, with its two ends
held in his hands, place the middle Of
the bar behind the uape OF his neck. and
then bend the eEtTemities by main force
until they met together. and then bend
back the iron straight again. One
night. pcTcciying a Watchman asleep in
his box, he carried both the man and
his shell TO Il great distance, and depO5-
ited them on the wall of a church yard.
Owing 10 domestic troubles, he commit
ted suicide in the prime Of life. The
famous ScaHderburg King Of Albania,
who was born in l4l4. was Il man OF
great stature, and his fedts in sword eX-
crcise have never been equaled. On
one occasion. with a scimitaT, he struck
his antagonist suCh a terrible blow that
its tremendous force ClCayed him TO the
waist lie IS said to have often cIOven
in tW0 men who were clad in amor
from head to foot. On one occasion
the brother and nephew of a certain
Ballaban. who had been convicted of
Cruelties toward the AlbdniaTs. were
brought To him, bound tOgetheT--
Transported with rage, he cut them in
two with one stroke Of his weapon
Maurice. Count of SaXuny, the hero of
FCntenOy. inherited the physical yigOr
OF his father, and was especially noted
for the surprising muscular power. or
grip. - OF his hands. On one occasion,
needing a -OrkScTew, he twisted a long
iron nail round into the required shape
with his fingers. and with this extern
poTized implement opened a half dozen
bottles of wine. Another time. when
stopping at "a village blacksmith shop to
have his horse sLoJ. he picked up u
number of new hUTseshoes. and with his
hands snapped them III two as readily as
If made OF glass much to the surprise
ard disgust Of the smith.
II history Is 10 be believed. PhayiiUs
Of CTUtOna could jump q distance Of
iiIty-siN feet. The exercise was prac-
tlced at the Olympic games and formed
part of the course Of the PeutathIOn.-
Strut, the English authority ON games
and amUSemcnts, speaks of the \ Orkish
jumper named Ireland, whose powers
were something marvellous. He was q
feet high. and at the age Of Il years
leaped. without the aid Of a 5pyiugbpard,
over nine horses ranged side by side
He cleared cord extended fourteen
feet from the ground with a bound,
crushed with bis foot "a bladder suspend
eel a height Ct sixteen feet. and on an
other occasion lightly cleared q large
wagon covered with am awning. Col.
IrUlSidg. who lived in India early in
this century, relates that he met in his
travels an old. Whi,C-haircd man who
with one leap rVTanE over the back of
sJu enormous elephant tlanked by sin
canicIS of the largest breed. \ curious
French work published in Paris in 1745.
entitled The Tracts Toward the His
tory of Wonders Performed at Fairs. -
mentions an Englishman, who ut the
fair OF ~J. EeTmaIn. in 1923, leaped over
forty people without touching one of
chem. In our own day we are familiar
with many remarkable eNpOsitiOns of
strength and endurance. Dr. Winship,
with the aid OF straps, lifted weight of
$500, pounds and with the little finger
of his hand could raise his body a con-
siderable distance from the ground.
The strongest man in the world at
the present time. so fuI as we are able
TO learn, now lives in Reno, WashOe
county, NBv y san Francisco Cbropi-
cIc reporter recently witnessed the aston
ishiug featS of this remarkable man.
and was fully satisfied by what he saw
that he Is really all that has been claim
ed for him. His name is Angelo Car
della, an Italian, aged thirty-eight years !;
stature, five feet ten inches; weight,
1g0 pounds occupation. ldbOTer habits,
temperate though he has no ScTUpieS
against the moderate use of malt liquors
and the light wines of his country. In
personal appearance ne Is not TemaTka-
BILE merely q gOOd-uatured looking son
% Italy, with broad, heavy face a
noble development of chest and shOul-
gIers. and large, lcshy hands. His
strength was born with him. for he has
had no athletic training. When .'strip-
ped TO the buti, " however, marked
peculiarly in his spinal column is at
once apparent. Ills backbone IS. we
might say. dOUble-i -iJinted with the YER
tgbral ayciCulati)us unusually large and
prominent Though lie is not q man of
unusual size. his spinal column is double
the ordinary width. and his other bones
and Joints seem made on q similar large
and generous scale. After some s0Iici-
tatiOn, He finally consented to favor the
reporter with an exhibition Of strength,
which proved TO he such an astonishing
exhibition of lifting power as scarcely
TO he believed. The reporter, whose
weight is 100 pounds. stood with one
foot on the floor ana arms cUtstretChing.
his hands being lightly grasped by two
friends. one or each side. 10 preserve
Is H. Of -.