The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-04-27
TWO EXTREMES.
Ireland as compared with
France.
The one produces a Giant /;
the other a Dwarf.
AN IRISH GIANT.
From the Pottsville Miners journal.

The strongest man in Schuylkill county,
| if not in the State, is James Ryan, of St.
| Claire. He stands six feet one inch in his
socks, tips the beam at 296 pounds, meas
uras SO inches around the chest, is so well
proportional that his size does not appear
remarkable, and is as straight as a rush.
Ryan was born in the county of Cork,
Ireland, but has lived in this country since
boyhood He is of quiet disposition, for
tunately, and possessed a tremendous
bodily strength. His biceps measure 81
inches, and the rest of his limbs in proper
ton. He is now over so years of age, but
is still possessed of extraordinary strength.
He has, since his youth worked in the
mines, and his companions tell wonderful
stories of feats of strength performed by
him. He goes to his work, Winter and Sum
mer, in his shirt -sleeves. Years ago,
before he turned over a new leaf and
settled down, he drank five gallons of
whiskey and one-half barrel of porter every
week.
This is vouched for by men who have
known him for twenty years. This amount
of liquor seems large enough to have killed
even a stronger man than Ryan, but he
survived the strain, and to-day, in spite of
his years and the ill-treatment his consti-
tuition has received, is the strongest man in
this part of the state. Some years ago
Ryan was in POttsville with a friend, when
their attention was called to lifting ma
chine in charge of a travelling Snowman,
who was inviting the passers-by to try
their lifting capacity. The capacity
of the machine was 1000 pounds.
Ryan was asked by his friend
if he could lift that amount.
Il can break the machine, man, he replied.
no Of no nd ha ri.
and offered to give So to the man who
could lift 1000 pounds or break the ma
chine Ryan braced himself and lifted for
all that was in him. He broke the machine,
and, strange to say, he got the S..
He works at Pine Forest Colliery. One
day not very long ago, as he came out of
the mine, he noticed piece of cast iron
weighing 1, 100 pounds lying on the ground.
A friend jokingly asked him to lift it. lie
lifted it, much to the establishment of the
lookers-on, all of whom knew of his great
strength. AS stated he is peacefully in
clined. Whenever he sees trouble brewing
he gently takes belligerant in each hand,
and if they refuse to listen to reason,
bumps one against the other until
they cry enough and agree to
peaceful settlement of the difficulty. He
was standing on the track one
day with his back against trip of loaded
cars-in the mine-when another trip dash
ed around curve, and was upon him
before he could jump from the track. He
braccd his back against the stationary trip
and received the other with his Outstretched
hands He broke the force of the collision,
but feels the strain he received to this day.
An ordinary man in the situation would
have been crushed to death. He comes
from a family noted for great bodily
strength. His mother is still alive. Some
years ago she carried barrel Of flour from
the store of Fox Brothers, on Centre street,
to her home in St. Clair.