Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-10-01
Modern Samsons-

The present Emperor oil husSiH
.oid 20 ba one of the strongest men III
his empire of herculean ipdlViouDi
While heir apparent he one day 'isi.eo
bis father the late Emperor, 10 eom
pIain that his mail was tamperen WIN
The Emperor sent for the cniei VI
police, drew from him coniessionc co,ca
guilt and chided him IN the pfesen
of the Czarowitch. The latter saiu nos
a word. but handed the cresuAiien
functionary a sign of how great was n,s
anger in the form of q silver roaoie
twisted into roll. In his younger Gays
this was a favorite visiting card OF ,ne
1Izaroviteb. He could strike POKER
AGAINST his arna and bend it, bite pieces
ont OF china cups. fests which were Ia
The repertoire of Thomas Tapham, the
celebrity of Islington. Tapham was
dravman, and sometimes wnen eAuiI-
araied by the vast potsticns oil nquoi
supplied him by admirers would taAe
his horses place between tne snaiiS.
He had playful habit OF twisting nfasJ
kitchen pokers into coll ABOUT e"e
necks of trembling countrymen. OIe
night after having astonished ls's'u
full with his drinking powers, ne cahie
upon a watchman peacefully slumoerin8
IN his box and threw box and man o'ei
the wall of burying ground
In 1871 NJ. Gregorie, claiming 70 Oe
II years old, sstonished the physicians
and the public of a town near LONDON
by carrying 200 pounds with ease, hit
ing an OK and performing other won
derful feats. A celebrated physician
who examined Gregorie describes him
as an exaggerated study by Hayden.
His shoulders were prodiglous ana ms
biceps almost incredible. Gregore
strength, rather than source OF pride
to HIM, WAS tie cause OF anxiety:
Although the mildest of men, he nVea
in dread that he should be PROVOKED
to use his strength against a fellow
being. He was afraid to nurse MS
own child lest he should give 1t fatai
squeeze.
Nearly all the individuals of uncom-
mou strength make up IN bulk what
they are deficient III height. Stanley,
the African explorer, describes 8 strong
man who was six feet five inches, and
rather disproportionately slender. de
could toss an ordinary man ten feet III
the air and catch him In his descent,
He would take one of the large white
Muscat donkeys by the ears, and with
sudden movement of his right foot lay
the surprised animal on his back. DE
could carry 3-year-old bullock hall
way around his masters plantation.
Once he actually bore twelve men on
his back, shoulders and chest distance
OF three hundred feet. Middle-aged
people who remember the dawn OF H.
terest in muscular exercises recall DIR.
Winship, the originator OF the idea
which was subsequently embodied IN
hitting machines. The astonishment
that the doctors performance created
was equal to that of the Serliners few
Yeas ago at Jorgnery's feats- The
most wonderful of these was known as
/ the trapeze feat. The Frenchman hung
suspended by his legs from a swinging
bar, and by sheer strength lifted a
| heavy horse and its rider off the stage,
suspending them several minutes, and
then letting them down gradually and
evenly as he raised them. Merwin
ThOmpson's achievement at Rochester,
\. Y, last year was, however, in the
opinion of competent judges, more sur
prising than this. Thompson laid face
downward on a firmly fixed ladder and
resisted the efforts of team of power
ful horses to pull him from that posi-
tion- 4 newspaper writer IN reviewing
this wonderful performance remarks
that the little mention with which 1t
escaped could happen only In nation
where strong men were common.
The same feat in 1915 gave William
Joy the name of the English Samson.
The medical faculty OF Vienna thought
of Joseph PosplschIlli worthy of dis
cussion at several special meetings.
This man held q table suspended by his
teeth while three gypsies danced upon
it. He and one of his brothers bore
upon their shoulders SOFT of wooden
bridge while horse drawing a cart full
OF stones was driven over it. Pospi-
schill's strength was thought to reside
in his back, and his bones were said to
be twice as large as the usual size.
Fishing parties and explorers in the
wilJs Of Northern Wisconsin were a few
years ago familiar with Peter PanqGette,
the Samson of the region. he was ]
famous woodsman, possessed of mighty
endurance and muscles that were like
lion. Senator Clark says: 81 have haC
him bare his arm to me and crack hick.
ory nuts upon his muscles. 1t was like
cracking them on a stone. He couIC
take a handful of dried hard hickory
nuts and crush them to pieces by mere
iy Tightening his fist" On one occa
sion, while serving as guide for {
party of explorers, yoke of oxen draw
ing the bolt down the Fox gave OF
through fatigue. Panquette took then
place and hauled ths boat along, heed
ing the STRAIN less than the beasts.
Sheppard, the wonder OF the Cover
try volunteers, whose muscular deyel
opment answers to the description glv, 1
of Panquetts, ike the latter, wore hii
hair long. With the half-breed it WA
custom derived from his copper-col
ore1 ancestors, but with the rudd,
Engllshman it Was in obedience to hi
belief that that all his strength lay Il
his flowing yellow locks. Sheppar,
could lift heavy man III each hand
: and hold them at arms length. 81
could toss enormous tables, barrels ant
bags of -four about as though they wer
filed with feather. He could take
pewter pint pot and tear it into piece
with his teeth. and he could munc
large oyster shells as person woul,
MUNICH a biscuit. Sheppard was tn
wonder of the country around, but hi
) prosperous popularity developed enc
, mics, and oae of these, it Is related
? induced the strong man to drink deeply
! aud while SUNK In stupor cut off hi
, luxuriant hair. Sheppard awoke, feI
his bare poll, and in tones of horrc
! announced that his strength was gone
. | Whether because such was the case, {
! because he wished to excite superst
/ tious credulity, the strong man frol
that moment was weak, t,mid and mes
tating until his hair grew long again.