The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-11-11
a MODERN SAMSON.
Remarkable Fcats With Cannon, Barrels
ofLead and Bar Iron, ..


ofLead and Bar Iron.
From the Troy, New York, Times.
Propose to give you short sketcl
OF the life of a man who was littl
known outside of the village Of Gran
yl!ie Corners, in Washington county,
where he was born and spent the most
OF long life. II is known of him,
ana can be proved, that he has per
1ormeG feats of strength unsurpassed
by any man that has lived in ancient
ana modern times, excepting, ofcourSc,
the biblical Samson. His name is, or
was, Stcarn Carpenter. His Occupa-
ton was that Of Il farmer. Being nat
urally of very quiet, peaceful dispo-
Sition and member Ofthc society Of
Friends, he never did anything for
display to attract attention, but the
tcats Of strength he performed were
done more to satisfy himself and to
sec how much he could lift than any
thing else, All his lifting was done
by main strength, without harness of
any kind.
One Of his greatest fcats was lifting
n box filled with iron, which weighed
1900 pounds, which is equal to lifting
$500 pounds in harness. lie lifted
1t with ease with his hands by grasp
ing rope or chain which was bound
around the box to secure it. lie did not
kno" the weight of the box Of iron at
the time, and was afterwards heard 10
say that had he known it weighed SC
near ton he would have put on the
{ other 100 pounds and lifted the whole
AT another time he lifted a cannon
that weighed 400 pounds and snoul-
dercd it. AT Comstock's Landing, on
the Champlain canal, near Whitehall,
ono day while waiting for a load of
merchandise, he lifted barrel of
white lead with case. His ncighbors,
when killing hogs, if Stcarn happened
TO be around, would ask him TO guess
tho weight of hog just killed. If it
happened 10 be big one, wciohing
four hundred or five hundred pounds,
he would stoor down and twist his
fingers into the briStlcS, and in that
way would lift the carcass clear from
the ground and guess on its weight.
lie performed one the greatest tcats
OF strength on record after he had
reached the age Of scvcnty.five years.
lie lifted two tw2nty-iour foot iron
rails by graSPimg one in each hand,
and walked of with them. The rails
were resting on wooden horses, SO nc
did not stOOp down to lift them. One
day in hayin% he was going from the
field with his men to the house for
dinner. They were Walking along the
road together when one Of his men,
for mischief, came up behind him, and
by skiltul trip, threw CARPENTER
down. lie gathered himself up and
said nothing about it. lie walked ON
TO the house, and after dinner, when
returning to the field with his men,
they came along to the place where the
man gave him the fall. lie suddenly
turned upon the man, and, graspiny
him by the shoulders and The scat OF
his trousers, lifting him and hurled
him high in the air above him and
over seven rail fence, by the side of
which they happened to be walking.
The man came down in the meadow a
row or more from the fence, consiGer-
ably shaken up, but not badly hurt.
Mr.. Carpenter was not a gigantic man
in size. lie was about SIX feet tall
and appeared much less than that
owing to his massive build. There
was no sUpcrlluous flesh upon him
but the muscles Of his shoulders ant
neck seemed to be piled upon him, 81
great was ttcir size. This gave hin
STOPPING -appCarancc. In II crowd
Il casual observer would not be likcl,
to pick him out for one Of the strOnpcs
men that ever lived. Mr. Carpcntc,
is living at the present time at Gran
vile Corners, Washington county
y. Y, his old home, or was living the
last time | heard of him. lie must be
over eighty years ofagc.