St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-26

IA W prietor of the Fargo Argus,
III first attracts ones attention.
| y He is probably the beaviest
| II man in this part of the
! In GETsyA o, country and when he walks
| Hlk3G( ~ across pair of hay-scales,
Dfnk&NH they quickly score $50
pounds The major in face and form re-
sembles the famous Daniel Lambert, VINO
never wore a suit of clothes that cost less
than $3.50 and he never went richly dresseo'
| The chair behind the desk in his once Is
| rustic affair made of species OF tough "ooo
| that grows along the banks OF the Reo riFer'
and the bottom of it measures nearlv SIX
| feet across. The doorways entering us
sanctum are made double the ordinary Wloth
| to allow the major to pass through without
| turning and sliding through craD-tasnion'
People and things of ordinary size seem
small and uninteresting in his presence One
of the greatest curiosities in his splendidly APP
| pointed residence on Eighth street and one
| that is shown only to his most intimate
| friends. is the bedstead on which he sleeps.
| 1t is a massive structure nine feet long anu
six and half feet wide, 1t was maue
| especially for him and no expense was spared
| to make it substantial as well as ornamental.
| 1t is of mahogany and the solid head-Doard,
| carved and panneled, stands seven feet ABOVE
the floor and is most interesting STUDY 10
| those interested in the art Of wood-carvlng.
| The beds cad is set low, being hardly more
! than foot above the floor and rests on TOUR
great mahogany feet representing the ponder-
Gus paws of u lion. The castors on whlch
the bed is moved about are of cast iron orna-
mented with brass and each one weighs
nearly pound. 1t looks like the resting
place of a modern Goliath.
~
The major very willingly tells the story OF
| how he came to be so feshy, which Is not an
uninteresting recitation. When born, accord
ing to his own testimony, he was OF less tnan
ordinary size, weighing but little more than
| six pounds, and he was not considered a
healthy child. Many predictions that he
would not live to be man were made by the
prophetic old women who were neighoors to
his parents. The major enlisted in the army,
entering the service as cavalryman, ana
when he first took his seat astrlde govern
ment horse he weighed only lis younds. This
was an exceedingly light weight for a man 70
years of age. but he seemed to be the owner
of constitution that would have brought
credit to a boiler factory. He rode into the
war and fought nobly. Ia was while Skin
mishing in the South that an emergency pre-
scented itself, aud by taking advantage of 1t,
Mai Edwards laid the foundation for the
building up of the great load of 'too solid
flesh that he carries around with
him to-day There had been several
days of hard marching and fitful
fighting, and the gallant cavalryman had
sat in his saddle as unhinching as an old
time martyr. He had eaten but little. and
one night when the forces came to halt, be
dismounted and began skrmishing for some
thing palatable. Victuals were rather short
in the camp, and the only thing the major
could find was half box of salt herring, and
to these he made ardent love, devouring eight
of them before he was satisfied. An hour
later he was attacked with a burning thirst.
and going to neighboring spring he drank
| immoderately of the cool water, and, lying
down on the rich grass near by. he soon fell
asleep. He lay in slumber more than thirteen
hours, he says, SO overcome was he from long
riding over a rough country, and when he
awoke he found his stomach swollen to ire
mendous proportions. A physician was
called, and after discovering what the major
had been eating, Informed him that
it was nothing serious, probably, as
the drinkiu5 of so much wafer after eating
the dry herring had caused the latter to swell,
and if there was sufficient elasticity in the
majors skin, he would come out all right in
a few days. He was moved to tent where
he Law week before the swelling had sub
sided and his body assumed its natural pro-
portions AS the swelling went down the
major found that his skin had been so badly
stretched that it hung in loose folds on him
| III r;+l,
the elastic skin," he could take the cutane
Gus covering of his stomach and wipe his
nose on it. For a time this state of things
worried the major. but he soon found that
he was filling out, and in less than six months
he had grown to fit his skin, and become
so fat and ponderous that he was taken from
cavalry service and placed in the commissary
department. When the major tells the story
he invariably winds up with saying: "You
see was hide-bound. and those herring and
that water stretched my skin and l grew till
| flied it, but it was mighty unpleasant
feeling for time"
Everyone acquainted with the early history
of ST. Paul and the men who came here from
the east and laid the foundation for the en-
terprising city that now attracts the atten-
ton of the world, will remember Erastus S.
Edgerton pioneer, remarkable for his droll
wit 1t was one day years ago that number
of these men were seated in the Office of H.
S Fairchild, then located on bridge square,
discussing the respective pugilistic qualii-
cations of Jim Mace and Joe Coburn, the two
fistic kings who at that time were lionized by
men interested in the excitement of the ring.
The ability of these fighters was being ex-
citedly discussed by this party of old settlers
when Mr.. Edgerton, who sat near
by quietly listening, to the argu-
ments spit on the floor and
closing his eyes and rubbing the point of the
index finger of his right hand along the
bridge of his nose said in drawing tone:
"Gentlemen, reckon know two men who
can knock both of them fellows OUT
The other members of the party were con-
siderably surprised to think that Edgerton
should be well enough acquainted with pugil-
istic matters to enable him to name two men
who could whip the champion fighters of the
world, and they asked with not little curl
| osity who the men were.
"Well." said Edgerton. 81 reckon I know
| what I'm talking about. 1 know two men
who can whip both of your men, and I'll bet
money on it,
| The other members of the party smiled but
Edgerton kept his eyes closed and slowly
chafed the bridge of his nose with his finger
as he rocked back and forth on the rear legs
| of his chair.
''Tel us who your men are" urged the gen.
| tlemen, anxious to find out how much Edger-
] ton knew about ring matters.
/ . .11 TT