The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-08-17
A FEMALE HERCULES.
She Can Lift "a Thousand-Pound Weight
and Walk or with "a Safe.

She Can Lift Thousand-Pound Weight
and Walk or with "a Safe.
A quiet, modest girl. of u edium
height and slender. graceful figure.
dressed in simple brown dress.
frightened up only by narrow red
ribbon and tiny bow at the thro at,
chatting pleasantly away TO her visit
or In her quiet room and now and
then interrupted b. the piercing voice
Of a tame canary that is Mime. Victo-
rina. the female Hercules. who every
evening astouishcs the audience of the
Emrire Theatcr with fca of her mar
yclous strength. For six wears past
she has new been before the public as
"the strongest woman in the wor'd;'
she has astonished B Rim aud p ris
aud d;ences; has been Glorious In her
competition with many. Of The worlds
greatest athletes; is honorary member
and mtdalist of the Central Athletic
Club Df S.ettin; honorary mem her of
he Buda-Pesth Hercules Club; of The
Hercules Club. Vienna; Of the COM
pasuie Hercules Of Paris. and string
of other athletic societies.
How came it our representative
asked. 'thal you adopted your present
profession9 Hld Won exceptional
strength when younc?"
Ma. rot at once; and when l was
quite young | was not stronger than
the average healthy child. 1 was born
at 5 rasbourg, and after my father
died went to my uucle's. who was
c rcIs proprietor, aud he at once
began to train Inc as circus rider
and performer on the trap ze- But
my career as an acrobat came soon to
an eud. for ! fell from 3 height of
forty feet while peri Jrming. and ever
since / have the greatest dislike TO
trapeze performances Luckily
only broke the bridge of my nose in
the accident and therefore / was in
10 way impeded from beginning TO
train for something else. At that
time l became acquainted with my
present husband, who was an athlete.
and who began my athletic training.
This as done by making me practice
every day with an expander. just as
you see girls use them in calisthenic
classes. with the one difference ihat
the Ermness OF nv expander was
periodically increased till at last the
muscles and sinews of he arms. the
shoulders and the neck got so strong
that / could without difficulty work
with an expander consisting OF an India
rubber rope as thick as my wrist. and
so praclieed lifting aud handling
weights. beginning it'll smaller ones
and gradually increasing up to
Thousand pounds. This. of course.
took several years and in my daily
perform anees / do not ALWAYS lift
quite the full weight which l could
lift and carry bat there is never day
on which 10 not handle from seven
10 eigh hundred pounds at the per-
formai :.
Once we were al B Rim. and. as our
luggage is naturally tremendously
heavy, and expensive in l,rop rtion.
we take aS much of il as possible into
the railway carriage when we are
travelling. The porter. who had put
our boxes into the van. saw that / was
carrying what Looked like two small
handbags He fired 10 put them
into the carriage for me. and / never
saw 50 astonishe and overawed a
face than when l handed him ahe two
parcels. each containing one of my
heavy weights. Another time we
were going up The stairs of our hotel
when we found six men engaged in
taking an iron safe upstairs The
owner. who knew Us. said. laughing
ly: Oh, here comes madame; she
W Ill show you how to do his kind of
work. / had never tri d any thing
ike II, but | TO k a firm hold of the
safe and put it on the next step al
hough wore my ordinary clothes
The safe was presented to me by the
owner. and l have since then often
carri, d it across the stage" Pail
Mall Guzsts.