The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-10-20

10 WoS WChk AAGA Skt<A WSR0E0tEAy AAAU8S~ ured by five of his fellow townsmen, whese record of that performance ap- pears to this day in the following quaint chronicle inscribed on the hy- leaf of one of the musty record books in the county clerks office:
 Leuis Corneltue. died Sept VI. iszi.
 Dimen slons are as foliows;
 Height, fleet.
 Circumference below tAe waiat, < Ciruum ference at the waist ...., ak Cncamfersnoe arm below elbow. Circumference sSm at elbow Circumference wrtst. ....,.. ! Circumiere cali ofi leg ,,,.,.. ClFeum ference Ankfe ,..>......., 1
 weight. 6sss poands, without clothing.
 We do certify that we were present and as. sisted In weaEhing Louis Cornelius after hia death. ssd that the statsnens above is true
 Horace l.. West, JsAu schlmmei. II. Dim. mick, \. B. nldred. Q. H. Mott.
 One day, according to the local legend, some workmen were digg ing . sewer in Main street. Among them was strapping big Irishman from Port Jervis--a Quarrelsome bully who had more than local reputation as . pugilist. He had heard of tho Pike county giant, and made up his mind that before he left town he would measure strength with him. He did not have long to wait. One afternoon Cornelius happened to be In the neighborhood of the sewer when he was espied by the Port Jervis bruiser, who hurried out of the ditch and confronted him on the sidewalk. "Stop," he shouted, as he faced him, "I want to spake wid ye." Cornelius halted, as he was bade. $50 ye're the Pike county giant, arc yea"
 Cornelius was too much astonished to reply.
 "Well, Pm the Orange county bully, and Pm goin' to lay ye out afore go back to me work"
 "I d-don't want to fight" stam- mered Cornelius, his teeth chattering with fright.
 "Fight ye must, and quick, too," continued the bully, feeling easy as to the result of the scrimmsge, as he ad- vanced ferociously upon his unwieldy antagonist.
 Cornelius was too big to run and too cowardly to fight, but he had to defend himself, 90, doubling up his huge fist, he struck one blow at his opponent and fled from the scene as rapidly as his size would allow, with out even looking back.
 The bystanders heard a crunch, such az battering ram might make as it strikes board wall. Then they saw tall and angular Irishnnn spring backward half dozen feet Into the air and fall to the ground like a log. They went to him and found that his face had been crushed almost into . pulp. His nose was fiattened and his jaw shattered. The bully had been altogether unprepared for the blow, and the entire weight of the two gi. ants met as the end of CorneliuS arm. That established the prowsss Of the Pike county man, even if 1t did not do 60 much for his courage, and from that time on he was never coaxed into another fight.
 While extremely cowardly, Cor nelius would never allow any dis turbance in his hotel. One day, when he was. sitting in his big arm. chair at the open window, drunken guest be- came anduly boisterous and refused to go out when Cornelius requested him to. Whereupon the host caught the man by the nape of his neck and the seat of his trousers, and, without stirring from his chair, tossed him through the window, over the porch and into the gutter on the other side of the pavement.
 It was always . matter of curiosity among his acquaintapces to learn his exact weight, ani many were ths tricks rcsorted to to ascertain tho 6g. urea But none was ever successful. Cornelius was In the habit of whiting this city once or twice year to bay goodA On one occasion come clerks placed . big arm-chair on pair of scales and invited him to cit down, but before the weights could be adjusted he discovered their purpose and has tily Left the store, never to return.
 Cornelins suffered greatly from the heat. In summer time his favorite resting place was In the hotel cellar, and fn the scverest winter weather he was accustomed to walk around the streets in his shirt sleeves. In charac- ter he was extremely modest and re. tiring. He disliked above aII things to be regarded e . curiosity, and the grestest anger he ever teIt was caused by the receipt of Aattering o6sr from Barnum to exhit himself id the Broadway Museum.
 Hs he'd thres sons and i've dsugh- ters, ore of whom weighed over four. hundred pounds st her dssth. One of hss seas 1as afterwsrd shcriH of Pike county, and, while he was giant in height and strength, was not ahnor- ma1ly stout.