The Dickinson press., 1889-01-19
A MODERN SAMSON.
BREAKING STEEL CABLES AS If
THEY WERE COTTON THREADS.


Though Hc Spells His Name Differently
His Fcats of Strength Arc Almost as
Wonderful as Those Of the Man of Oldcn
Times.
When James Wilson, the expansionist. was
described i'll these columns a few weeks ago
ii WIS believed by the medical fraternity and
by al! who saw Mr.. Wilson in his wonderful
performances that no other man on the face of
tho earth possessed such strength. But Tho
Evening Sum freak hunter has been prowl-
ing about town for fortnight, seeking II
parallel for Wilson, and yesterday found
him The new mans name is Charles IL
s"mlNon. lilo is 80 years of age, of medium
build AMI height, not q man vino would be
r.c.;cd out rs a giant in strength, but a
quiet ordinary looking person.
hr. Wilson broke great trunk straps ono
a n time. Mr. Sampson breaks three of tho
s,m.e straps at once. Mr.. Wilson broke nine
steel wire cables offight strands each, with the
power of his chest. Mr.. Sampson broke in the
prse.ceof the reporter l2;5 thicknesscs of tho
sais,e steel wire cable, or, in all, 1000 strands.
He went still further and broke steel trace
chain, such rs are i'll use on truck harness,
fa tcning it about his chest and bursting its
Links like SO much glass. The samc chain,
link hy link, he deliberately pulls in two
with his hands, Gas pipe an inch in diameter
he bends into elbows by striking the length
OF the pipe across his left arm He has sue
ccssfully pulled in tug of war against twelve
strong men.
The reporter obtained an in-crview with
Mr., Sampson in private room in all uptown
residence. Tho name of the man is ut once
looked upon as an assumed one, for the very
reason that it fits his professies. SO we'll.
Nevertheless his true name is Sampson.
Charles G.. Sampson was born OH tho 10th
oi April, ls59, in Baden, Germany, and is,
therefore, almost 80 years of age He came
to America only Il short time since, after
having Travelled all over Europe exhibiting
his strength.
SWAPPING THE STEEL CHAINS.
Selecting piece of steel chain about three
feet long, Mr.. Sampson forced open one of
th" links and formed II ring of the chain, just
large enough to fit over tho biccps muscle of
the arm. y sccord chain was formed in tho
same manner and carefully fitted. When
thcarin was allowed to han. loosely at the
side. these chains were found to fit snugly
nlput tho bicsps. Then Mr.. Simpsons fingers
began to twitch and close spasmodlcally, tho
muscles and tendons of his arm slowly
swellcd and increased in size, his forearm
was carefully carried upward and as the
elbow crooked the strain upon the chains be-
came tremendous. Tho arm was further
bent, when there was u sharp snap, Il piece
of each chain flew to tho ceiling, and tho
chains dropped to tho floor, broken squarely
in two. There was no "fuke" about it. 1t
was Il genuine fent i'll strength, which no
other man, so far us is known, has cvcrsac-
comp!islcd Tho chain Is made from steel,
three sixtccnths of an inch thick, and formed
il. double links an inch and half long. Tho
tensile strength is estimated at about 1000
pounds. Mr.. Sampson says it does not i'll
convenience him in the least to break them,
and lie apparently does it with as much ease
as il bending his arm with nothing on it
ut all.
Taking up u roll of the small steel wire
c;!,lc previously referred to, Mr.. Sampson
made Il belt of it, containing la5 lengths of
the cable, which he wrapped around his
chest. 81 don't propose to break this cabIo
bE expansion" he said, "for have but very
litllo chest expansion. You will notice, how
ever, that the muscles in my back and sides
aro wonderfully developed. By swelling
them up accomplish tho same result Mr..
Wilson does with his wonderful lungs" A
quick twist Of his body, sudden swelling
OF all the muscles Of his chest, back and
shoulders, strain on the cable and it parted
with metallic snap, in less than three
seconds from the time he began.
A CONTEST WITH FOURTEEN MEN
'In st. Petersburg" said Mr.. Sampson,
nd 1ur,r rim iprI
The ring was 8 feet i'll diameter. stood in
the middle of it and fourteen strong men had
hold of the ring. They tried to push me or
move me out Of u certain limit marked on
tho floor, but could not l can and will
withstand tho combined strength of any
eight men You have i'll this city, not barring
Sullivan, Mitchell, or any one else"
In 1878 MIR. Sampson started Oh tour of
the continent and was seen by many royal
patrons Of manly sport. He has received
iifty-one decorations and medals for bis
proves, of which forty sht arc from royal
donors. Somo of them are magnificent
Specimens of fine handiwork on gold
On Aug 10, 1873 Mr.. Sampson engaged to
slay steer with his fist. Tho feat was per-
formed with IL single blow in the presence Of
Emperor Wilhelm and Emperor Francis
Joseph. Ho wears q handsome decoration
coamcniorating that event.
This feat Of skill uud strength was re-
Ieated ut Ems, Germany; st. Petersburg and
Paris Mr.. Sampson striking but u single
bloa upon each of tho occasions except the
last. In this case tho steer was running and
his ain was hot true but tho first blow
knoc.:cd tho animal down and u second
crushed its skull. During Lis professional
experience this Hercules has suffered broken
arms no less than seventeen times. He does
not attribute his great strength to any freak
of nature, but say s it is the result of careful
training and exercise. uo has already been
seen in public in this city, and is the wonder
of nll who see hn.-New York Evening Sun
How to Enaco Tattoo Marks.
Europeans who have been foolish enough,
either i'll youth or age, to tattoo themselves
like Fiji Islanders, Patagonians, or any o.Lel