The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-22
MEN OF MUSCLE.
FEATS THAT STRONG MEN HAVE
PERFORMED.
Athletes Who Pulled Against Horses
Tricks by Which Strength
is Pretcnded-Elec:ro
Magnetic Girls.


Many stories have been told of the
strength of certain characters among the
ancients. OF this number one was OF
Roman tribune who went by the name
of the Second Achilles, who is said to
have killed at different times three hun
dre1 of the enemy, and who, when
treacherously set upon by twenty-five of
his countrymen, although then past his
sixtieth year, killed fourteen of them be-
fore he was slain. Milo, of Crotona, is
said to have lifted an OK weighing one
thousand pounds, and when he stood up
right a number of men could not force
him out of his place. Pliny tells of one
Athanatus who walked across the stage
loaded with breast plate weighing 500
pounds and buskins of the same weight.
But of all the men of prodigious strength
of whom we have any account in history
is Maximin, the Emperor of Rome, is to
be reckoned the foremost. He was by
birth Thracian and simple herdsman.
He was nearly nine feet in height, and
said to be the best proportioned man in
the Empire. He used the bracelet of his
wife as ring for his thumb. In the
theatre, in the presence of all the citi-
zens, he overthrew twelve of the strong
est men in wrestling, and outstripped
two of the swiftest horses in running
all in one day. He could draw loaded
chariot which two strong horses could
not move. He could break a horses
jaw with a blow of his fist and his ribs
with kick. This giant gradually rose
through all the gradations of office until
he came to be Emperor. He reigned
for some years, hated by everybody, bat
so feared on account of his brutality and
his physical strength that no one dared
to put him to death. He conspired
against Alexander Severus and caused
him to be murdered in his tent. He also
put to death a Roman Senator with four
thousand other persons for an alleged
conspiracy. Finally the soldiers mutinied
and killed him A. D. 23S.
Fumus, native of Seleucia, who was
executed by the Emperor Aurelian for
espousing the cause of Zenobia, was cele-
brated for his strength. 1t is sold that
he could suffer iron to be forged upon an
anvil which was placed upon his breast.
This he did by lying on his back, resting
his feet and shoulders against some sup
port, thus forming an arch with his
body.
In 1878 there lived in Lancashire, Eng
land, man by the name of John Middle
ton, who was remarkable for the large
ness of his stature and for his remarkable
strength. His hand was seventeen inches
long and his height nine feet three inches.
A story is told of an English miner in
the eighteenth century, whose finger
being caught in chain at the bottom of
a mine, by keeping it forcibly bent he
supported by that means the whole
weight OF his body Q50 pounds) until he
was drawn w to the surface, height of
six hundred feet. About the year 1908
q native of Kent, England, by the name
of Joyce exhibited such feats of strength
in London that he received the name of
the second Samson. His own personal
strength was very great, but he also dis
covered various positions of the body in
which men even of common strength
could perform very surprising feats. He
drew against horses and raised tremen-
dous weights, and exhibited himself sue
cessfully for eight or ten years, but his
methods were eventually discovered, and
many individuals of ordinary strength
exhibited a number of his principal per-
formances.
A German named Van Eckeberg
travelled through Europe in the early part
of the eighteenth century under the ap-
pellation of "Samson," which then as
now, was favorite name for strong men.
This man was of middle size and of
ordinary strength, but by certain methods
and devices he was able to perform the
most extraordinary feats. For in
stance, sitting upon an inclined
board, with his feet little higher
than his hips, the latter being placed
against an upright board, we'll secured, a
strong girdle with an iron ring in front
was placed around his loins; to this ring
rope was fastened; the rope passed be-
tween his legs through hole in the up
right board, against which his teet were
braced, and several men or two horses
pulling on the rope were unable to draw
him out of his place. Again. he fast
ened rope to high post, having passed
it through an iron eye fixed in the side
of the post lower down, and secured it
to his girdle; he then planted his feet
against the post near the iron eye, with
his legs contracted, and suddenly stretch
ing out his legs broke the rope and fell
backward on feather bed. He would
lie On the ground while stone of huge
dimensions was laid upon his breast and
broken with blow from great ham
mer. He would lie down upon the
ground, and, man being placed on his
knees, would draw his heels toward his
body, and raising his knees lift the man
gradually, till, having brought his knees
perpendicular under him, he raised his
own body up, and placing his arms
around the mans legs, rose with him and
set him down on lsw table. Finally he
was elevated on framework and rope
fastened to scale which hung below was
attached to his girdle, heavy cannon
resting on tie scale which lay upon roll
ers upon the floor. When all was ready
the rollers were knocked away and the
cannon remained supported by the
strength of his loins-
1t Is sai1 that the po,ters of Constanti-