San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-12-31
STRONG MAN INJURED.
THE FAMOUS LUNDIN MEETS WITH
AN ACCIDENT.
He Balanced Plank Holding TWEEN
ty Men on His Chest, When
His Arm Bent Forward.


hibited in san Antonio last October
80, they had with them a strong
man, named Lundin, who perform
ed wonderful feats OF strength, such
as supporting twenty men on a
plank across his chest, and similar
feats. The following is taken from
the Chicago Tribune:
Hjalmar Lundin, the athletic
Swede, whose great strength Is just
becoming known, lies in bed at
No. SO Gait place, Chicago, with
both elbows sprained. They were
dislocated at the North Side Turner
Hall Sunday night while he was
supporting twenty men on a plank
across his chest. His physician
says 1t will be six weeks before
Lundin will regain the full use of
his arms. Lundin says "pooh" at
the mishap and thinks no more OF
1t.
Turner hall was filled when the
accident occurred. They were
there to attend a concert and ball
The feature OF the entertainment
was two or three performances by
Lundin. One Of them was to hold
twenty men upon his chest at one
time. Another was to support in
like manner piano and two per-
formers while they played. But
the strong man was prevented by
the accident from completing eth
er performance.
Attendants brought out plank
twenty feet long and extremely
heavy. Lundin, face upwards, took
his position on a mat on his hands
and feet, with his head and arms
toward the spectators. A small
supporting trestle was placed on
his chest and on this the heavy
plank was balanced. A box was
placed under one end OF the plank
to keep it steady while the men
were getting on. One by one men
averaging loo pounds climbed on
the plank until the twentieth one
had added his weight. The sur.
porting box was removed and the
orchestra started up. This caused
slight fiutter OF excitement
among the men on the plank.
They disturbed the balance. The
stage is slightly inclined and Lun-
din saw the plank aud its ton and
a half OF burden slip toward his
head. At the same time the specta.
tors who were intently watching
his muscles saw the elbow joint of
Frn rrf t.
bent, not outward and backward
In the natural manner, but
forward. The left arm followed
1t looked as IL both were broken
The plank sank on the PROSTATE
man, and twenty men fell about
him. The music stopped. Several
women tainted and the curtain
dropped with the spectators in a
semi-panic. When Lundin saw
the plank and its load slipping to-
ward his face he feared 1t would
leave the balancing trestle and
crush his head. He made a des-
perate effort to heave the plank to-
ward his feet and save his life, and
dislocated both his elbows in the
attempt. But he didn't know what
he had done until he freed himself
from the plank and started to rise.
Then he exclaimed with disgust
"Look at both my arms. They
are bent the wrong way"
A young man named Peterson,
bicycle repairer, saw the trouble.
In moment he had seized the
right arm, then the left, and, bend
Ing them forward, restored to their
normal positions both dislocated
joints. DR.. Leigh dressed the Joints
with splints and bandages. Besides
the injury to his arms Lundin's
face received few bruises.
When the plank fell the men on
it tumbled to the floor in heap
A few were bruised, but the most
painful accident happened to Harry
Barstrom, No. 1lS Oak street, one
OF whose wrists were broken.
Lundin was driven to the home
OF friend, at SO Calf place, where
though forced to lie In bed, he
laughed at his injuries.
81 will be all right again In a
short time. The men on the plank
wabbled when the music began
playing, and l saw the plank slip
ping toward my head. The stage
is more inclined than thought it
was, and II the plank had slipped
of the balance trestle on my head
and neck 1t would have crushed
me. l had to make an effort to
throw 1T toward my feet, and the
collapse followed"
Until a comparatively short time
ago Lundin didn't know how