The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-12-19
WALKS on HER HANDS.
MdIIe. Petrescu Uses Her Arms Like
Legs and Puzzles the AnatOmiSts.

About fifty well-knOwn physicians and
surgeons in New York attended, last Fri
day afternoon, a private exhibition of the
wOndrOus skill and abnormal physical de-
veiopment Of Mdlle. Eugene Petrescu, a
marvellous equiiibrist acrobat and con-
tortionist, just arrived from Europe, where
her performances excited the interest Of
eminent professors of anatomy. Mdlie.
Petrescu IS an understood young woman,
eighteen years Of age Of amazing strength
OF arm. Her performance, in the language
of her father and tutor is calculated to
demonstrate the truth Of the Darwinian
theory that the human race was originally
quadrumanOus or four-handed."
This young woman's performance proves
that there is nothing that can be done by
the ordinary man with his EGGS ana feet
that cannot be done by her with her arms
and hands. She walks. and caps
backward, forward and sideways, turns
about. goes up and down stairs. stands on
one arm or the other while rotating the
body, walks on clutches, her feet in the
air skips or Jumps the rope" and in ad-
mirab.e time to the music Of a piano eX-
ecutes the steps Of the polka, waltz, ma
zurka, schottische, military march and
gal0p.
While MdIe. Petrescu has been paying
before the crowned, bald and other
heads Of Europa portions of her act have
been copied more or less successfully and
produced in America, notably the bird leap
on a hand-balance from the back of one
chair TO another and the appalling act
known as Standing on the teeth" but In
It's entirety no such performance as hers
was ever seen before.
When this young woman runs on her
hands she does so with the easy motion
of a monkey. Placing a pair OF crutches
beneath her shoulders she inverts the body
and runs rapidly around the platform con-
GLIDING with a clear leap Of four feet. Her
-. IL.
as gracefully done as if she were a bird
One of a series Of studies taken for the use
of the medical fraternity shows the aD-
normal development Of her arms and
hands. The latter have gradually taken
on the shape of a monkeys paw. The
thumb is longer than the forehnger. The
young woman has Il most remarkable grip
and can perform wonders in that line
which would shame the professional strong
men now before the public. Her arms
show muscles that can not be found in
Shadows rather startling photographs.
Mdlle Petrescu's father, who directs her
performance, states that the wonderful
feats Of a man named Unthan, who was
born without arms and by long practice
was enabled to get along very well without
them. first attracted his attention 10 the
resemblance between the muscles Of the
arms and the legs. He conceived the idea
of devil ping a pair of arms ID perform
the duties of the lower limbs, and chose
his daughter, then five years Old, for the
experiment.
MY attention" he said to a World re-
Porter. was first called to the triceps of
the arm. as they appeared to me to have
An immense power of resistance Of counter
pressure. but the development did not
come up To my expectation and 1 turned
with more success to the deltiOd and the
trapeZium The greatest trouble TO over
come | found in the rectus abdominis, as
the movement Of the body depended
mostly on them.
After FIVE years of daily practice I
found that Eugene walked easily on her
hands. It may seem strange. but my
daughter was brought up upside down
When she had 70 walk we led her by her
feet as another would .ead a child by the
hands"
This young woman seems TO have at
tracted more than the passing attention Of
German and French savantS. and Prof
Virchow OF Berlin has written a cOpious-y
illustrated pamphlet of thirty pages on the
subject Of her phenomenal powers.-N. Y.
World.