The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-11-17
EXCEL THE HORSES
Physical Feats Performed In An
cient and Modern Times.
1atter-Day Athletes Far More Than
Match for Those of Old-Some OF the
Wonderful Feats Performed by
Giants Of thu Present.

in regard TO personal strength ana
activity; that the ancients were phys
ically stronger than the men OF mod
ern times. IN searching through the
records of the athletes OF ancient
Greece, etc. l have been enabled to
make some comparison between the
strong men of that time and those Of
the present day, which. think, shows
conclusively that the present genera
ton are far ahead Of any authentic
ated record we gan inG of the an
cient. The idea that the human race
as whole is degenerating is a popular
delusion. founded on ignorance of the
plainest and most undeniable facts.
The idea that men are falling off in
size is a mistaken one. There are
good grounds for doubting that any man
of former times ever performed a feat
of strength beyond the powers of the
strongest man of the present ti-ce. In
popular estimation Samson tthe orig
lnal one) remains the typical strong
man, and many will think IL sac
rilege to doubt his claim to be the
strongest man that ever lived Yet
what feat is recorded of him that has
any undoubted definite value as 4
measure of strength. He killed a
young lion with his hands. Poly
damus also killed with his bare hands
huge fierce lion, and SO did Richard
Coeur de Leon, according to history.
Samson broke ropes Of various
kinds Eow strong were they? Break
t-Gn -
proofs OF strength. He killed one
thousand men with the jawbOne of an
ass. To fracture a mans skull with
such a weapon needs no very great
amount Of strength. as several men
have killed man with one blow of the
bare fist. II the one thousand men
We're all opposed to him at once they
must have been a sorry lot.
Another celebrated athlete who
hourished about 500 b. c. was Milo, of
Crotona. Greek town " the south of
Italy. In his case also we have moth
ing recorded by which we can form any
accurate idea of his strength. He was
victor six times at the Olympic games,
and among the things attributed to
him are the following: Binding cord
round his head, he could break II by
retaining his breath and swelling ont
his veins; with his elbow resting on his
side be defied anyone to open his closed
fist; standing on an oiled quot he de-
fed anyone to push him CIT It The
last is sheer nonsense, the first two in
definite. Samson or Sandow OF the pres
ent day can bind chains around their
arms, and by swelling their muscles
can burst the chains easily, which |
consider a much harder thing to do
than breaking cord-that would be
chiId's play for them. | have seen
Samson break q silver quarter in two
with his fingers. Let anyone try to
do it, and he will find out what an
enormous power 1t requires TO bend or
break il.
Coming TO more recent times. we find
Thomas Topman, an Englishman who
exhibited about 1910. He was about 5
feet 10 inches in height and weighed in
the neighborhood of 200 pounds, and
was very strongly built. Topman' S
feats were feats of real strength. and he
is the first performer that could bear
comparison with those of the present
day. Here are two of the best records
of real strength recorded of him: He
stood on platform which had two
parallel bars at convenient height on
his right and left, on which to place his
hands. Below him on Il lower platform
were three barrels of water. weighing
altogether about 1886 pounds These
being bound together, a chain from
them passed through the platform on
which Topman stood, and was attached
to belt that passed over his neck and
shoulders; be then lifted the whole by
Strengthening his arms and legs His
other genuine record was lifting Is
seizing with his hands a frame on
which rested a stone weighing SIS
pounds.
1t is my candid opinion that there ar.
men living at the present time OF
greater personal strength than any
Milo, Samson or Topman- We will
now place the following records against
Topman's lift of 1886 pounds In this
country some twenty years ago several
athletes gave their attention to devils
ing harness for lifting heavy weights,
with the following results: DIR. ) W.
Winship lifted $500 pounds, John j.
Lucas 2,7o0 pounds, A. A. Butts 2.737A
pounds, and William 3. Curtis. at pres
ent editor OF the Spirit OF lie Times.
1929 pounds O3 pounds more than
Topman's. There is no doubt but that
the apparatus of these athletes was
superior to that used by Topman. but
Donald Dinnie. the famous Scottish
athlete, with apparatus inferior 70 Top
mans, in that ne had no supports for
his arms, with mere straps, lifted 1904
pounds In 1884 Louis Cyr, yong
Canadian, standing under plank with
legs slightly bent at the knees, back
bent forward and his hands resting on
a stool pushed up with his back, arms
and legs theplank with pig iron resting
on it weighing ASSOC pounds, and
few years later the same athlete, using
the same method, raised 1886 pounds.
In hand lifting there is less room for
improved apparatus, and here again the
modern strong men completely ecipsed
Topnan- Or. Winship lifted l,20G
pounds. William b Curtis 1890, l.
Lensing 1854. David L. Dowd l.i4%s
pounds. and Jefferson. Of Boston. Lifted
with MS hands alone 1.j7l4 pounds,
nearly double Topman's best lift
There are generally from half a drz-
en- toa score OF athletes each proc.-lm-
ing himself the strongest man OF et-th
Here are some Of them: samson men
nedy. Ssudow. Cyclops- AJAX. Att.la'
the brothers Samson and Hercules ard
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