The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1900-10-09
BY MAIN STRENGTH.
What Some Strong Men of Maine Have
Done In Lifting.

Done IN LfftinR'
"Who is the strongest man in
town." asked correspondent at Bel
fast of some workmen at noontime.
"No one knows" was the reply. A
farmer, a stableman and a milkmsn
came along, says the Lewiston (Me.)
Journal, and the conversation became
general.
81 am not as stout as some," said
Ira Flanders, "but at my work Of
wheeling brick, / once took away 800
weighing 1900 pounds, on an ordi-
nary barrow, and think that l can do it
again, although it don't do a fellow
any good"
"Silas Beckwith," said the milk
man, "shouldered barrel of pork and
carried it from one truck to another
about 20 yards away. He said he felt
relieved when he put it down"
"The greatest feat within my
knowledge" said the farmer, "was
when 81 Wentworth shouldered the
700-pound anchor and carried il out
Of the company's shed. 81 had to step
down one step, and though no one
knew he was hurt, the jar injured his
back, and he has never lifted heavy
weights since"
probably the strongest man in this
vicinity to-day" said the stableman,
''is ALI Ellis, of Prospect. All got
reputation for liftingup in the quarry,
and was pestered nearly to death by
people who wanted to get up some
kind of a trial with him.
$50 he rugged up some straps to
big rock that lay under his she'd, and
lifted it with ease in the presence Of
large company. "There is my load"
says ALI, "and when you bring a man
that can take her up will try again.
'No one has ever lifted it, and it is
safe to say that no ordinary man ever
will, for it weighs somewhere be-
tween LOO and 1900 pounds"
Speaking about feats of strength"
said the blacksmith, "puts me in mind
of contest we had in front of my
shop last fall We put out big plank
on blocking about breast high, and
all the strong men up and down this
street had a try at lifting the plank
with big box of old iron on top of it.
freeman Batchelder, who works
in the shop at the head of the street,
came down to look on, and was invited
to take try, although no one sup
posed that he could bulge the load.
Well, sir, Freeman lifted it as easy as
an ordinary man would have raised
the plank.
"Then two men and a boy got on,
and he lifted the lot. The interest
among the other fellows seemed to
die out after that, and there hasn't
been any lifting around here since"
Inquiry among the police force
shows that the city marshall, William
H. Sanborn, has been ard is yet one
of the strongest men in the place. On
one occasion he was known to lift 9S5
pounds.
There have been frequent trials Of
strength by lifting on the scales. The
contestant stands on the scales and
lifts on bar that is attached to a
rope tied under the scales. Weights
are added until the limit of the COM
petitor's strength is reached.
Welman Hanson, a foreman in the
shoe factory, tipped the beam with
1900 pounds opposed to him in trial
of this kind.
AT the shipyard there are many
strong men, but the lifting is now
done mostly by power Abner Jip-
son, former employe there, had re-
markable strength. He could lift as
much on one end of stick of timber
as three or four ordinary men could on
the other. On one occasion he lifted
the weight of pile driver that
weighed, or was said to have weighed