The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-08

and with two other sturdy fellows to
support his back and keep his balance,
the strong man slowly lifts the bar
rel. Bending back, he supports the
weight at an angle of about forty
five degrees, apparently with his teeth,
but actually upon his chest. It's a
sensational act, but, as a matter OF
fact more strength is required in the
men who support him than in the star
performer himself. Not more than
200 pounds was ever actually support
ed by any athlete in this fashion.
1.-THE mouthpiece used in this trick
is employed in all acts where the per-
formers appear to hang by their teeth.
1t Is so constructed that when one
gets 1t in his mouth he cannot let go
of it until the weight is taken off. So
circus folks do not really support their
weight or the weight of any other OBJ
ject by their teeth. 1t is actually on
the neck that most of the strain comes
and the performer doing this stunt
very much gets an abnormal neck de-
velopment. Nowadays my neck meas
ures sixteen inches, but when 1 was
in the business 1t was nineteen inches
around.
About the only act that requires
real strength is that of supporting a
horse on a teeter board, but even in
this trick the most important needs
are nerve and a we'll trained horse.
Bodily strength comes third. I'll new
er forget to my dying day the first
time tried this. ! had rugged up two
chairs as strongly as possible in a barn
and fastened them to the floor, after
which I had put a board across be-
tween them to support teeter. upon
which 1 had trained my pony to walk.
When the animal had learned his les
son thoroughly and would ascend the
teeter and balance at the word of COM
mand, I prepared for the final test
"In place of the board connecting
the chairs I put my own body. Across
my chest put the teeter board. Then,
locking my feet firmly in one chair
and my arms around the back of the
other, I called, Romeo"
"He came from the stall straight for
the teeter. Then my nerve failed me.
I cried, 'Whoa!' wildly, but Romeo
didn't seem to know the meaning of
the word. On he came, directly up
the incline. There was no backing
out. All that I could do was TO hang
on desperately, and this / did. When
Romeo got above my chest he balanced
himself gracefully for awhile-it SEEM
ed an hour TO me, though It was only
a few seconds-then he went off the
other side. had succeeded and the
trick was not so hard rs 7 had feared.
ut appears to the audience as II the
man I'm this act was supporting the
weight largely with his neck. Such is
not the case. for most OF II comes on
his arms and legs. and the latter are
fastened so that they cannot become
loosened. 1t takes strength, but not
extraordinary strength.
"Not unlike this trick, but requiring
even less muscular power, Is the feat
of supporting a lot of people on a
board placed across your body while
YOU are bent over backward. This is
certainly the easiest way for a man to
support his family I know OF. Before
the athlete bends his body his feet are
braced so strongly that they can't
slide. Then he bends back and a
board is placed across his knees and
shoulders upon which another board Is
nut crosswlse for the men 10 get upon.
In this position the bones Of the arms
and legs support the weight, and as
the bone OF a healthy human being n
pretty strong q number Of men may