The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-28


his attempt to beat the piano playing
record at the Cafe MARITIME in Paris. He
undertook to play the piano continu-
ouSly for twenty seven hours, except
for brief intervals amounting in all 10
ninety minutes. He began at O'Clock
IN the evening and played without rest
TIL O'Clock in the morning. He took
/. brief intervals for food about everS
four hours after that. but about the
next evening cramp seized his fingers.
However, massage relieved him, and he
kept on. His hands swelled dreadfully
and his face became congested. His
arms had to be propped with cushions.
However, he stuck 10 it till midnight
winning his wager of $500. with four
teen minutes in hand. Then he col
lapsed, Frustrated with a severe nerv-
Gus attack Even more startling was
the feat of Bancia, who. at Venice. sue
ceeded in playing for fifty hours on end.
with only three brief rests He, how
ever, played slow and easy music COM
pared with the pieces performed by the
piucky Frenchman.
No other creature on earth can under
so such tremendous fatigue over long
periods of time as can man. In speed
over short distances there are, of
course, dozens of animals-such as the
cannot compete. But in long distance
races man, well trained. can wear down
the best of them
really amazing pedestrian feat was
accomplished by that famous walker
j. Hiberd of London. In 1899 he walked
from Shoreditch church to Yarmouth
a distance of I24K. miles. In twenty
seven hours and forty-six minutes. He
was nifty years old at the time. but
would without doubt have done the dis
lance IN an hour less if he had not
missed his way, and covered several
unnecessary miles. Every day the
average man generates a force of 3,400
root-tonS-enough, that is to raise
S.400 tons a height Of one foot. only
10 per cent of this force is availa BILE
Tor other work than that of keeping the
pody warm But how much the resi-
due may be exceeded by a strong man
IN good training is proved by the fact
that Mckenzie, winner of the race last
year to the top of Ben Nevis, was
working at the rate of II 600 foot
pounds per minute during the sixty
eight minutes that the race lasted.
Speaking of mountain climbing Sir
Martin Conway's Alpine record of the
year 1884 is another startling proof of
what man is physically capable of do
ing and enduring. Sir Martins tour
lasted Sc days During that time he
covered 1000 miles on foot. assembled
twenty-one peaks of an average height
of II 500 feet, and crossed thirty-nine
lofty passes. It has been calculated
that man who climbs 7000-foot peak
in five hours exerts enough energy to
raise five fully loaded locomotives one
foot from the ground.
o 6 O
Long distance cycling gives a further
proof OF the enormous endurance of
man. In the six days international
cycle race of 1889, the winners-Miller
and Waller-cOvered 2,733 miles be
tween the Monday morning and Satur-
day night. Brown. the vegetarian cy-
clist. recently rode on open roads, Of
ten in great heat, and again under pour
ing rain, 1880 miles in 1879 hours.
Although man is not well fitted by
nature to be swimmer, and is one
of the few land creatures who can
not swim without being taught, yet
in long distance swimming he can give
points to any other land animal Mon
tague Holbein in September 1889,
swan forty-six miles in twelve hours.
Even in the matter of fasting there
are few warm-blooded creatures who
can emulate such a performance as
the forty days fast of Tanner.
Mans memory is one of his most
wonderful attributes. What is pos
sible in this direction was proved a
year or two ago at Naples, when a
pioIeSSOI OF THelOrlc-Aflinl Dy name
repeated from memory 1880 lines of
Dante He began to recite at o'clock
in the evening and went on till 2:I5 the
next afternoon. He was thus at work
for 1,035 minutes, his rate being $50
lines an hour. He only stopped for
a minute or two at long intervals to
sip a little brandy and water
g g g
Almost equally startling was the
or naI, 4 h. I H.
Austrian parliament two years ago.
Beginning at o'clock in the evening,
he spoke until the next morning.
During these twelve hours he never
sat down, never repeated himself, and