Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-05-29
A WOMAN'S GREAT FEAT.
Stards Test of Endurance at Which
SandoW Quails


SandoW Quails.
Miss Burdella Patterson, slight, fair,
below the medium height. is the
strongest woman in the world. says
the New York Journal
Sandow, the strongest man in the
world, has said it.
The test of strength is endurance"
said Sandow, and Miss Patterson has
stood the test. For over seven hours
she heroically posed sealed up in
plaster of paris cast, for a statue of
Diana, at ]. r. Palmenburg's shop, 262
Greene street, in New York. She was
the first woman to pose for an entire
figure plaster cast. There had been no
other attempt because no one believed
that woman could so pose and live.
She also posed as Psyche, life size,
too.
Six months ago the strong man,
Eugene Sandow, posed for an entire
figure in plaster cast When he had
finished he said. That was the
hardest job l ever had in my life. /
wouldn't go through it again for any
amount of money"
Miss Burde1la Patterson says she
would be willing to pose in plaster of
paris once week for the rest of her
lifetime.
at is all matter of will power"
said Miss Patterson So, after all, this
little American girl may be stronger
than Sandow, the strong man.
She is 10 years old.
She stands five feet three in her
stockings.
She weighs 12S pounds.
+ Everything about her conveys the
impression Of frailty. Her figure is
slim and but slightly rounded Her
features are delicate. Her hair is
fair, her eyes brown and pensive. She
bears not the slightest resemblance to
the glowing, athletic girl of the day.
But she has done what no other woman
has done before, and what the
strongest man in the world would not
do again.
Psychologists might find here the
influence of heredity, for Miss Burdella
Patterson can prove that she is related
to Lafayette.
Try posing yourself, just for illus
tratlon. The first five minutes it is
extremely uncomfortable. The second
five minutes it is distressing. The
third it becomes unbearable, or would
be, little Miss Burdella Patterson
says, eff it were not for will power"
This without the weight and ever
growing heat of the plaster.
Two barrels of plaster were used,
and the rough mold when finished
weighed 400 pounds. In this rough
mold soft wax was poured. When the
wax had cooled the plaster cast was
broken away and the replica of the
brave Miss Patterson appeared as
Diana
The next day she posed for the face.
This, too, was difficult and painful. A
paper hood protected her hair, and
paper las placed over her eyes to pro-
tect the lashes and eyebrows. Two
rubber tubes were inserted in her
nostrils, so that she might breathe |
naturally. Then the plaster, bit BY bit, |
was placed upon her face and |
smoothed by the hands of the artists, |
Mr.. Asher and Mr.. c. Van Buren,, un-
til its contour was exactly that of her |
features. This was the shortest and |
least painful part of the task.
The agony was in the seven hours |
and thirty minutes that this 19-year-
old girl posed for the figure of Diana.
Eugene Sandow posed for a stand
ing figure Of himself, not so difficult by
half as what this frail girl accom-
plished, and this is what he saws of
the feat:
1T is the hardest job ever did in
my life. 1t is the greatest feat of en-
durance was ever called upon to per-
form. Good heavens! Time after
time | thought I'd have to give it ND.
The strain was awful / used to finish
UP after each piece was done fairly
blown, perspiring and winded much
more than after any weight-liffing II
had ever done"
ANECDOTES OF DR.. TALMAGE