Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-19
ENDURANCE 0F MAN
TREMENDOUS FATIGUE THAT HE
CAN wITHsTANN
No Other Creature in Any Way Com
pares With Him - Some
Famous Tests.


From the Chicago Tribune. 81
On March "A last NJ. Gafnieh began his
attempt to beat the piano playing record
a. the Cafe MARITIME in Paris He under
took to play the piano continuously for
twenty-seven hours, except for brief inter
walls, amounting in all to ninety minutes.
He began at o'clock in the evening and
played without rest till o'clock in the
morning. He took brief intervals for food
about every four hours after that, but
about the next evening cramp seized his
fingers. However, massage relieved him,
and he kept on. His hands swelled dread
fully and his face became congested. His
arms had to be propped with cushions.
However, he stuck to it till midnight win
ming his wager of 500, with fourteen min
utes in hand. Then he collapsed, FRUSTRATED
with a severe nervous attack. Even more
startling was the feat Of Banc.a who, at
Venice, succeeded in playing for fifty hours
on end, with only three brief rests. He,
however, played slow and easy music COM
pared with the pieces performed by the
plucky Frenchman.
No other creature on earth can undergo
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 horse, dog and hare
long distance races man well trained can
wear down the best of them.
A Pedestrian Feat.
A really amazing pedestrian feat was
accomplished by that famous walker, ].
Hibberd of London. In 1899 he walked
from Shoreditch Church to Yarmouth, a
distance of 1241A miles, in twenty-seven
hours and forty-six minutes. He was fifty
%1N,,%
doubt have done the distance In an hour
less II he had not missed his way, and COW
cred several unnecessary miles. Every day
the average man generates force OF !, 400
foot-tons-enough, that Is, to raise 3,4OO
tons a height Of one foot. Only 10 per cent
of this force is available for other work
than that of keeping the body warn. But
how much the residue 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 11,OOo 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 te
another startling proof Of what man is
physically capable Of doing and enduring.
Sir Martins tour lasted SO days During
that time he covered 1000 miles on foot:
ascended 21 peaks OF an average height OF
II 800 feet. and crossed 80 lofty passes. 1t
has been calculated that a man who climbs
7,0O0-foot peak in five hours exerts enough
energy to raise Ave fully loaded iocomo-
tives one foot from the ground.
Cycling Records.
Long-distance cycling gives a further
proof Of the enormous endurance Of man. In
the six days international cycle race of 1899
the winners-Miler and Waller-covered g.
1913 miles between the Monday morning and
Saturday night Brown, the vegetarian cy-
clist, recently rode on open roads, often in
great heat, and again under pouring rain,
l 800 miles in 1919 hours. aS
Although man Ia not well fitted by ma
ture to be swimmer, and IL one Of the
few land creatures who cannot swim with
out being taught. yet in lonG-dfstance swim
ming he can give points toEany other land
animal. Montague Holbein, in September,
1859. swan 40 miles in IL hours
Even in the matter of fasting there are
few warm-blooded creatures who can emu
late such performance as the forty days
fast Of Tanner.
Mans memory Is one Of his most wonder
full attributes. What Is possible in this d.
rectfon was proved year or two ago at
Naples, when a professor Of rhetoric-Ar-
lini by name-repeated from memory 1880
lines of Dante. He began to recite at 8
o'clock in the evening, and went on till 2:15
the next afternoon. He was thus at work
for 1,O95 minutes, his rate being $50 lines an
hour. He only stopped for a minute or
and water
A Great Speech.
Almost equally startling was the speech
made by Count Lechter in the Austrian par
lament two years ago Beginning at 0
o'clock in the evening, he spoke until the
next morning. During these twelve hours
he never sat down, never repeated himself,
and never failed to hold the attention of his
audience. Amazing exhibitions Of long
sustained brain power have been given by
chess players. Pillsbury recently played
sixteen games of chess simultaneously,
without seeing the boards of any Of his op-
ponents, and at the same time played a
game Of whist and chatted to his friends
What is more, he won all these games but
one.
Men can eat more, lift more. carry more
and bear more pain than almost any other
creature. Leysseus, the Belgian glutton.
who died last year, once ate sixty-nine hard
boiled eggs at meal A man named Night
ingale recently carried sack Of sand
weighing one hundredweight, four miles
from 1lford to Bow-infifty-ni minutes
A night Waterman over sixty was recently
run over by an engine at Queens road Bat
tersea. He had thirteen ribs broken, and
his right foot crushed, but he walked some
distance along the line, descended sixteen
steps Of ladder, and walked another twen-
ty-five yards to his hut. He was still alive
when found four hours later