Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-21

story of Milo i not - Incredible as it seems at
first sight.
Then there is the we'll known story of Lean
der. who swan the Hellespont with the praise
worthy object of passing an hour in the pres
ence of his sweetheart. Now. the body of
water known IN ancient times as the Hellespont
Is In these days called the Straits of Dardan-
Giles, and the distance across it is rather less
than a mile. Compared with such swim
that of Captain Webb across the Straits of
Dover. distance of twenty-one miles, Lean
ders performance seems not only credible but
even insignificant.
In word, there is no doubt that athletes and
strong men of modern times are far more
powerful and skilful than those whose per-
formances seemed so wonderful to the ancients
Some Modern Athletes
A MONG the notable athletes of modern
times. perhaps the most remarkable was
Ernest Menson sailor in the British navy
On certain occasion. finding himself pennileSs
in London. and knowing that he must reach
his ship at Portsmouth by rolcall or be shot
as deserter the next morning he ran the en-
tire distance between the two cities starting
at half after eight in the evening and arriving
at his destination by six the next morning
That is to say. he covered the entire distance
of sixty-nine miles in less than ten hours
His next run was from London to Liverpool
a distance of two hundred miles, which he
covered in exactly thirty-three hours.
A still more remarkable pedestrian feat was
his famous run from Paris to Moscow. a dis
lance that in those days was seventeen hun
dred and sixty miles Menson started from
the Place de Vendome in Paris at exactly ten
O'Clock on the morning OF June 1891. and
arrived at the Kremlin in Moscow at ten
o'clock June IS, having made the Journey in
three hundred and thirty-six hours.
Menson never walked, but went at dog
trot" a gait similar to that of Rowell. a
famous pedestrian of twenty years ago He
was also peculiar to eating and sleeping.
o. L:
sionally little fruit or cracker; but would
drink much water. His rest was taken in
standing position usually leaning against
wall or tree After ten fifteen minutes of
this rest he would awaken and 60 on appar-
emily as fresh as ever. On one occasion during
a long run he went up usual and leaned
against a tree to rest. His seconds and at
tendants standing about had noticed nothing
unusual in his manner or appearance. Ten
minutes passed fifteen, thirty The watchers
went closer. and found that Menson was dead
One of the most remarkable feats of strength
record the platform lift made by
Patrick Mccarthy. of st. Louis The platform
was loaded with stones: and Mccarthy. stand
harness" style The weight of the platform
and stones sixty-three hundred and
enty pounds. over three tons.
Another American athlete, A. Cutter of
Louisville. once placed his little finger in
strap suspended from the ceiling. and. from
hanging thus at arms length drew the body
up to the chin six times in succession. With
one hand on horizontal bar he drew the body
up six times without pause.
For drawing the body up Ginning the
bar" as they say in the gymnasiums, the
palm goes to Arthur Mumford who in 1888
at Cambridge. Massachusetts,, performed the
feat thirty-nine times without pause.
Another interesting athlete is Nouroulah,
the Great Bulgarian wrestler. He is prob
ably the biggest athlete in the world,
His height is six feet seven inches and he
weighs three hundred and thirty pounds. He
is just five feet round the chest, about twice
the measurement of the ordinary man. and
measures nearly two feet about the upper
arm. In spite of his great bulk, Nouroulah is
surprisingly quick and skilful; and a wrest-
Ter has proved himself practically invincible.
The list would be incomplete without the
name of Ralph Rose giant amateur athlete
and law student of the University of Mich
gan Rose is only youngster. being not more
then twenty-three years old. Physically.
however. he is a marvel. He stands six feet
three inches and weighs two hundred and fifty
pounds. He is said to be possessed of the most
perfect physique ever examined at the Uni
versity of Michigan. Rose holds several
world records. and is mentally and physically
a born athlete. He grew up in Sonoma County,
California among the giant trees.