Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1910-11-11
WHIPPED THE lion
A Contest Between Human and
Brute Strength.
SANDOW WAS THE VICTOR,

Stripped to the waist, the Otronq wan
Wrostied With the Enraged Animal,
Who Was Mittened and Muzzled, and
thoroughly Subduod Him.
The story that Richard. later term.
I'd Occur d. Lion" derived his name
from the feat of tearing live lions
heart out of .ts body is usually re.
garded today as npochryphal. AT this
distance of time 1t Is impossible to
tell what was the truth. But If Rich
ard had the strength of Sandow and
strove with the lion under conditions
similar to those under which Sandow
wrestled with menagerie lion in San
Francisco some years ago there may
be basis of fact for the legend. In
the Strand Magazine Mr.. Sandow told
of the event:
1t was to be struggle between
brute strength and human strength.
Merely in order TO prevent the lion
from tearing me to pieces with his
claws. mittens were to be placed on
his feet and II muZZle over his head.
This lion. must tell you. was par
ticularly fierce animal and only n
week before had enjoyed Il dish that
was not on the menu-his keeper.
Well. the engagement was accord
ingly made and "A Lion Fight with
Sandow" widely advertised. The an
nouncement. am told. sent thrill
through the cities for IL hundred miles
round, and in order to be equipped for
q performance which would be found
TO attract hundreds of thousands of
people l decided to rehearse my fight
with the lion beforehand.
/ had it In my mind that the effect
of mittening and muzZling the beast
might be to put him off the fight by
frightening him. and. realizing how
foolish should appear facing II lion
that would not fight. | was desirous
of making certain that this should not
be the case.
Accordingly the lion was mittened
and muzzle,l. but only with the aid of
six strong men. and | entered the cage
unarmed and stripped to the waist.
tion to my expectations: bagging his
paws and incasing his head in II wire
cage only served to cnrage the brute.
and no sooner had ! stepped inside
than he crouched preparatory to
springing upon me.
His eyes ablaze with fury, he hurled
himself through the air, but missed,
for had stepped aside, and before he
had time to recover caught him with
my left arm round the throat and
round the middle with my right, and,
although his weight was $50 pounds,
lifted him as high rs my shoulder, gave
him huge hug to instill into his mind
that he must respect me and tossed
him to the loor.
Roaring with rage, the beast rushed
fiercely toward me and raised his huge
paw to strike heavy blow at my
head. AS his paw cut through space
l felt the air fairly whistle and realized
not only my lucky escape, but the
lions weak point and my strong one.
If only he struck me once knew it
would be my coup de grace, and l took
particular care that he never should.
AS ! ducked my head to avoid the
blow ] succeeded in getting good
grip round the lions body, with my
chest touching his and his feet over
my shoulders and hugged him with all
my strength. The more he scratched
and tore the harder hugged him, and,
although his feet were protected by
mittens, his claws tore through my
tights and part of my skin. But / had
him as in a wise; his mighty efforts to
get away proved of no avail.
Before leaving the cage, however,
was determined to try just one other
feat. Moving away from the lion, /
stood with my back toward him, thus
openly inviting him to jump on me.
At once he sprang right on my back.
Throwing up my arms, gripped his
head, then caught him firmly by the
neck and In one moment shot him
clean over my head, assisted by the
animals own impetus. and launched
him before me like sack of sawdust
the action causing him to turn Il com.
plete somersault.
While he lay there. dazed, the door
was unlocked, and went out, my legs
and neck bleeding and with scratches
all over my body. But for these trifles
I cared nothing. felt that had con
quered that lion and that should have
little difficulty In mastering 1t on the
next occasion In public.
So thoroughly was he tanned, how
ever, that the great fight lasted but
two minutes. When he would fight nc
more lifted him up and walked round
the arena with him on my shoulders
he remaining as firm as rock and as
quiet as an old sheep.
Different Stvle.