New Britain herald., 1915-03-20
ROMANcES OF THE
SQUARED C|RcLE"
Isaac PtTTins, Birmingham Giant,
One Of Greatest Men in Game.


made by an elderly woman who stooe
2 street, Manchester, England, on a cole
| December day in 1900. The grea
crowd Of men and boys who ha6
gathered in response to the cry q
Fire." gazed at her pityingly bu
not one among them dared to enter
1he blazing building which had nov
become roaring furnace Of rec
flames.
The crude fire-fghting apparatus
of that day was utterly inadequate to
stay the conf1a grafton, and the fire.
men confined their labors to an effort
to save neighboring edifices It seemed
that the blazing building, and all who
might be within, could by no posi-
bility be saved.
AS the flames leaped higher and
higher the face of girl appeared at
arr upper window and her piercing
screams rang out above the sullen
roar Of the fire and chilled the blood
of the listeners. The mother in the
street recognized the face of her
daughter, and, with a terrible shrek,
swooned and fell.
s Stirred into action by the girls
cries, a few men advanced to the
door Of the doomed house, but drew
back in alarm as they felt the hot
breath of the furnace in their faces.
All save one! A great giant of a
man, six feet two in height, who had
4 just shouldered his way through the
crowd, was not to be awed by the rag
ing red demon Throwing his coat up
over his face, he ran through the
door and vanished in the whirling
Gnoke which filled the stairway
''Who is he?"
The question which each man
asked found a speedy answer.
Isaac PERKINS, they shouted to
each other.
There was no need to go into furth-
er letails. Every man present knew
that Isaac Perrins was the landlord
efs Jupiter Tavern, the most popular
sporting hosiery in the city Of
Manchester. He was the man who, a
little more than ten years before, had
been defeated in the greatest ring
battle England had ever witnessed
the giant who had fallen before the
blows Of Tom Johnson in a conflict
such as men had never seen before
Isaac Perrins of Birmingham-for
although he was now citizen Of
the Birmingham Giant" and "the
bold Brum.''
Those who saw Isaac Perrins van
aish in the smoke and flames of the
Market street house never expected to
see him again alive. Only few
minutes passed until he staggered out
again, his face black. his clothes
hoking-but bearing in his brawny
arms tho linn form of tho Cir1
Shouts Of joy at his reappearance
were quickly followed by a groan as
the mighty ex-pugilist, placing the
girl on the ground, turned and fought
his way back through the smoke.
Eager hands carried the girl, now
gssping with returning consciousness,
to a place of safety. In the mean
time Perrins was again staggering,
crawling and fighting his way to a
place on the second floor where he
had seen the prstrate form Of a wom-
an. His Herculean strength and iron
will served him in good stead, and,
almost overcome by the smoke. he at
length reached the woman and
dragged her forth to safety Any other
man would hav quit, at that, but
Perrins knew that still another vic
tim was within. He returned, and
again he was victorious. Three per-
sons in all owed their lives to the
former 'bruiser.'
Even then Perrins did not cease
his labors. With all the human beings
out of the building. he set to work
to remove the furniture from the first
floor. The man who in his younger
days had lifted 500 pounds Of iron
into wagon. and performed other
feats of strength staggering to con-
template, still possessed giants
strength, and for hours he toiled
(Aaggint, the heaviest goods from the
house threatened by the fire.
If this story were fiction, its ending
would be pleasanter. Isaac Perrins
would wed the maiden he had res
cued, and live happy ever after.
Alas, for cruel facts! He was then
fifty years old, and already had
wife, In his rescue work he had used
every ounce of energy he possessed,
aAd soaked with water which was
being thrown on the blazing buildings
he caught terrible cold. For eight
days, tossing in his bed with the fever
that consumed him, Isaac Perrins
fought a losing battle with Death.
Then he was conquered and died, as
he had lived. hero
Isaac Perrins, although never
champion and defeated in his only
great battle, is still honored as one
of the greatest men who ever made
ffsticuffs profession. His tremen-
dous strength was Evoked with a
lamb like disposition A contempor
airy wrote of him: ''TIe is gentle and
considerate, and above all things seeks
to avoid offense to those weaker thar,
hipself."
Isaac Perrins was man of excel
lent education, and in his young man
hood was the leader of church
choir. He married one of the girls Of