The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

STRONG MEN AND THEIR FEATS OF STRENGTH. 29 M'Cann to style themselves the strongestmen on earth atsuch a feat, and be able to put up only 170 lbs., was as ridiculous, when compared with Louis Cyr'sperformance, as it would be for two athletes to style themselvesthe champion high leapers, and and in a match be able toclear only4 ft. 1 in., compared with Fitzpatrick's 6 ft. 4f in. H. M'Cann's two-handed performance has been outstripped by D. Dinnie, who has put up 128 lbs. with right hand and112 lbs. with left hand simultaneously, and by C. Reppel, who put up i2i| lbs. in each hand, and a dumb-bell weighing 279 , 98 lbs.with both hands, atVienna, January, 1888. While Sandow could just manage to put up 170 lbs.with one hand at the third attempt, he put up with both hands tohis shoulder a dumb-bell with a long bar, weighing 226 lbs., and from shoulder to stretch of arm abovehis head with one hand. In this feat one end of the dumb-bell rested on his shoulder, the other on his hip, and consequently both shoulders and thigh were made use of both to support and raise the weight. Now, if a dumb-bell orother weight is put up with one hand, no part of the weight must, from the time itis on the floor until itis at stretch of arm above the head, be supported on, or lifted or raised by, any partof the body exceptthe onehand, andno part of the body must receive any artificialsupport; and sowith two hands. Both these conditions were violated in other two instances by Sandow, first when he put up acluster ofweights, weighing 251-I lbs., tied together so that part^of them rested on his shoulder and arm, andagain when he put a 210 lb. dumb­ bell to his shoulder with both hands, and then seized aweight of 49 lbs. with a long handle, which he used as a support until he put up the 210 lbs. above his haad with the right, and then raised the 49 lbs. with his left. M'Cann did not attempt any of these feats of Sandow's on the plea that they were gymnastic tricks, and depended more on knack than strength. Now, trickery or knack never putup a fraction of an ounce, a fraction of an inch. M'Cann probably meant that it was only by resting part of the weight on his shoulder and arm, or shoulder and