EUGEN SANDOW.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1132, 6 January 1903, Page 2

EUGEN SANDOW.

Mr Harry Biokards' No. 3 Company of Vaudeville Stan, including die famous Eugen Sandow, the prophet of physical culture, will appear at the Town Hall to-monow and Thursday evenings. Sandow's varied experiences are very interesting. We herewith give our readers his own description of his fight with a lion:—"You had a wonderful □gat with & lion during one of your visits to America ?" " Yes, that was when I was performing in San Francisco, A fight between a lion and a bear was advertised. The menagerie proprietor who owned the lion wanted the beast done away with, a3 it had killed no less than three men. Every seat in the tremendous tent was sold, but the Society stopped in and stopped the fight. The idea then .occurred to me to pit the strength of a man against the strength of the lion. Sol challenged the Uon. I thought I should be armed with a weapon to make up for the cUws and teeth of the lion. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty would not hear of «juch a fight, so then I agreed to test the lion s strength minus any weapons if they put mittens on Leo. The Sooiety had no objections to offer to that. So the event was advertised, and the tent sold out in no time. The.lion having been mittened, during which operation he nearly escaped, was driven into the caged arena, and I followed him, stripped to the waist. In an instant the brute jumped at me. I had anticipated this movement, so I twisted round on a sudden, caught the lion by the head, and somersaulted him several yards away. That surprised Leo a little bit; in faot, he was astounded. Then he came again for me. As he jumped forward I brought my right hand round his neck, and pressed his chin on my shoulder. With my left hand I kept his body off me,*so he could no harm me with his hind legs. We had a fearful struggle. Blood began to flow, my skin was knocked off all over me, and the people shouted * Stop 1 stop !' X was unfortunate to fall. As the wild animal came at me I quickly rammed my arm down his throat, and as quickly drew it back. Then fastened the lion's lip over his teeth. I gave him a few suoh squeezes that what he had inside him came out. A few tumbles varied the performance. At last the beast was absolutely beaten, and he buried his nose in the sawdust. I took his tail and twisted it, but he would have nothing more to do with me. I got so disgusted that I picked the monster up, carried him on my shoulder, and then threw him down. The excitement was so great during the seven or eight minutes of really lightning work that 50 or GO of 4he spectators fainted. The lion was put back into his cage, and some time after a newspaper man bet me I would not go in to the beast. I did though, and hit Leo over the body and on the mouth with my hand, but he only replied with ugly snarls and growls."