AN AMERICAN SAMSON.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1110, 26 May 1883, Page 1

AN AMERICAN SAMSON.

The Tory Times gives an account of a man who but little known outside of the village of Granville Corners’) in Washington County, where he was born and spent the most of a long life, who is known to have performed feats of strength unsurpassed by any man of ancient and modern times—excepting, of course, the Biblical Samson, His name is, or was Steam Carpenter ; his occupation was that of a farmer. He was a quiet peaceable member of the Society of Friends. One of his greatest feats was lifting a box filled with iron which weighed 1900 pounds, which is epual to lifting 8800 pounds in harness. He lifted it with ease with his hands by grasping a rope or chain which was bound round the box to secure it. He did not know the weight of the box at the time, and was afterwards heard to say that had he known it weighed so near a ton he would have put on the other 100 pounds and lifted the whole. At another time he lifted a cannon that weighed 1400 pounds and shouldered it. At Comstock s Landing, on the Champlain Canal near Whitehall, one day while waiting for a load of merchandise, he lifted a barrel of white lead with ease. His neighbours when killing hogs, if Steam happened to be around would ask him to guess the weight of a hog just killed. If it happened to be a big one weighing 400 or 500 pounds, he would stoop down and twist his fingers into the bristles, and in that way would lift the carcass clear from the ground and guess on its weight. He performed one of the greatest feats of strength on record after he had reached the age of 76. He lifted two 24 foot iron rails by grasping one in each hand, and walked off with them. One day in haying time he was going from the field with his men to the house for dinner. They were walking along the road together, when one of the men for mischief, came up behind him, and by a skilful trip threw Carpenter down. He gathered himself up and said nothing about He walked to the house, and after dinner when returning to the field with his men. they came to the same place where the man gave him the fall. He suddenly turned upon the man, and grasping him by the shoulders and the seat of the trousers, lifted him bodily up and hurled him high into the air above him and over a seven-rail fence, by the side of which they happened to be walking. The man came down into the meadow a row or two more from the fence, considerably', shaeen but not badly hurt. Mr Carpenter was not a gigantic man in size. He was about six feet tall, and appeared much less than that owing to his massive build. There was no superfluous flesh upon him, but the muscles of his arms, shoulders, and neck seemed to be piled upon him, so great was their size. This gave him a stooping appearance. Mr Carpenter js living at the present time at Granville Cori7 ers » Washington County, N.Y., his old or was living the last time the writer Ji' of him. Ho must be over 80 years age.