VULCANA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7569, 29 November 1902, Page 2

VULCANA.

tho Strongest WoMaa ea Earth. (By H. J. HOLMES, in the "Royal Magaaine.'-) A graceful girl of medium height and inanely figure, Irith the clear complexion tod bnght eyes that tell of perfect health ; » body whose every movement possesses a charm, full of ease and, Suppleness. And this is Vuloano—this pretty girl, barely out of her teens—^ tihose extraordinary feats bf strength the London public ha*e been talking about for weeks ! How different she is irom our easily-con-jured up mind'is-eye pictute of the lusty god, the feminane of whose name she has chttfsen as that by which she is known in her professional capacity, Vulcana, the •tnmgest woman in the world. The pursuit of her profession has not been at the sacrifice of her womanliness. When she takes her walks abroad, no one to whom she is unknown could regard her •s anything but the type of bright, smiling, •thletic English girl that 6he is. There is Bone of the " strong woman " swagger in] her demeanour. Misß Kate Roberts— Vulcana's real name -^-is the daughter of ai popular Welsh preacher. Coming of an athletic family, she, in childhood, was remarkably strong, and developed; A TENDENCY SOB DARING PERFORMANCES AT AX EARLY ACE. She loved an open-air life, and nothing used to delight her more than a visit to a wood, in the neighbourhood of her home, where she jcotdd climb high trees to heP heart's content, or hang swinging by her arms from lofty boughs, risking her neck at atlmost every movement. At school she performed feats of strenjgthi that astonished her teachers and fellowpupils. On one occasion, when it was necessary for a harmonium to be conveyed irom one room to another,, she calmly volunteered to carry it single-handed— and succeeded in d»ing so, much to the amazement of tbe onlookers. Although naturally strong, Vulcana owes much of her present state of physical perfection to her brother, one of the strongest men in England. Under has tuition training became a matter of pleasure and delight to her. , j By an accident it was that Miss Robert-f became a professional. Mr Roberts had been engaged to carry out the management of a fete and gala at Pontypool. At the* last moment a laidy performer who ought" to have been in her place failed to put in an appearance. Someone was necessary to fill the gap. What was to be done? Mr Roberts decided to "fill the bill" with his little sister Kate. She duly appeared before the Pontypool public, perforating feats of strength, which so delighted them aijjd'herself that she there and then, decided .to become a professional. She was at that time » girl of fifteen. Vulcanat, as a preliminary, lifts a couple of weights, each weighing 66ib — one in each hand— from the floor to high above her head and plays about with them as though the heavy metal were so much cork. She then begins to handle a bar-bell weighing .no less than 1201 b. With this "toy" she goes through various manipulations, introducing every known style of •weight-lifting. BUe caps the whole thing by lifting the bell, and, in addition, a twelve stone man swinging from it, several feet above the level of the stage. Amongst the other objects which this Herculean young lady handles with ease •re two 561 b ring Wghts, two 1121 b dumb-bells— a really extraordinary feat this— a 2001 b bar-bell— -which she raises and manipulates as readily almostj, as the ■mailer one ; and finally «. "2241 b bar-ball r-^a gigantic affair that HOOKS VOBKWASUm XXOUQHL TO FRIGHTEN THE REDOUBTABLE SANDOW, but does not give any particular trouble to the fair young lady athlete. It may not be out of place to mention here the fact that this muscular young lady has held all the world's ladies' wedght-lift~ tog championships for eight years, and has won (some 120 medals in various competitions of strength. Many exciting incidents have happened to Vulcana. At tha age of thirteen she was walking with « relative through Egerton Road. Bristol, when « runaway horse came dasning along, dragging behind him « van from which vie driver was missing. Always quick to act, the young girl darted forward, caught the dragging reins and with her strong arms pulled the animal, withim a* (fcaea yards, to a standstill. f I daresay the adventurous young gentleman who, a, iew months ago, made a raid on the pocket of Miss Roberts, whilst she was looking into a shop window in Waterloo Road, nad previously summed her up .as a quiet inoffensive kind of girl whom he could easily "work." He succeeded in getting Jus hand into the pocket and clutching the purse that lay there. Then things began to happen. His reflection in the window gave the game away. His arm was held in an. iron grip. He wrenched — but the grip was still there. Then the pickpocket tried the old dodge of diving under the arm whose hand gripped him so tightly. But as he came up on the other side Vulcana's strong right clenched fist met him itfuli in the face. He fell like ai log. HB HAD CAUGHT A TARTAR. Among the many medals in the possession oftbis all-round lady athlete is one gained by the noblest < i all feats — lifesaving. In July of last year Miss Roberts was in Abergavenny. Passing over the bridge across the Usk one day, she saw at couple of young lads climbing upon the parapet. Suddenly one of the boys slipped ; he clutched at his companion, and the two rolled across into the river below, which was in flood at the time. Miss Roberts promptly dived in, and succeeded in bringing the half-drowned youths to the bank. About a year ago the oalm evening air of Maiden Lanej Strand, Tesounded with a bombardment of "language" from the lips of a couple of irate waggoners, who, in endeavouring to steer their vehicles through the narrow thoroughfare, had only succeeded so far as to lock their front wheels. The usual crowd and policemen promptly gathered on the 6pot. Strenuous efforts were made to separate the two waggons. A great deal of perspiration and strong comments were in evidence, but the wheels remained locked. A young lady who was passing by had stopped to view the scene. The policeman and a few volunteers had paused from their struggles with .tlie waggons to wipe their respective brows. The young girl advanced. With an " Allow me, please," she grasped the situation and the nearrshfe waggon, ajid) calmly tilted the latter a few indies until the wheel Tested on the footpath. The rest was easy. But didn't the waggoners, the policeman, and the adjacent public stare? They had not recognisedlAYulcana..