s considered
very clever, the record being 29 feet seven inches with weights, and 23
feet eight inches without weights, although much greater distances have
been jumped with the aid of apparatus, but never an approximation to 50
feet. The most surprising of all these athletes are the tumblers, who
turn somersaults over several animals arranged in a row. Such feats are
not only the most amusing sights of a modern circus, but also the most
interesting as well. The agility of these men is marvelous, and the
force with which they throw themselves in the air apparently enables
them to defy gravity. In London, Paris, or New York one may see these
wonderful tumblers and marvel at the capabilities of human physical
development.

In September, 1895, M. F. Sweeney, an American amateur, at Manhattan
Field in New York jumped six feet 5 5/8 inches high in the running high
jump without weights. With weights, J. H. Fitzpatrick at Oak Island,
Mass., jumped six feet six inches high. The record for the running high
kick is nine feet eight inches, a marvelous performance, made by C. C.
Lee at New Haven, Conn., March 19, 1887.

Extraordinary physical development and strength has been a grand means
of natural selection in the human species. As Guyot-Daubes remarks, in
prehistoric times, when our ancestors had to battle against hunger,
savage beasts, and their neighbors, and when the struggle for existence
was so extremely hard, the strong man alone resisted and the weak
succumbed. This natural selection has been perpetuated almost to our
day; during the long succession of centuries, the chief or the master
was selected on account of his being the strongest, or the most valiant
in the combat. Originally, the cavaliers, the members of the nobility,
were those who were noted for their courage and strength, and to them
were given the lands of the vanquished. Even in times other than those
of war, disputes of succession were settled by jousts and tourneys.
This fact is seen in the present day among the lower animals, who in
their natural state live in tribes; the leader is usually the
strongest, the wisest, and the most courageous.

The strong men of all times have excited the admiration of their
fellows and have always been objects of popular interest. The Bible
celebrates the exploits of Samson of the tribe of Dan. During his
youth he, single handed, strangled a lion; with the jaw-bone of an ass
he is said to have killed 1000 Philistine