STRONGEST GIRL IN THE WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3142, 11 February 1911, Page 10

STRONGEST GIRL IN THE WORLD.

STANDS 6FT 3JIN HIGH.

TELLS STORY OF METHODS THAT MADE MUSCLE.

Margaret Graham, a Scotch-Ameri-ean 19-year-old factory hand, of Ludlow, Massachussettes, claims to be- the strongest woman in the Avorld. .She is 6ft djin. li:gh, and weighs 13st. 91 b. The biceps muscles of this young Amazon measure lliin. She heat the AvorkPs record for basecall throwing, flinging a ball with ease and despatch 262 ft 6m. She distanced all other women skaters by gliding over a mile, of rough ice in lihin.,4o sec. She made other Avomen swimmers look like laggards by sAvimming 100 ft in 23sec. She ran faster than, any other female when, despite her restraining skirts, she made a 100 yd in 114,sec.

This young woman, avlio has lived all ho r life in*the suburb of Ludlow. Mass., and who has worked in the mills all her life, .tells how, despite all the adverse circumstances of hard ivork, confinement in dust-clouded and lung-filling mills all her life, she became the strongest woman in existence. Her measure ments. —Waist, 24in : bust. 3Sin. ; neck, loin; ankle, Sin; calf, loin; wrist, 61 in ; arm, 13in; chest expansion, oin. Her records.—Throwing a baseball, 262 ft Gin: ; skating (3bmiles), 2hr. 25min.; skating (half-mile), Imin. 40-sec.; swimming (109 ft.). 50ft. tank. 23sce.: swimming (one mile), 50ft. tank,'so min; lifting (weight with ice tongs), 5351 b. HER .STORY. I think I began to grow strong with one lesson my "i se teacher taught me. That was to* regard exercise not as a penance, but a privilege. She gave me the impression that I was a lucky girl to have a chance to play all I wanted in the b : g gymnasium and run about all I liked in the .fields, and the sensation that something Avonderful had been given me for which I should ha\-e a heartful of gratitude has always remained. . '

Orie curious lesson that \VG do not learn in all places for the development of the physical side of us Avars that Avhilo indoor exercise is good outdoor exercise is far better. I don4l know where I learned this. Perhaps a .teacher told me so. Perhaps the knowledge Avas an inheritance from my sturdy Scotch ancestors. Oatcake, you know, rears strong men and women. Perhaps nature itself taught me that the true elexir of life is the oxygen that one takes in great, grateful gasps into one’s lungs. Put I did learn somehow that the indoorVwork of physical development is merely a preparation for the real out-of-door work. As a little thing I learned to use the rings', the parallel bars, the horse, dumbbell:-, and Indian clubs, but Avhat Avas infinitely more valuable,! learned to breathe to the full capacity of my lungs. I learned to delight in the one wholesome sort of intoxication —the intoxication of fresh air. Tlie child that has learned to breathe deeply, sweeping her lungs clear with every exhalation, AviJ-1 Avill become strong —not only strong but happy and Avholesomc of mind and body. 1 never see a pale little stunted child within reaching distance that I do not give him a lesson in deep- breathing. •‘Draw in, count one, two, three, four,” I say as dancing masters give lessons to beginners. “Now hold the breath. Count one, tAVo. thro, four. Xoav let out the air slowly counting one. two. three, four.”

Children soon learn this. “The body is intelligent- and quickly learns its lesson. If a. child’ is trained to breathe deeply before he s ten years old lie has a guarantee of health .and long life. Eat little, but eat it Avell, is the motto of the strong. The overfed persons, the licaA'y eaters, are not strong, though they may grow' large. They are -'not poAverful. merely fat. I neA'er drink tea or coffee. They undermine the nervous force, and nervous force, is only another name for strength. £ No Avoman can be strong whose nerves are Avoak or jumpy. 9he strong girl is an interrogation point at every discussion of ncrr-c. Eat * only Blankets and smothers strength. For that reason I haA'e never alloAAed myself to groAV rat. Every ounce of my 189 pounds is muscle and sineAV or bone. Although Aveigbing Avithin 111 b. of 200, the covering of my bones is> so evenly distributed that I seem to be thin. Fortunately Ido not like SAveets. But if I did I shouldn’t eat them. I liave tasted candy only tAvo or three times in my life. I dislike pie, hate pudding, and abominate ice-cream. [ would be as much ashamed of a fondness for sugary thngs as I Avoukl be for liking the flavor of lead pencil. The liking for green tilings is as strong in me as the fondness for sAA'eets in other girls. Stewed dandelions- or d'andelion salads are my favorite vegetable dishes. I look for them early in spring, and cat them tivice a day until they arc too ‘•old” for eating. Spinach is a vegetable I did not like at first, but Avhi-ch I have learned to enjoy, especially since J learned that it - is. a scavenger of the intestines. Spinach ffs the bead of the street-cleaning department of the human body. I eat no meats except beef, an o’ that rare. ■ The white meats arc next to Avorthless as strength-makers. All my life I have had but one Avarm .hath a week. That is enough to keep the body clean. Blit every morning, no matter Avliat the Aveatber. I take a cold plunge, or if there is not time for that, at any rate a shower. My father’s house, being that of a laborer, is not provide'] Avith expensive shower appliances, but I bought with part of one Avcek’s Avages a strong rubber tube finished Avith a large spray, and I turn this Avith all it force upon mv boulders and chest every morning. Of course, I <l : d not begin cold baths without getting the advice of my physician. No one should.