Sebastian Miller: The Stone Breaker
Miller stripped to the waist in order that the physicians might see the workings of his gigantic muscles, and he stepped to a light pine table on which were placed several cobblestones.
A large stone was held in place and Miller, giving three powerful swings with his right arm, brought his fist down on the stone.
The first blow cracked it, the second broke it, and the third shattered it into bits.
In doing this, Miller wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand to protect it from being cut.
But Miller’s strength is not all in his arms. With a harness he has raised 3500 pounds and with his hands he can lift 1800 pounds. With three successive blows of his fist he has broken a block of Quincy granite 5 feet long, 4 feet broad and 6 inches thick.
— From The Cambridge (Ohio) Jeffersonian, dated January 3, 1899