1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of iHeartRadio and 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 2: In October of eighteen ninety three, it became clear to 4 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 2: the readers of the National Police Gazette, a popular men's magazine, 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 2: that America was facing a scourge that challenged the decency 6 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 2: and the physical well being of Americans. It had been 7 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 2: introduced in the country almost a decade earlier, and had 8 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 2: been a plague on women's health and happiness ever since. 9 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 2: The object of everyone's displeasure the bicycle. That October, the 10 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 2: men who read the Gazette were confronted by the scandless 11 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 2: image of aspiring model Angeline Allen riding a bike in 12 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 2: a stylish bicycle suit. While her jaunt cap, long sleeved 13 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 2: fitted coat and kneelength bloomers might look conservative to us, 14 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 2: it was downright and decent in the eyes of many 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,479 Speaker 2: Gilded Age Americans. Alan wasn't the first woman to draw 16 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 2: the ire of the press for riding a bike. The 17 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 2: bicycle craze that swept the nation was shocking, and everyone 18 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 2: had an opinion. The bicycle was invented in eighteen seventeen 19 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 2: and was originally called a swift walker, it had no 20 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 2: petals and was made of wood with two large wheels 21 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 2: trimmed with iron rims and leather tires. Though it was 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 2: unwieldy to ride, the invention caught on and it didn't 23 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 2: take long for people to make improvements. More women joined 24 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 2: in the merriment in the eighteen eighties thanks to the 25 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 2: development of the safety bicycle, which had equal sized wheels 26 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: and tires that inflated. For women, the bicycle was a 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 2: vehicle of freedom as well as fun. It allowed them 28 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: a new kind of mobility that never had before, which 29 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 2: threatened the status quo. The arguments against women bicycling fell 30 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 2: into two main camps, the moral and the medical. Morally speaking, 31 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 2: the needed to ride a bicycle was indecent by nineteenth 32 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 2: century standards. The bicycle suit resembled Alan's bloomers and blouse ensemble, 33 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,079 Speaker 2: and the split legs were seen as sillacious and masculine. 34 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 2: Organizations like the Women's Rescue League of Boston disparaged female bicyclists, 35 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 2: claiming the city's sex workers used them to look for 36 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 2: clients and show off their figures. In Chicago, one man 37 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 2: would hide in parks and whip women who were peacefully 38 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 2: cycling in their suits. Aside from the potential for the 39 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 2: bicycle to lead young women into moral peril, medical professionals 40 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 2: worried it was too much of a strain on women's health. 41 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 2: They emphasized a new condition known as bicycle face as 42 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 2: evidence for their claims. A bicycle face was as sort 43 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 2: of grimace. Women's faces apparently took on when they were 44 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 2: exerting themselves, with flushed cheeks, bags under their eyes, and 45 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 2: an overall look of exhaustion. Bicycling was in short making 46 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 2: women ugly. Also claimed that there were other potential ailments, 47 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 2: like the bicycle hump of bicycle wrists, bicycle gums, and 48 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 2: the bicycle hand, which was a condition that formed because 49 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 2: women's hands were so much weaker than men's and they 50 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 2: couldn't handle the eye hand coordination. Though some women voiced 51 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 2: their own opinions about the bicycle, many of them positive, 52 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 2: male journalists continued to harp on the dangers of cycling 53 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 2: for the fairer sex from their lofty newspaper columns and 54 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 2: medical journals. It would take a spectacular feat and a 55 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 2: courageous woman to challenge the moralists and the medical men 56 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 2: and subvert the gender roles that the world plung to 57 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 2: so closely. I'm lorn vogelbum Welcome to American Shadows. The 58 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: Massachusetts State House sits glittering golden on Beacon Hill, at 59 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 2: the top of a slope running along the Boston Common. 60 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 2: On June twenty fifth of eighteen ninety four, a crowd 61 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 2: of about five hundred gathered to watch a spectacle. But 62 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 2: it wasn't a parade or a speech they were looking for. 63 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 2: It was a small woman in long skirts standing next 64 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 2: to a bicycle. She was known as Annie Londonderry, and 65 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 2: she had a bet to win. A decade earlier, in 66 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 2: eighteen eighty four, a British man named Thomas Stevens cycled 67 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 2: around the world, and in eighteen eighty nine Nellie Bly 68 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 2: went around the world in seventy two days via the 69 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 2: traditional travel methods, beating the fictional record, But due to 70 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 2: financial constraints and the general attitude toward the fair sex 71 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,359 Speaker 2: on bikes, no woman had tried to repeat Stephen's trip 72 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 2: until Annie. Admittedly she was an unlikely candidate. Her real 73 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 2: name was Annie Kopschowski, a twenty four year old Jewish immigrant. 74 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 2: Her family had moved to Boston when she was a child, 75 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 2: and she grew up in the West End along with 76 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 2: immigrants from all over Europe, at least a quarter of 77 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 2: whom were Jewish. Though many of Europe's Jewish pop relation 78 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 2: had immigrated to America in the eighteen hundreds to escape 79 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 2: pogroms and discrimination, they didn't find a warm welcome here. 80 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 2: Anti Semitism was on the rise across the nation, including 81 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 2: in Boston, so Jewish families stuck together in neighborhoods like 82 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 2: the West End. Tenement housing dominated the skyline, and the 83 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 2: buildings were connected by thin laundry lines strung clothes flapping 84 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 2: in the breeze if anyone could look up. That is. 85 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 2: The streets were paphazardly paved with disjointed cobblestones, and you 86 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 2: were more than likely to turn your ankle if you 87 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 2: weren't paying attention. Annie's whole life was in the West End. 88 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 2: Her husband, Max Kopchowski, was a devout Orthodox Jew who 89 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 2: worked as a peddler to help support the family, but 90 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 2: spent most of his time in prayer to keep from 91 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 2: sliding further into poverty. Annie got a job going door 92 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 2: to door selling advertisements in local newspapers, developing a charming 93 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 2: demeanor and excellent sales skills. Annie was a go getter 94 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 2: and willing to do whatever it took to make a 95 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 2: name for herself and support her family, which is how 96 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 2: she came to be a part of the convoluted wager 97 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 2: that would send her from pillar to post. According to 98 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 2: one story, it was a bet between two wealthy Bostonians 99 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 2: that a woman couldn't cycle around the world. The terms 100 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 2: were simple. Annie would cycle around the world in fifteen 101 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 2: months or less and return with five thousand dollars that 102 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 2: she earned on the road. She wasn't allowed to accept charity. 103 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 2: If she won, she would receive ten thousand dollars, and 104 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 2: if she lost, she'd get nothing. That morning in June, 105 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 2: the gathered crowd likely sized Annie up and wondered how 106 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 2: she would pull off such a feat. None of them 107 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 2: knew that Annie had never ridden a bicycle aside from 108 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 2: three lessons before that day at the courthouse. Standing at 109 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:49,559 Speaker 2: five foot three inches and about one hundred pounds, Annie 110 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 2: would have to pilot a forty two pound Columbia bicycle 111 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 2: around the world. The bike was part of several advertisements 112 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 2: she was using to fund her trip, she would be 113 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 2: showcasing the name brand bike and had paper advertisements pinned 114 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 2: to her front and back. Even her new surname, Londonderry, 115 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 2: was part of a new Hampshire Water Company promotion, though 116 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 2: some theorized she changed it to avoid rampant anti semitism. 117 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 2: The twenty fifth was her official start date, but Annie 118 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 2: didn't leave Boston until the twenty seventh, and was seen 119 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,239 Speaker 2: off by a small crowd that didn't include her family. 120 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 2: Her husband and children adored her, so it must have 121 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 2: been devastating for them to lose her for over a year. Instead, 122 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 2: a close friend and a handful of newspapermen were there 123 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 2: to record annie send off, armed with a pistol, a 124 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 2: change of clothes, and the money she'd received from advertisers. 125 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 2: Annie was off like a kite, as one paper put it, 126 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 2: Although her brother was the reporter and might have been biased, 127 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 2: the Boston Post's description of her wobbling down Beacon Street 128 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 2: was probably more accurate. Bumping, jolting and peddling for her life. 129 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 2: Annie was starting a journey that could change perceptions of 130 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 2: women forever, and her first stop, the Big Apple. Anyone 131 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 2: who's ridden a bicycle competitively or otherwise knows that weight matters, 132 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 2: and so as Annie trundled along unpaved roads toward New 133 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 2: York City by way of Providence, Rhode Island, she had 134 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 2: to account for every extra pound of baggage on top 135 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 2: of that forty two pound bike. In addition to her 136 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 2: lack of experience, this meant it was slow going. She 137 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 2: managed to make it to New York by July second, 138 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 2: with plans to leave for Washington, d C. In a 139 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 2: few days. All of this was put on hold for 140 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 2: nearly a month so Annie could make more money. She 141 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 2: was nothing if not practical, and newspaper articles showed how 142 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 2: she had shed her original plans and her wardrobe when 143 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 2: the need arose. Her bicycling skills had improved, and as 144 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 2: she left New York on July twenty eighth with a 145 00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 2: new itinerary, she donned a new skirt suit with bloomers underneath. Scandalously, 146 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 2: she didn't wear a corset and could easily lift her 147 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 2: skirt and pitnant away from the petals. July twenty eighth 148 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 2: was one of the hottest days on record in New York, 149 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 2: reaching ninety eight degrees, and in the middle of the 150 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 2: city it was likely hotter still. Despite the heat, though 151 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 2: weight of her bike and endless hills, Annie made good 152 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 2: time to Buffalo. There she recovered before cycling along Lake 153 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 2: Eurie and made her way to Chicago, arriving on September 154 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 2: twenty fourth. Annie was scarcely recognizable by the time she 155 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 2: had reached Chicago. She traded in her original Columbia bicycle 156 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 2: for a lighter Sterling bike, which was half the weight. 157 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 2: The bike and accompanying banners were another advertising scheme to 158 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 2: help keep her afloat. Annie was seen off from City 159 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 2: Hall on October fourteenth of eighteen ninety four, riding out 160 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 2: of Chicago much more smoothly than she had in Boston. 161 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 2: She was joined along the way by packs of bicyclists, 162 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 2: predominantly men, but some women too. In fact, the Lady 163 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,599 Speaker 2: Cyclist Club of Chicago escorted her for a portion of 164 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 2: her trip. Annie's original plan was to continue west to 165 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 2: San Francisco and from there to Asia and Europe. However, 166 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 2: it was only growing colder. Annie was getting faster on 167 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 2: her bike, but cycling through the winter on the Great 168 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 2: Plains was a dismal prospect, so she turned around and 169 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 2: headed back to New York. She sold nick knacks and 170 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 2: lectured along the way to make money and earn bed 171 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 2: and board. Whenever she stopped, the newspapers commented on her progress, 172 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 2: and when she returned to Buffalo, she decided she'd trade 173 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 2: in her bloomers for a man's cycling suit. She likely 174 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,439 Speaker 2: cut a dashing figure, but the moralists were horrified at 175 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 2: the shocking site. Annie didn't care. She wore that outfit 176 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 2: for the rest of the trip, slowly chipping away at 177 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 2: the public's perceptions of femininity. Annie made it back to 178 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 2: New York City and in November of eighteen ninety four 179 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:57,440 Speaker 2: ordered a steamer set for l' of France. It's unclear 180 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 2: whether the French had heard about her wager, but she 181 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 2: hardly got a warm welcome. Her bike was impounded and 182 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 2: her money was confiscated. A Luckily, a friend from the 183 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,479 Speaker 2: passage stepped in and Annie, the bike, and her possessions 184 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 2: were sent to Paris, arriving on December fourth to a 185 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 2: raucous perception. The people were fascinated, but the press was vicious. 186 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 2: The papers mercilessly picked at Annie, commenting on her sacrificing 187 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 2: her womanhood and becoming sexless. Fate worse than death for 188 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 2: a woman, or so they believed. They hounded her choice 189 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 2: of dress, her masculinity, and her americanness. Still, any press 190 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 2: seemed to be good press because the public didn't care. 191 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 2: Annie received plenty of advertising opportunities, and, like in the States, 192 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 2: cycling clubs joined her throughout her ride. She was never alone. Still, 193 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 2: it was a difficult trip between the snow drifts and 194 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 2: the mud. Annie struggled through the French countryside and injured 195 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 2: her achilles tendon before she hit Marseilles. She had to 196 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 2: paddle with only one foot. She stayed for five days 197 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 2: in Marseille to recover and earn enough for a steamer 198 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 2: passage through the Suez Canal. While on board, she made 199 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 2: short stops in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Port Said and Yemen. To 200 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 2: honor the terms of the bet and keep her injury 201 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 2: from getting worse, Annie took other forms of transportation to 202 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 2: these places and then rode her bike through the city gates. 203 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 2: The press continued their non stop bullying, but Annie set 204 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 2: her sights on Asia. She had no idea what lay 205 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 2: ahead for her, not until she set foot in Singapore. Though, 206 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,559 Speaker 2: nothing could have been worse than Annie's disastrous arrival in France. 207 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 2: Singapore wasn't much better. A newspapers mocked her, bet, her suit, 208 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 2: and her posture, saying she was addicted either to a 209 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 2: sewing machine or a bicycle. To them, she was both 210 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 2: sexless and overly sexual, which was a tough needle to thread. 211 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 2: She wasn't in Singapore long, heading to Sri Lanka, Saigon, 212 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,959 Speaker 2: and Hong Kong before making her way to Shanghai. Saigon 213 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 2: specifically seemed to find Annie fascinating, and someone even wrote 214 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 2: a poem to celebrate her endeavor. To them, she was radiant, 215 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,559 Speaker 2: bold and audacious, which was a far cry from how 216 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 2: most of the press had portrayed her during her journey. 217 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 2: While most of the world might not have changed their opinions, 218 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:33,079 Speaker 2: Annie was making an impact. Unfortunately, much of her trip 219 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 2: through China, Korea, and Japan wouldn't be so pleasant. The 220 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 2: First Sino Japanese War began on August first of eighteen 221 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 2: ninety four. It would last nearly a year. The Qing 222 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 2: Dynasty of China and the Meiji Empire of Japan were 223 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 2: fighting over control of Korea. Japan's decisive victory sent shockwaves 224 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 2: through the area and signaled to the international community that 225 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 2: the Qing dynasty may be failing, but a new empire 226 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 2: was on the world. Annie arrived in the area when 227 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 2: the war was really getting off the ground, and later 228 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 2: gave interviews and lectures about what she had seen. Much 229 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 2: of it was colored by Western anti Asian sentiments. Annie 230 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:15,719 Speaker 2: claimed that when she was in Nagasaki she had met 231 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 2: two journalists who would cover the battles happening in Port 232 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 2: Arthur and Way Highway. She joined them still on her 233 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 2: bicycle while they rode horses, and although they might not 234 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 2: have been allowed on the front lines, they could still 235 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 2: see the horrors of war. In a later interview, Annie 236 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 2: claimed that after the battle at Way Highway, she and 237 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 2: her guide fell into a frozen river and Chinese troops 238 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 2: began shooting at them in the water. They escaped, but 239 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 2: Annie was shot in the shoulder and had to be treated. 240 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 2: As they fled the area, the pair were captured by 241 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 2: Japanese soldiers and held him sell for three days. Annie 242 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 2: said that she watched her guide die because of his 243 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 2: injuries and saw a Chinese prisoner executed right in front 244 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 2: of her. She said she wasn't allowed out until a 245 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 2: French consul sent troops for her. She left the war 246 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 2: behind and boarded a ship to San Francisco on March 247 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 2: twenty fifth of eighteen ninety five. By the time she 248 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 2: had landed, she was already a symbol of everything a 249 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 2: woman could accomplish and a model for female independence and liberation, 250 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 2: and she still had half a continent across. She stayed 251 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 2: in San Francisco for two and a half weeks before 252 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 2: setting off across the west for Chicago. While most of 253 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 2: what she had faced up until that point hadn't been easy, 254 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 2: this last leg of her journey was the most excruciating. 255 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 2: Annie said she was held up at gunpoint by two 256 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 2: highwaymen on the California border, and while she managed to 257 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,360 Speaker 2: get away, the experience was traumatizing and disaster struck again 258 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 2: literally when a runaway team of horses trampled her in 259 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 2: a companion cyclist. Annie was black and blue all over, 260 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 2: but completed twenty two miles of her journey that day 261 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 2: she had a lecture to give. While cycling across the 262 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 2: Great American Desert, one of Annie's wheels broke and she 263 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 2: was forced to walk nearly sixty miles to the nearest town, 264 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 2: dragging her bike along the way. 265 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: So it could be fixed. 266 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 2: Oh once she was off again, she received warm welcomes 267 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 2: throughout Arizona and New Mexico, though as ever the newspapers 268 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 2: were stand offish at best. Then a large herd of 269 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 2: pigs in Iowa caused her to crash and forced her 270 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 2: to cycle to the nearest doctor eighteen miles away with 271 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 2: a broken arm, and unfortunately it was set wrong and 272 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 2: later had to be rebroken to heal properly. Annie rolled 273 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 2: into Chicago on Thursday, September twelfth of eighteen ninety five, 274 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 2: just fourteen days under her deadline. Her arm was still 275 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 2: broken and she was sore, but she had done something 276 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 2: no one thought was possible. A lone woman had cycled 277 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 2: around the world at a time when most Americans thought 278 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 2: lifting a hair brush might be too strenuous. She had 279 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 2: seen deserts, prairies, and mountains and conquered them all. Or 280 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 2: had she around the world is such a loose turn 281 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 2: of phrase. When we think of going all around the world, 282 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 2: we probably think of something more all encompassing than Annie's trip. 283 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 2: Annie collected her ten thousand dollars prize in Chicago and 284 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 2: returned home to Boston in September, where she wrote an 285 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 2: account of her now world famous ride. Most of the 286 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 2: accounts about Annie and her ride came from Annie herself, 287 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 2: via her articles and lectures, which were then popularized by 288 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 2: journalists who loved the wild story she told, and therein 289 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 2: lies the problem. Annie's story is inconsistent at best. Her 290 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 2: French adventure is shrouded in obscurity. She frequently stated that 291 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,119 Speaker 2: she had been to certain places, but there was no 292 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 2: evidence to support her claim other than her own word. 293 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,640 Speaker 2: Annie's lectures, especially those surrounding the First Sino Japanese War, 294 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 2: were rife with racism and hyperbole. Annie probably never saw 295 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 2: anyone get tortured or executed. She likely didn't have to 296 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,119 Speaker 2: be rescued by a company of frenchmen because no one 297 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 2: would have let her near the front lines to begin with. 298 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 2: Even the wild stories of her time in the American 299 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 2: West more closely resembled a dime novel than reality. It's 300 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 2: difficult to know what was real and what's fiction when 301 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:27,400 Speaker 2: stories about Annie's adventures solely came from her. The Singapore 302 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 2: Straight Times might have put it best when they remarked, 303 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 2: we fancy she exaggerates in reference to Annie's claim that 304 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 2: fifty thousand people saw her off from Marseilles. Even her 305 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 2: official biographer, her great grand nephew, Peter Jutelin, admits that 306 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 2: the information we have about Annie is elusive at best. 307 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 2: We don't even know if there was a wager that 308 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 2: sent Annie on this quest, where the money that she 309 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,359 Speaker 2: claimed came from, or anything in between. The fact is 310 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:00,640 Speaker 2: Annie's an unreliable narrator and she built her own story, 311 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 2: using the media to spread it. Despite this deceit, it 312 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 2: doesn't seem to be a case of wilful dishonesty. Its 313 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 2: American myth making. At its finest. America thrives on our 314 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,919 Speaker 2: folk heroes, and what could be more American than a 315 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 2: woman who had never ridden a bicycle before and challenging 316 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 2: the standards of her day and accomplishing something incredible. Annie 317 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 2: completely subverted gender roles in the eighteen hundreds and proved 318 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 2: the moralists and the medical men wrong. The women weren't 319 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 2: fragile creatures who needed to be coddled every step of 320 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,360 Speaker 2: their lives. They could take on harrowing journeys and come 321 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 2: out the other side stronger for it. Annie gave women 322 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 2: across the nation a glimpse of the changes they were 323 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 2: clamoring for socially, politically, and athletically. She tackled the stigmas 324 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 2: associated with being born female and flouted them publicly. Because 325 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 2: of women like Annie, the bicycle became a means of 326 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 2: freedom for women in a whole new way, and more 327 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,120 Speaker 2: women began to seize opportunities that were once considered out 328 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 2: of reach. So the questions that were left with are simple. 329 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 2: Does the end justify the means? Does it matter that 330 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,119 Speaker 2: Annie might have lied about parts of her journey and 331 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 2: used the media to do it. Everyone will have their opinions, 332 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 2: but it seems that the answer is right in front 333 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 2: of us. Just look outside on a sunny day and 334 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 2: watch the people of all kinds passing by. There's more 335 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 2: to this story. Stick around after this brief sponsor break 336 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 2: to hear all about it. It's hard to imagine a 337 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 2: more apt entry to the world for the Great Sanduena 338 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 2: than in the back of a circus wagon. That may 339 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 2: be a tall tail, but Katie Brumback, born in eighteen 340 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 2: eighty four in Vienna, came by her profession honestly, as 341 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 2: both her parents were circus performers, and she happily followed 342 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 2: them into the business. She was a strong child and 343 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 2: began performing early, practicing handstands balanced on her father's steady 344 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,119 Speaker 2: hands at just two years old. By the time she 345 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,400 Speaker 2: was a teenager, she was part of her father's act 346 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:20,680 Speaker 2: and traveled Europe with him, astounding crowds as they took 347 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 2: in the latest in a long line of strong men. 348 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 2: Her father was very proud of her skills and her strength, 349 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 2: even reworking the act to show her off. When she 350 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 2: was sixteen, her father stepped in front of a crowd 351 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 2: to offer one hundred marks to any man who managed 352 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 2: to pin her to the mat. According to the stories, 353 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 2: no one ever collected, but one challenger managed to win 354 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 2: a very different prize. A cocky young man named Max 355 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 2: Hayman age nineteen stepped up to wrestle Katie. He later recalled, 356 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:52,959 Speaker 2: she tossed him high in the air with no effort, 357 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 2: and the next thing he knew, he was flat on 358 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,360 Speaker 2: his back with a pretty girl looking down at him. 359 00:21:58,080 --> 00:21:59,959 Speaker 2: There was nothing left for him to do, but professor 360 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 2: is love right then and there, and the two decided 361 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,719 Speaker 2: to marry, and Max became Katie's manager. A Max adored 362 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 2: his wife and they happily spent time tucked in each 363 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 2: other's arms, or maybe he and hers. Katie was six 364 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,919 Speaker 2: feet tall and two hundred and ten pounds, while Max 365 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,359 Speaker 2: was five ten and about one hundred and sixty Neither 366 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 2: seemed to mind the size difference. Katie said it would 367 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 2: make their children stronger. She even folded him into her 368 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:30,919 Speaker 2: act literally and figuratively a by cheerfully tossing him around 369 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 2: like she'd done the night they first met. In the 370 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 2: early twentieth century, the couple came to America to try 371 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,479 Speaker 2: new territory, and in nineteen oh two, Katie stepped up 372 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 2: to challenge one of the greatest strong men of the day, 373 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 2: a man named Sandow. The crowd watched in awe as 374 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 2: Katie hefted a three hundred pound barbell over her head 375 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 2: while Sandow struggled to bring it chest high. From then on, 376 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 2: Katie was known as the Great Sanduena, the strongest woman 377 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 2: in the world. She headlined on the audeville circuit, and 378 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 2: the couple had their son, Teddy Roosevelt Sanduina while on 379 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,400 Speaker 2: tour in nineteen oh six, They allegedly telegrammed President Roosevelt 380 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 2: himself for permission to name their son after him. Performing 381 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 2: while pregnant was no problem for Katie. On the day 382 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 2: their son was born, she had already done two shows 383 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 2: in Sioux City, Iowa, uplifting a group of circus performers 384 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 2: with a combined weight of three hundred and forty six pounds. 385 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 2: By nineteen eleven, Katy was headlining for the Ringling Brothers 386 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 2: and Bartam and Bailey combined shows, one of the most 387 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 2: famous circuses to ever exist. Katy was the unquestionable star, 388 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 2: but no one reaches those heights alone. The circus brought 389 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 2: on Cake Carew, a writer and artist, to act as 390 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,399 Speaker 2: Katie's pr staff and cultivate her celebrity status further. Carew 391 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 2: was tasked with drawing cartoons and writing reviews of Katie's 392 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 2: performances that would appeal to the public and pull them 393 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 2: to her shows. Carew could have played on perceptions of 394 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 2: athletic women as masculine or sexless. Look at how the 395 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 2: press treated any Londonderry, but instead she dragged them to 396 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 2: a new point of view. Katy wasn't just strong, she 397 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,960 Speaker 2: was graceful, beautiful, and talented. Her measurements perfectly matched what 398 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 2: was considered scientific perfection. She was the Samson like Venus. 399 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 2: Katie was a goddess to any who beheld her, and 400 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 2: the public couldn't get enough praise of everything, from Katie's looks, 401 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 2: to her act to her domesticity flooded the newspapers, and 402 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,719 Speaker 2: much like Annie a crew in, Katie knew how to 403 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 2: make the press work for them, and the media wrote 404 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 2: about her beauty as much as her strength, portraying her 405 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,200 Speaker 2: as a gentle domestic woman who happened to be able 406 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 2: to bench press four men at once. Katie stood up 407 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 2: for women every chance she got. As a staunch suffragist. 408 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 2: She even boasted to the public that any anti suffragist 409 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 2: who challenged her would be sorry. Katie performed in Europe 410 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 2: and America until she was in her sixties, before settling 411 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,679 Speaker 2: down to run a bar with her husband and queen. Strangely, 412 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 2: they've never had any trouble with rowdy patrons. The Great 413 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,359 Speaker 2: Sandwena passed away in January of nineteen fifty two, having 414 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,359 Speaker 2: lived her whole life, proving that not only could she 415 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 2: survive a man's world, but she could do everything they 416 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 2: did and more. American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. 417 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 2: This episode was written by Alie Stead, researched by Alex Robinson, 418 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,920 Speaker 2: fact checked by Jamie Vargas, and produced by Jesse Funk 419 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:37,000 Speaker 2: and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Minke, Alex Williams, 420 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,880 Speaker 2: and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit 421 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 2: grimminmild dot com. Four more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 422 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,120 Speaker 2: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 423 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:54,919 Speaker 2: to your favorite shows.