OCR Text |
Show j Who Was I Who? J H By Louise M. Comstock j rc ia.ie.-iar.-. 'eiSa' -re.Ti. ..".e. WE WE? Is there anyone who was alive and able to read the newspapers news-papers on May 30 1927, to whom that word is not magic, recalling the glamor and excitement with which the world received the news that Charles Lindbergh, Lind-bergh, In the monoplane the Spirit of St. Louis, had made the world's first nonstop flight across the Atlantic? All during the hectic days that followed fol-lowed that historic flight, when Lindbergh Lind-bergh was being paraded and feted and called upon to make speeches, he frequently used the plural pronoun "we" in speaking of his trip. Ambassador Ambas-sador Herrick explained to the newspapermen news-papermen that the flyer used "we" to refer to himself and his trusty plane, and the idea captivated popular fancy. The very fact that Lindbergh had made the trip alone somehow assigned to his plane a share in his triumph and an association with him that was almost human. Lindbergh became the "Lone Eagle," and Lindbergh flying the Spirit of St. Louis became just "we." Consequently it might, perhaps, be just a bit difficult to convince Lindbergh's millions of admirers that, as a matter of fact, he didn't use "we" in that sense at all. His own explanation Is that he used it to Indicate himself and the backers of his flight. Major Robertson Rob-ertson of the Robertson Aircraft Co., Harry Knigh and the other business men of St. Louis who financed and supported the history-making flight. BRODIE THE first "brodie" In history was performed by Steve Brodie himself, who in 1SS6 leaped from Brooklyn bridge into East river and into a prominent prom-inent place for the next fifty years in our slang vocabulary. Steve started out as professional walker. But he lost the money he made walking long distances in record time, tried bootblacking and for some years was a street car conductor. All this, however, was very boring for such a sportsman as Steve. So Steve proceeded to lose even more money playing the horses. In 1SS0. according to lii s own story, he was offered $25 to jump off High bridge. He did it, and placed the $25 on a horse named Bill Green to win $420. About that time a man named Odium had lost his life jumping from Brooklyn bridge. Steve said the jump really was an easy one and was bet $100 he wouldn't do it. Said Steve, "I'd rather be dead than broke, any day," and decided to try for the hundred. He took out $1,000 life insurance, gave his wife final instructions, and on July 23 jumped off Brooklyn bridge and landed land-ed without a scratch. The life Insurance Insur-ance company, Incensed at this careless care-less risk of their $1,000, made him take back his premium and canceled the policy ! From then on Steve Brodie was a professional jumper. For a time he earned $100 a week In a melodrama called "Blackmail" in which his part necessitated diving from a great height into a trap below. THE WILD MEN OF BORNEO "TP 1-1 ERE were two of them, it seems, -1 "Walno and Plutano, the only original orig-inal wild men of Borneo," according to Professor Hutchins, "lecturer" at old Austin and Stone's in Boston. The open-mouthed crowd, led on by his story of how old Captain Hammond landed at Borneo and after a terrific battle captured the two specimens of natives within, paid out the I2y2 cents' admission fee and passed eagerly Inside. In-side. What they saw were two dwarfs, not much more than three feet' higti apiece, whose long fair hair and beards, and features were obviously Teutonic, who howled and grunted in true wild man style and performed amazing feats of strength. Just who Waino and I'lutano were we will never know. They were born about 1S2.", It Is said, of some German farming family living near Weston, Mass., which did not care to claim as its own two circus freaks. Deaf mutes and of sluggish mentality, they led a secluded youth. Their public life began under the management of H. A. O. Warner, veteran showman of Waltbam. who accompanied them on the road and gave them a home during dur-ing off seasons. Dressed in tights and trained to roar and shake their straggling strag-gling beards at curious little boys, the o.'.d pair were enormously successful rs wild men. It Is said they were at er.e time receiving $t;uo a week for .h'.iwing. Waino died In I!i()2. 1'lu-li::o, 1'lu-li::o, though crippled by Injuries received re-ceived when he tried to lift a fat man '."o:n the audience, lost his balance and fell, with the otKi pounds on top of I. i'.u lived until Hill! t.. 13.-2 W,tt rn Newspaper Union.) |