Show V blondin at niagara charles barles blondin the fr french e nab ropewalker rope walker though he died in bed at A a ripe old age in 1897 performed feats that no other I 1 man in an has bas ever dared ein emulate there are few i things in the way of daring that some onswill one will riot not repeat but blondin was the cleverest as well as the most ven tur esome of his profession his feats were tasks asks too great for the skill as well dia as the courage e of his bis imitators Blondi blon dins hs great trip over ni agra falls fallain sin hi 1859 wite waa tho the most startling sensation of that time a thing talked of for a g generation eueral afterwards it was witness witnessed hy by a crowd of thousands the present king of engla england nd then prince of wales saw blondin while on his tour thru tile the united states hj he once declared that the sight of blondin crossing the fulls falls ou on it a swaying rope made it a greater impression upon him than any incident tit of I 1 his journey though blondin crossed on the I 1 i ropo op several times his great est esst exploit was wa when lie he carried over on bis back another mail mair to the spectators unused to the A f acrobats feats it seemed impost ble for him to keep his swaying footing with the burden on his back large sums were laid that he would fail blondine Blou Blon dins own feeling however ho weyer was one of complete confidence but the feelings of the man on his hia bacal bac kl that man had b ad never walker a slack rope siad t ad neve been suspended in such a dreadful position before and he had tt td depend for his safety absolutely anthe movements of another many years afterward this man henry M colcord 0 of Chi chicago dago gave gagean an account of his experience to a newspaper you ask what it feels like to be 1200 1206 feet in midair over a raging torrent be said 1 u I cannot describe it better than by saying that tw the first fiest sensation ion was tin an over overwhelming whelmine whelming wh elming one in which it was hard to separate parate Be awe awa from fear then chere here camo came what wha t may best bo be termed an an absolute cessation of all feel ing ng before fit starting arting from tb the e shore blondin gave me that injunction which almost every mother has g given iven to the boy at tier her knee kne ewhen ahen giving li him ii n his farat arat lesson in lifo look up H harry arryl lie he said 11 na my y arnis were about his neck tie ck W while hile my iny logs legs were slung in hooks at his w waist dis L out we t freyl v w ent over that horrible gulf I 1 heard the roar of the water below and the hum which ran through the crowd of spectators arwe cleared the brink the hum ceased thero was not one person perhaps in that vast throng who did didiot not feel a greater strain than was ours unable to io reshat I 1 stole one glance down at the bl black ck waters it seemed fo for r an instant as if I 1 were poised above tile the entire universe there was a feeling of immensity i M such as I 1 had never felt before h and have never felt since thep I 1 I 1 looked up blondin walked on steadily pausing for one brief moment at each point where the guy ropes joined the main cable the lin line e was a trifle steadier at those places and gave hun him a chance to assure himself of his bala balance ilce there was a wide space in the middle of the rope to which it had not been possible at attach guy lines at the last resting place e fore foke we reached this C ier er swaying span blondin said to me harry you are no longer colcord Ool cord you are blondin I 1 clear this place be bea a part of me mind body and soul if I 1 sway sw sway i lly with me do not attempt to do any balancing yourself if you do we shall both go down dow n to our death 1 I had bad dismounted while W hile he was wag telling me and stood with one foot on oil the line and both hands on his shoulders should ers I 1 climbed back in into to my perch and blondin started across the unstable part of the line I 1 had cleared my mind kinf of all feeling save on one e I 1 t tried ri led to think th that at instead of being poised in midair with not nothing hinc but a ma ina iffla rope between mo me anade and destruction st I 1 was shut up with blondin in a confined space where the thought of a full fall ivil was farcical I blondin sauna swung to the eight and then to the left E each aab time I 1 went with him a as 8 though we were 4 into introne in toone one piece with immovable parts 1 I knew nv afterward d that the line belie beneath nth lias feel fe t 1 ing horri horribly 13 and that th at to the people oti on the slit shore t jac it seemed th that att time irne and agai arain nour mit bodies were gotlie tot lie P niagara rapids below blondin marvelous skill how however everl and abd the precision w with ith which he manipulated his pole brought us ech each time to the u upright P right the unprotected penter center wa was S j passed all but a few feet blond in was now running just as a boy r uns runs i in order the better to keep his balance when walking it a railroad track gewere we were near ing the point where the joining places first guy line from the 6 opposite 0 8 pace apace off offered ered a as 8 a wo mo mentis breathing space blond in ins s foot foot I 1 was planted on the tb knot which joined the lines my breath came na natu adral raly y again at that instant che rope was jerked from ben beneath 1 eath lus his feet how he caught it again and stivi saved ed us f r never knew before I 1 could realize much ot of anything he was rud running ning again some gambler interested lecun marily in our deaths had cut the guy rope hoping to hurl us to the river he did not dare repeat the attempt and when the second point of connection was r reached eachen we rested safely blondin stood matood there like a man of marble tho the agony in his mind had brot brat great heads beads of sweat kwea t to his brow I 1 we reached the shore finaly but before we were well the there re we could see the people in the crow crowd deyen eyen at a distance from the edge of the gulf begin to stretch out their arms us as if they would draw us in from the peril what the feeling of men was ma may y be shown by the action of the then president of new york central railroad he presented presente a me with a check for for crossing with blondin aud nd then offered me a like amount ifa if I 1 would promise never never to do it again 1 |