Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-08-22
De Lave Crossing Genuesee En1I.-rY5.
tire SnCcesR,

. | NSeuue8ee EnIIR-EHTo
tefc sncceHR.
n 1nsleur De Lave performed his feat of cross.
5 t"e UencSee river on u tight rome =vcatcrdo,, =,
afternoon, according to announcement II .Ss
.. u.s. P'aGe, IT must be stated that the rome is
stEetcned from the caves Of a saw mill on +te
TeSt Siae OF the river, Just above the brink IF
iS:e p, hlsh tails in this city to a point in Falls
3;s,s, On tne opposite side of the river some
Instance below the falls The saw,niIl sto'is
upon the brink of the catcract and Tho eoos
s!e anout twenty feet above the edge Of the ,,ya
clplce.a.The level of Falls Field. st the inlacs
"heFe the other end Of the rope is secured i ~
.?aSt tnti " feet above the falls aud the ,let.c
.'"'i Oh Tue rope is not Ear from fifteen feet r,,m
straight line between the two DoinfS IN.
tails are ninety-Six feet in hei.ht ti'., ,i, e
lowest point on the rope must he elevated 1ns.
'tuI,llSu ~ ana ten feet above the water.
ine distance across cannot be far from seven
t''n''Fcd teet; It may be more than that bur MS
"I "aEe hot measured ii, we prefer to be ON the
c,' ct1e sue; Inc rope passes obiqnely over the
."''S, ana IN walking 1T from east to west the
t'e' 'otuer Is 0bhged to ascend in front of and
9Fectly over the principal sheet of watcr-a
leat which might well appal man Of weak or
unsteady nerves.
L3!ls D.lr'ns the forenoon, yesterday, every road
ien!'ng 20 the city was alive with carriages and
sIn.cleS OF all descriptions, filled with people
"no were coming into the city to witness the
novel sight Ali the railroad trains we're crowd.
ed. That on the Gencsce Valley Railroad c1n.
'ai"ed lour or live times the usual number of
passengers, while those on the Central Railroad
.sG. sH'll east 10 west, were immense. All the ho
tc1s a1u taSerns were crowded with guests at
dinner time, and the landlords reapcd a golden
harvest. N e'tSS''
II |, mad been advertised that the performance
al rails Field was to take place between the
nonrS OF two and four O'clock p, NJ hut Iono
oelore the first named hour, all the streets Lead
l"g 10 Falls Field we're thronged, aud bv half
past two O'Clock most Of the seats there were
occupied, and all along the bank. where No seats
at al were to be had, multitudes of men, women
ana children were stationed. The stone ouorr,,
at tue edge OF the falls was also we'll patronized
and the flats, on both sides of the river under
tne @ oanKS, as we'll as small island below the
allS, were swarming with spectators. Alto.
setler, as many as eighteen or entv thonssn5
people must have been gathered within sight of
the rope Every available place where standing
or sitting room could be obtained was occnniai
ana an the scene from the summer house in Falls
FieId was one that will not easily be forgotten
ny any one who witnessed it,
he weather until about three O'clock ,r,s
extremely pleasant, but about that hour gather
ing cioudS OF portentous aspect threatened to
mar the beauty of the spectacle, and shortly
aiterward great drops of rain began TO fll.2
jorty i6oGGgeht s6bhfflte5 6hflt at 2aSe RH the
to occur, and remained the ground. Unfor-
tunatcly, however, the rain proved more serious
than was anticipated. 1t eliminated in Sc
we're thunder storm, which speedily drenched
the multitude in very uncomfortable manner;
and it lasted nearly an hour, during which most
of the ladies had no protection other than their
parasols, and the gentlemen none at all. Mil
linery goods suffered to frightfu extent, aud
the total damage in this particular must have
| amounted 10 several thousand dollars Gaily
dressed women, who came upon the ground in
the full glory Of fashion, presented in many i'll.
stances most woctul aud bc-draggled appear
ance. Their clothes hung limp and danpv
about them, while bOnnetS, feathers and fancy
trimmings generally were soaked beyOnd the
hope OF recuperation.
Everything must have an end, and so at last
did the storm. The sun reappeared in all its
| splendGr about o'clock, and the people who
had sought insufficient shelter from the flood
beneath benches, on the lee side of fences and
wherever they thought drop OF rain might be
escaped, began to seek their elevated seats al
the edge of the bank. Many of the crOakers
iprOpheSied that Dc Lave would make the rain
storm an excuse for not appearing, but all
d"uhts on that score were soon diSpelled The
| cry lie Is coming, put everyb body on the alert,
and at about ten InlnnteS past +U'cock, De Lave
made his appearance, dressed in tights and
velvet jacket such as is by tight rope
performers ordinarily. He wore on his head a
velvet hat gaity decorated with ribbons An
Immediate rush was made TO the end of the
rope by the people who had not secured seats,
and it was time before the police could
force the crowd to fall back, hut at length order
was mcasurably restored and De Lave, taking
u his pole, turned to the spectators, and bav.
ing bowed gracefully around, started boldly out
on his perilous walk. He had proceeded but
a short distance, whenit became apparent that
the rope was not properly guycd. 1t swayed
from side TO side with sort ofweaving notion,
and to so great an extent as to excite
apprehension, even among the coolest Of
the spectators. De Lave hiRlsclr seemed 10
be affected less than anybody else but he evil
dent'y found it necessary to use great caution.
Once or twice he was obliged to stop short,
but he never lost his balance for a moment,
and maintained throughout the utmost seif-2os.,
session. Some expected to see him quail as he
reached the sheet Of water pouring over the
rocky precpice, but ne did not, although his
position was apparently one of extreme hazard.
He walked calmly over the roaring cataract,
and reached the roof of the saw-rni amid the
deatening cheers of the multitude who watched
his progress. lie remained on the roof OF the
building not FAR from five minutes, aud then
started on his return. About half of the way
across he suddenly dropped. .astride of the rope,
and there extended himself at fall length on his