Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-07-09
bloldin on the Tight Ron. o1o,.,,.
niagara River tNe

H.
We copy the following sketch n.,,,, :,
r. H""'e Journal, of last week:
os As we approached Niagara. the nr;nte
g "u'eFtiSements, distributed throu@h n
ears informed US that Monsieur BIon6;
vs. was was 10 walk the rope across the Rand
r, 80 i'ei "oon-an unexpected sight II
g Mnleh we determined to expedite on
o oa.t. ol,tueF ana 1efer the contemplation Of tn
Il o,";,'3 "'"sac': My own curiosity consiste
s mainly in desire to see the wondsrFI
5 specimen it must be of concentrotfnl - :
: thought and will-the man Who corI
II perform such feat, land do it even ,v;,l
another man on his back, as. Blondjn a.
/ lnst year, being doubtless an intelIcctna
as Wen ms physical phenomenon.
' Mtshe"' II possible, to have close lool
l"to snch determined eyes as his must ho
walk ~" Such
"A oand of music. was out-playipp tho
roar OF Niagara very vigorously. ana in
'front.' of the raised seats, stood ronor1'
ooard shanty which was to be the drcss-
lng-room of-the performer; and. rencLincy
from this to the rope was n fenced-iS
P"Ss"ge-Way, at the extremity of which
near the brink of the precipice, succeedcd
III getting the most favorable stonI Tbo
view eff the fearful rapids below: tbe o,.ca ,ne
sional passing of q railway train across the
chasm by that miracle of mechanic ir'ra
nulty, the Suspension Bridge; the sublime
scenery OF the opposite shore, and thc
comments ofthc surrounding crowd, helm
eo 70 Whlle away the hour or two of ~.
Pectatlon, under very hot sun.
Once, while we were WAITING. nv evo
was caught by the passing across the arco
with wonderful agility in the hon-sl;in'
9nd-Iump, of n short haired fellow, who
looked as if he might be lively little ear,
Penters apprentice sent on an Grand
u"te ne"ded and clad only in trowsers and
this Il was told by the man on
uuty) was Biondin, going out to an cnclo-
sco area, near by, where he was to take
unseen' 'as!. MS preliminary half-hour of GYM
But Blondin the "Tndian Chief" ffor II
hat costume he was to take bis woHT.nc1i w., -
Walk, was curionsly regardless of the dior.
llty OF his personal presence. Aftarhoino,
1ressed III his flesh colorcd tights. wnmne
lm apron, bead necklace and moccnsins
le came ont, with his particularly mn
,omoea sandy 6air, .yncoyered ,rgTng tie
ords which held tho rope to uEs st"uncn-
80, ..sl.:.-, t't~--y,arUt which was to bc
red to announce his return, giving direc-
ions for the music, binding the ligatures
# his balance pole, and answering very
nerrrily all the jokes and questions of the
ookers on. In his motions backward and
onward, he took no regular step; he sim
,Iv bounded. Like child's soap hubble,
lie difficulty seemed TO be in gettingto the
keep from floating away.
During all this time ] had the desired |
Dppor,unitv for the study of his face. 1t
was one which nineteen people out OF
twenty, on seeing it in crowd, would
pass over rs wholly unintercsting-the
twentieth and moro ohservant man giving
him Il good look, MS one Of the most coolly
determined and honestly spuRky little tel-
lows he had aver seen. The top OF his
skull is very high with his bump of firm
ness His check bones are prominent, his
nose straight and with thin, expanded nos
trils, his lips thin and frm, his checks hol-
low and pale, and he wears II sandy mus
tache and imperial-G iu Napoleon
Though anything but beauty, be is
man it is impossible not to take fancy
to.
Retiring to his shanty for a minute or
two, after all was arranged, his re-appear-
ance was announced by g7Hnd utmost
iana from the band, and forward came
Tecumsch with a high crown of many
colorcd feathers on his hend-not with "
slow pace, rs would be expected from an
Indian Chief, but dancing jig all the way
To the preciricc 1t was curious, however,
! to see that the smile on his lip, and his
other signs of merrimcnt for the many,
were altogether mechanical and artificial,
while the closely pressed eyelid, through
which his keen blue eye was hardly visl-
BILE, showed the inner minds utter absorp-
! ton and concentration i'll the work he hau
to do.
The rome was drawn from shore to shore,
eight hundred feet across-and two nun
dred and eighty feet high. over the Niagara
irapids-a perilous bridge for human feet
to walk | took hold of his arm as he
/ stood trying the rope, for moment, with
The bnli of his foot. 1t was like bunch
of iron wire, wholly unimpressihle. An'
away. he wcnt-his moccasincd feet hug
ring the two sides of the sw"ying cable
his balnncc-polc playing up and down
and his little figure gradually diminishin;
) rs he walked steadily on and reached til
+ middle of the chnsm, where he proceeds
! to stand upon one leg and hold the othe
S out at right angles The spectators c
S course were all brcNthlessly silcnt-thoug
Y found it much more brenthless to thin
d of afterward. than to see done. lie dld
with such apparent case and certainty tnf
: it was like seeing bird fly or sPldt
Z. walk the ceilipg-not to be wondered
8 for that kind of creature. I am incline
c to think it would be more startling, (bett'
n enabling one to imagine himself in I'll
IS performers place. if he were in commo
IS clothes.
# Looking scarce larger than hutterf
ir as he reached the opposite shore, Blond
g remained fifteen OF twenty, minutes out
le sight, and then the pistol was fired
n announce his return. He came quietly
Of TO the center, where he stopped to
u; down at full length on the rope and eSecu
Mt various postures and gymnastics; and, u
,se tween this and his reaching our sho
. again, he made several pretended trll
at rs if losing his balancc-the screams
,lc Tho oFfriohted ladies. at this, very comics