Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1860-09-06
From The Buffalo Republic Ancn,. -
The Rope-Walking Madness.-RIond,n e' SOh
the Porters III" Fars

From the Buffalo Republic. Ar.--->
The Rope-Walhsng Madness-BIond,n R sus' SOa
the Porters. Ssra
Of course the city, and all neiohborino ur
towns, well as the hamlet of Rochester 1o ADD
yesterday, in consequence Of the aDnonroo all agoo
BIondin and Farin were to cross the rorao na mt @
on their respective cables, each with re VI Nagr
on his back The trains towards the FaIo i've MAJ
pension Bridge, as a consequence were cro "nd 81
twenty-eght car loads going from here, btsdaa
amounting to many hundreds who preferred C,a@ thq
man and the Clifton to the smoke and dnst "a pI k
while Rochester sent forth crowds as well 90 me Can
along the line of railroad and the canal 1--WE TN
ed privately, that great many from Locknort nnor
and Albion swarmed down to take mart ~ nnOdA
lessness of these two daredevil men, to see tb e r
ance that had brought SO many people togetbo PFon
Suspension Bridge was crowded with ne6eutl:'
carriages-not less than eighteen hundred naon1.@ AID
Pied while the enclosures on each side WERE iE oc
emily full, all anxious DISCONTINUED vet cnr; '0nVd
At four o'clock, precisely, Blondin, the imn o%
peared In his suit of clothes, resembling that ~ a.
the individuals who put themselves out of o "oa
compensation in peripatetic exhibitions calS5 Tor
He Immediately took his pole, trotted with 'pcO&s
his rope-indulges in such luxureS as standirou aa
head, such delicacies disiontng bis lees 5 "a BIZ
his arms and spine, and congesting his brana at,
canered on, to slack rope suspended from the rg
|
in the most culpable style slid down thread aug ta
of the slack rope, and tried to make the hoi" g'cs
ashamed of its efforts to involve him in ROM 1Ia
! destruction. r "'ALg
| Here he kicked up-that is to say be went a.
all the performances which man tamons to ''ooq
the ground in any other place. and after his r"r IRON
lutons, which in our opinion the priDcinIe II cs
fugal projection, distributed his brains equally I
ends of him though yod couldn't tell one end ~ o~
| otb rvxyIS lo ha yolI-Sno
the twine" arrived safely at the rome and , Du
quarter horse speed to the Canada side whqr. b
received with four times four by the asspmbo5 y@
| titude. 'O Ia'
! Bondin remained at the Canada side Of tbo
about twenty minutes when it was, seen that f '.1
preparing to return, ar1 almost Immediately vil G&
appearance, Harry Colcord, with his usual evprr I
dress, felt hat, patent leather boots, &C. mODnta5p
din, and the latter commenced his frghtful wall
the river when the slightest slip was death-he mqe
trepidation perdition. 'V
But confident, sefreliant and determined Ro,a
bore his burthen which together with bis pole inr
tatiOn, equaed over barrel of -four, across that f
OF recklessness, calmly and certainly and yesDc t
while (ColcOrd alighted just over the centre Of AZ
frghtful river beneath and relieved for moment E
din of his immense burden,) he proceeded on fearless
his sklll-obstinate for success-fxed in bis p1rDS,
carry out his programme.
| HIN
and Colcord who had risen from sick bed paa e5
disprited to carry out bis part of the programma
they reached the American side of the river and man.
a fair lady and gallant gentleman sprang forward
grasp the hands of the heroes of the rope and fg,
their admiration of their almost supernatural for.,
ness, SKILL courage and strength
AT night 1--WE have no report of Blondns pgr,
mance) NJ Farini, dressed in his usual costume in Il,
presence of a thousand people, appeared on the An.
can side. lie went across surrounded with bazs
fireworks. His crossing was accomplished briefly
consummateIy. After the fireworks had exhausted
disappeared in the darkness and through the misty
dark imprObabilities of that thread OF suspension
emerged stald, quiet, nervous and triumphant Il Va
wonderful thing, and he and all the people knoWh
FARINI's EXHIBITION.
owing to oneness OF person and slngleneSS Of &
vduallty, it impossible for US to be at the Suy
sion Bridge and at Niagara Falls at the same tine
consequently we are without personal report F.
RIMS feats on his cable. We, therefore, let the Mag,
Falls Gazette tell the story for him. The Gazette sr
We heard it frequently remarked that NJ Bou
would not undertake to perform such feat on awea
slack as Farinis, and it is no dscredit to him sud-
the case, Tor 1t is trighttul operation with eye
prepared IN the most favorable manner The Sinr:
cable is not strictly tight rope, but is very Slack
not only settles he steps it, but has lateral nO
which renders it extremely difficult and of course haz
persists in walking on such a slack rope. The fact
he prefers to do SO, because it shows greater skill and
daring.
alter spending some time in fixing the guys he va
ready tor start and appeared at the end Of the cab
with his man. The man selected to bear him conDlr
| on this periious journey was Mr.. Rowland MclIl..
lie Is about feet or 10 inches in height and oe.
rather over $50 pounds. This added to the weight
his balancing pole, made load of over 200 pounds
| than harrn Of A hind h
started out over the Gightful chasm. Causioasy
tearessy, he Travelled, while the crowd who witness
him were under the most intense excitement Ar
proceeding short distance he experienced greatd
Guilty from his balancing pole catching under the g
This, with the lateral, swinging motion of thee
made the performance one of the most fearful We bar
ever witnessed
Whatever sensations might have peryaded tbep@
the bold performers showed no signs of fear Alter.
ceeding short distance, McMulen got down On Tx
rope, and both sat down and rested. They soon r@a
ed their journey, however, and for variety, NcNl@
Walked and rode at short intervals III waikiki
merely placed his hands on the SignOrS shoulders OBJ
followed. While both were walking it required S-
derul presence of mind, as we'll as courage preserve
balance. The Signor had himself and the diSsmIaD +
lions OF his comrade to attend to- But it was hands
ly done. They made but few stops until they raca
the centre of the river. Here, according to the a
they were to turn around and retrace Their steps Nl
McMulIen turned around, the Signor passed under u
cable and Mem, and thus gained the desired postum y
After resting some time they started on their rs~-
Ihls they accomplished with less trouble from The s-
McMullen was alternately on the rope and the S5-o
back. The difficult and hazardous act Of climbing
FARMS back must be witnessed to be understood a.
appreciated. At times the rope swayed so bad! We
Farini was compelled to stop and stand or sit down
til it became steady. The whole performance V-
ing to he nerves Of spectators. AS they came 10 '
hrma the crowd received them with clappln9 o. L'-
and other manifestations of pleasure.
as its extraordinary character demands. oulloJ
say that it eelipses anything ever before peroR t
rope, over Niagara river, or anywhere else W.
SIgnor Farini will be satisfied with bis hare anu
earned laurels, and never undertake to repeal '-'
daring and truly frightful performance
The cars leaving we were Obliged to dePaI'
couldn't witness the evening feats of either parry
thousand, about equally distributed.
From the Goldsboro' Rough Nd"'