The New York herald., 1865-06-22
THE YANKEE nLoNDM.
Successful Passsgs OF the Niagars Rive.
ON . Rope Two Hundred Feet Above
the Wator.

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The grand sensation OF the season a Niagara was on
Thursdsy auspiciously inaugurasd by the successful
monsrated the perfection Of rope walking science and
the boundessness Of Proydental by
ing and recrossne the fghtfu cnasm Of Nrssra river
Of spectators present on the Canadian side was estimated
st six thousand Early in the forenoon drenching rain
the day and It was generally believed that Lesies per-
formance must unavodably be postponed In oonse-
10 ss, ss the
torrent Of rain Shortly before three O'CLOCK In the az
ternoon the rain sbated and the appearance OF
uaches OF blue sky gave promise Of sufficient cessation
% permit the rope walking exhibition, and the crowd
rapidly concentrated in the vicinity Of the bridge
Leslie stretched his rope across the river At about
the location selected by Bondn his second season.
point hundred feet below the bridge, over the
rst Of the terrific rapids commencing a. ina. Place
elevation Of two hundred feet from the water The
surge Of the at this point Is tremendous having
or bsnks and the feat Of crossing the seething
abyss upon single rope must bc considered the acme OF
foohsrdiness The line is about ourincn Manila, ana
each bank an open space about thirty feet occurring
in the centre The heavy rain during the day had con.
racted tackle high degree and the rope had but
little swag q third Of the length being nearly hori-
scntal
inches in height rather slight in build but 1.-the and
agile and possessed Of great nerve and muscle Al 6:32
he emerged from the stand the American side, lmme
dately clearing perpendicular precpice of over two
hundred feet and his wife was observed TO take her
position the end Of the rope and watch his progress
with intense interest Amid the grandeur OF the sur
rounding scenery, the daring advenurer seemed like
putan upon the airy course, ana MS appearance was
the signal for sudden silence only disturbed o the roar
Of the restless waters He proceeded slowly and
cautiously and when about nefourth OF the distance,
rat upon the rope and rested few seconds Again
resuming his journey he was noticed 10 hesitate at IN
tervas as fatgued but after passing the centre space
he stepped very regularly and without hesitation until
the stand the Canada shore was gained loud cheer
greeted of the feat which was taken up along
the bridge the American bank, and the bands again
struck up music. The time occupied In crossing
was six minutes forty eight seconds
Leslie appeared quite cool and cheerful on his arrival
romarkng that he entirely at homo the rope but
complained that the unequal strain Of the guys IN con-
Of the ran had rendered the extra
perilous and great difficulty was experienced in getting
the right step crossing the fastenings After brief
rest on the Canada side, employed In familiar chat,
Leslie again poised the balancing pole and started on his
return, the time being twelve minutes to I'VE O'CLOCK
He proceeded down the incline with the same caution
manifested in his rst start and evidently experienced
increased difficulty passing the guys leading from the
Canadian shore Az times he was noticed to retrace his
steps, advance and again retire several times,
on approaching point where a guy was fastened, II
caution against sudden jog Of the rope liable at
these pons short distance out he performed the feat
standing upon his left foot placing the ball Of his right
foot against the left knee Gaining the centre Of the
rope he lay down upon his back and exhibited his ex
pert balancing powers by regaining his feet in quick
and graceful manner On reaching the opposite incline,
as usually noted in the performances of wakes he
lost no further time but proceeded rapidly to the bank
minutes and twenty-five seconds This ended the exhi
bion Of the day. and the successful termination was
greeted with prolonged cheers The general impression
seemed 70 be that Leslie is the equal Of Blondin.