The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-10-29
Horrors Of the Trapeze.

A SCENE of considerable excitement
occurred at the American Theatre ON
Walnut street, above Eighth, on Saturday
evening, during the flying trapeze per-
fOrmance of two artists announced on the
bills as Lila and Zoe. One Of their feats
consists In Lila, q full grown young
woman, swinging herself by means of two
ropes suspended from the ceiling, from .
platform erected In front of the gallery,
entirely across the auditorium, until she
touches with her feet q trapeze that hangs
At considerable altitude over the orches-
ira. Securing herself on this trapeze
with her feet, her body swings downwsrds,
and she remains In that position while
Zoe, child of II years OF age, mounts the
platform in the gallery, and seizing the
iron rings attached to the ropes mention
ed, throws herself of, and darts towards
Lila, and, when nearing her, the child
throws q sommersault IN mid-air, and her
only chance from being crushed to death
by falling from the dizzy height among
the audience in the parquet, Is being
caught by Lila, who hangs with her
head dcwnwsrds from the trapeze.
Certain death would be the result Of the
slightest mistake made by either of the
performers. On Saturday evening the
feat was successfully performed. it is true,
but Lila barely caught the child as she re-
volved in the air. As the latter was de-
scending, however, to the stage, the man
whose duty it was to catch her from the
hands of Lila, failed to do so. and the
poof child fell to the platform placed over
the orchestra, a distance Of several feet,
and struck her head and otherwise injured
herself.
The child was picked'up, when she i'm
media,ely placed her hands to her head,
and it was apparent that she was seriously
hurt. Notwithstanding this, she was
most inhumanly ordered to remount the
plstfofm in the gallery and repeat the feat
The child obeyed, but such conduct on the
part of those having charge of the exhioi-
tion was too much for the audience to
stand, and there was q unanimous cry OF
4" No, no oP "Shame, shame Take her
bach. Take her back" etc. In the mean
time the child remou ted the platform,
and then stood ready to repeat the feat,
but the audience rose on Daasse, to Their
great credit, and prevented the ropes from
being handed 70 her. Unabls to combat
such q display of public indignation and
disapproval, the child was ordered to re-
tire, which she did amidst the most tu-
multuous applause. Now whether she
could have performed the feat again IL
her then condition will be seen from the
following:
After she had retired the stage msnsger
advanced and stated that she desired to
perform smother feat, and that she was not
injured, and the consent of the audience
was asked. There was general mo,
no." and considerable hissing; but, taking
advantage of few cries of " Go on, from
the boys in the gallery, the child again
appeared, and mounting the platform,
took hold of the rings and swung herself
off for the purpose of catching the hang
ing trapeze with her feet, and then making
a sommersault while descending into an
outstretched net. As the audience fell
would be the case, the child essayed the
feat. but failed to catch the trapeze, owing
to her nervous state, which was natural
under the circumstances; but she wa
saved ffonn injury by her eommendabl'
presence of mind in not letting go OF ths
ropes. The consequences was that sh'
swung backwards and forwards amid
scene of much excitement, and was re
lieyed from her perilous position by tn
audience, who caught her and carried he
to the stage.-PhiIadaphia Inquire
June IA.