The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1876-12-07
GYMNASTS AND ACROBATS.

A few months ago an accident happened
in view of Dublin audience, to a (sup.
poscdD female performer on the trapeze;
she missed her hold, and Was dashed
against the ground with considerable
force. Nor was the matter much menued
when, a day or two after, letter appeared
in the papers, written by her, or in her
name, stating that it was only by the fail
ure OF spring board that the accident
occurred, that she was only bruised and
that she hoped soon to reappear before her
patrons the public!
Apart from considerations as to tie
propristy of such an exhibition as this the
question is: Who is to blame here? There
are muItitudes of persons in humble life
not brought ur to any regular trade, or
influenced by unsettled habits, who seek
to earn a living as public exhibitors
Tumbling, posturing, vaulting, somer-
saulting, rope walking, rope swing
ing, pole balancing, trapeze flying.
lion tanning, all have more or
less of danger attending them.
And herein lies the evil The pub
lie, or a considerable section of the
public, evince relish for witnessing
teats which have.i in them an element Of
peril. The consequence of this may be
easily traced. Ii people prefer the sensa.
tional to the graceful and elegant, they at
tend in greater number; the speculatOr or
proprietor of the exhibition takes more
money at the doors !; he offers higher sal
airy to the performer, and the latter is
thus tempted to try more and more danger
Gus and daring feats. 1t would be better if
these matters could be CIRCULATED by the good
sense OF the public than by legislative or
governmental interference; but so long as
the taste of sight-seers has leaning to-
ward hair breadth escapes, so long will
there be succession OF exhibitors and
performers ready to make money out of it,
The danger attending trapeze feats can
easily be understood. Two ropes are sus-
pended vertically and two horizontal bars
are fastened to them, one above another
The performer usually springs up,
catches hold of the lower bar, and
achieves various acrobatic twistlngs and
turnings, now on his head, now hanging
by one foot, now twisting like an eel be-
tween the upper and lower bars, now
dropping head foremost from the upper
bar to the lower. Any slip of hand or
foot, and down he falls. Some years ago
in London man combined this acrobat
ism with aerOstatiOn. He assembled in a
balloon, and when at height measured
by hundreds of feet, went through Sc
ries of performances on trapeze sus-
pended under the car. Whether the
height were hundreds or thousands mat
tered little to him; a fall would dash him
to pieces in either case. The proprietor
of the gardens received larger number
of shillings or sixpences on this occasion
than if an ordinary balloon ascent only
had been announced; and thus trapeze
performer was tempted to hazard his life
by the receipt of an additional fee. An
increase of peril occurs when two
trapezes are suspended many feet or even
yards apart; the acrobat swings or takes
hying leap from one to the other, loos-
ing hold of the one and afterward selling
the oar OF the other. The slightest mis-
calculation of distance NAV be fatal,
Leotard-the hero of this kind of achieve
, ment-performed the feat on five or six
trapezes in succession, turning a somer-
sault between each two. He. was smaz
ingly successful in a commercial sense.
receiving high salary. Mark the conse
quences; initiative Leotards have been
numerous, and many = broken limb or
life-injury has resulted. I'VE. may here
remark, in parenthesis, that clever eau
tomatOn LeOtard'' was exhibited at the
Polytechnic Institution few years ago: a
life-size figaro that performed in a neat
and complete wsymsny Of the tumblings
OF atrapeze performed Ithose in which the
hands do not quit hold of the, bar;
and latterly we have witnessed the
pleasing performance of Heller's au-
tomaton strapezist, which hangs by its
feet as well as BY the hApdsl s
Walking head downward h anotifer of
these foolhardy displays. The ceiling
preparedier this exhibition il provided
perceptible to the audience, but sufficient
10 give hold for an instant 70 pecu.