San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-08-30
sAMPATCH'S LAST LEAP.
Trading or His Showing That Some Things
y" Can Do Done as Well as Others.

-, rudlng OF His Showing That Some Things
~" Can bs Done as Well as Others.
The fate of Captain Webb at the
.nids of Niagara having awakened q
%,'sslancholy interest in similar occur
,uces, q correspondent of The Union
has been at pains to furnish the fol-
I"uing in relation to Sam Patch's ex-
noits in this place, clipped from a
aty paper of an early date.
SAM PAToH's LAST LEAP.
We are often requested by trav-
.lers and others to republish the par
sculars of Sam Patch's last leap from
,he falls, but not having in our pos.
session any newspaper files of that
rsar we are unable to do so. In an.
aver to an inquiry in our daily yes
srday, Mr.. Henry Scranton, of this
ritv. has furnished us from his pri-
rate journal the following: The first
Ieap took place on Friday, the 9th of
November, 1929; distance 100 feet.
He went down in fine style, and rose
h the surface amid the huzzas of the
Multitude. The number of persons
nresent was estimated at 1000 to
5000, The last and fatal leap, which
took place one week after, was adver-
Used in the Antimasonic Inquirer as
follows:
HIGHER YET; SANS LAST JUMP.
Some things can be done as well
as others"
There is no mistake in Sam Patch.
OF the truth of this he will endeavor
to covince the good people of Roches-
ter and vicinity, next Friday, Novem-
Der 10, at 5 o'clock p. m. Being de-
termined to astonish the natives of
the west before he returns to the Jer-
seys, he will have scaffold twenty
five feet in height erected on the
brink of Genesee falls, in this village,
from which he will leap fearlessly
into the abyss below, a distance Of
1875 feet. Sans bear(at three o'clock
precisely will make the same Jump
and follow his master, showing
conslusively that "some things can
be done as we'll as others" Nor
ever,Sam hopes that all the good peo-
pie that attend this astonishing ex.
hibition will contribute something
towards remunerating him for the
seemingly hazardous experiment,
The following is the Antimasonic
lnquirer's notice of the exploit:
"The ominous expression contained
in the reckless Patch's advertisement
has been fearfully indicated. 1t was
indeed his last jump He jumped
from a staging twenty-five feet above
the brink of the falls into the abyss
below, from whence his body has not
yet been recovered. A variety of reas-
ons are given for the fatal termina-
ton Of this presumptuous feat. All,
however, concur in saying that Patch,
from some cause or other, did not re-
tain the same position while descend
ing or strike the water as he did
on the former occasion. It was a
useless and daring exposure of
human life, which having resulted
disastrously, creates a train of painful
reflections. We would not dwell up
on this distressing scene, and yet
we can not Danish it from our
thoughts. We still see the frail NOR
tai standing, as it proved ,on the brink
Of eternity! The terrified imagination
follows him from the giddy height,
through the thin air, into the deep,
dark chasm below! 1t fingers but a
moment of breathless and agonized
suspense! The waters troubled a mo-
ment in swallowing their victim, and
are at restl The expiring bubbles an
aounce that the spirit has departed,
leaving the body in the "dark bosom
Of ocean buriedl" The multitude
shrink away abashed and rebuked,-
Rochester (N.Y.) Union.