The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-22
BLONDTN AT HOME.
The Old Aerostat Still at Work Walking
Dizzy Heights.


Pail Mall Gazette.
why, l thought Blondin had gone to heaven
long ago. said some one in a railway carriage
the other day. as he conned an advertisement in
his paper which announced that the hero of Nj
agara was walking the tight-rope at the Britain
MIA Theater in far-away HoXton. To most of us
Blondin is now merely a name, but he is almost
active as ever, and quite ready to chat about
both the present and the future. The affection
ate regard ltby the chevaler Of the falls which
made him famous is shown by the name which
he has given to his house. The visit
or rings the bell at the gate and
reads the legend inscribed in large
letters, Niagara Villas" M. Blondin at
homer Il am NJ. Blondin.p The intrepid one
stands before me- short and stout He has evi-
IDENTIFY been a model of muscular compactness
and symmetry, n Frenchman to the bone, with
small twinkling eyes hair thin and slightly
streaked with gray, a mustache and thick i'm
perial. No spot is so dear to him Niagara
Villa whittier he retires to the bosom of his fam
lily for few months during the year to take his
well-earned rest, When will you say good bye
to the destinations of the rope, and cast off the
tights and spanges forever Sir, it will be
long, hope. l am sixty now. Have lost my
nerves! No Am | strong and activel
Feel the muscles of my forearm and my
legs. | am fat. l admit it. Therefore | no
longer assume the monkeys skin, as once did.
NJ BlOndin is as sound a man as he has ever
been He has had only one accident, and never
a fall He has never even broken an arm, and
the only wound | saw was covered by an inch of
Sticking-plaSter. 1t is said that the reason why
he never tumbled was the marvellous power of
his forearm, which enabled him to carry a bal
ancing pole of great weight. But when asked
the secret of his success he tells you that 1T
was because | didn't want to tumble" He has
never smoked and if you ask him whether he
drinks, he tells you, with twinkle in his eye,
that he does not wear the blue ribbon, and
takes claIet at dinner. In 1851 Jean Francois
Grayele was performing in French provincial
-l1r h NlaVa.4 aV7
intrepidity were remarked by certain Rayel.
himself a famous gymnast of his day. join
us, he said to the young fellow, and come 70
New York" Done replied Jean Francois.
But how art thou calledF "Gravele.' ''Sacre
Dieu! We cannot bill such name" Then they
fixed upon Blondin, from the color of his hair
Triumph after triumph followed, until his career
was crowned at last on the 30th of June 1883,
when he crossed Niagara. Sir l was rope
walker at four My father a gymnast. |
have never felt fear-no, not even when crossing
Niagara. In 1860 crossed on stills. There was
a danger i'll crossing Niagara In straining
rope of that length to the requisite tightness it
was liable to snap The shorter the rope the
easier it is to walk on, for the dip in the
middle is less l once offered to carry the Claim
ant across a rope, but he declined with thanks.
1 will not endanger your life, he said, and L do
not wish to expose mine. tightrope walker IS
born nothing can make HIM. None of my family
will ever appear in the arena, because not one of
them has been a born rOpe-walker, | am always
well when l am working, When l am lazy feel
a twinge of lumbago, and that is all Not the
least interesting of NJ Blondin's collection of me-
mentoes is a small library of scrap books, con
tanning cuttings from all the news
papers of the world-French English,
German, Austrian, American, Australian
-critiques reports, interviews, caricatures,
jokes He is called the King of the
Tight Rope The Lord of the lempen
Realm, The Emperor of ali Manila" There
are wonderful woodcuts, plain and eolored;
verses, too. Did nervous terrors ever Cypress
you, NJ. Blondin" Never, sir never Not
oven when l first crossed Niagara. Pouf They
laughed and said: There's fool of a French
man going to commit suicide or 1 don't believe
he'll ever try and so on, but l have crossed
Niagara 300 times since then. | carry three sets
of ropes, which are two inches in diameter, with
a body of steel bound round with hemp. The
balancing poles vary in weight according to the
business, from 81 40, 45, a pounds And the
height at which you performf From 80 to 100
feet, according to circumstances l am indiifer-
emit