, 1884-07-13
SAN PATCH'S JUMP.
The Story of His Fatal Leap Re-
hearsed.
''Some Things Can He Done as Well
ms O~thers'-How He Went
Down to His Death
His Grave.


Rochester Post ExpresAl
The next great event, and one which has
lone so much to bring the name Of Roches-
ter before the notice of the world as any
other in the city's history, was the leap OF
Sam Patch over the upper falls Of the Cen
csee in 1929. There have been many YER
sions Of this affair, but the following is
vouched for by Joseph Cochrane, who was an
intimate friend of the great diver, and was
witt him when he made his fatal leap. Sam
Patch was born in Rhode Island in 1907. He
had been ut sen, but became tired OF that
life, aud went to work in n cotton mill at
Paterson, N. j., where no developed a pas
sion for jumping, and twice leaped from a
bridge into the Passaic river, a distance Of
ninety feet He then made-a tour about the
country, making several hazardous leaps
In 1929 he went to Niagara, and jumped
from u shelving rock midway between the
summit of Goat Island and the water. He
then came to Rochester, and in the presence
Of his friend Cochrano alone jumped the
upper falls
soon afterward he performed the feat
again in the presence of a great crowd. His
third attempt was made Nov. Is, and the
papers of the previous day contained the fol-
lowing notice:
Higher yeti Sam'slast jump. Some things
can be done as well as Others. There is no
ullhLhke IN ohln IhUCn. vi Lne truth OF TINS
he will endeavor TO convince the good
people Of Rochester and its vicinity
next Friday, Nov. Is, at . o'clock D.
m. Being determined to astonish the
natives OF the west before he re-
turns TO the Jerseys, he will have q scaffold
twenty-five foet In height erected on the
bridge OF the Genesee falls, in this village,
from which he will fearlessly leap into the
abyss below, n distance OF l25 feet SANS
bear at 8 o'clock precisely will make the same
funn md fpllnw his tnaCtar tbuo gb,uy,..
conclusively that some things can be done az
well as others. Moreover, Sam hopes that
oil the good people who attend this astonish-
ing exhibition will contribute something to-
ward remunerating him in the seemingly
hazardous experiment"
There were great crowds present, excur-
sions having been arranged from all points
in the vicinity. Sam was not a drunkard.
and he was not drunk that day. He took n
single glass OF liquor just before he made the
leap. His address to the crowd as he stood
looking down on the foaming water more
than 100 feet beneath him was as follows:
Napoleon was a great man and q grent
general. He conquered armies and he con-
quered nations; but he couldn't Jump the
Genesee falls. Wellington WINS a great man
and n great soldier. He conquered Napoleon:
but he ouldn jump the GeneSee falls. That
was left for me TO do, and l can do it at
will
His descent was irregular, and before he
struck the water the people were sure that he
had gone to his death. 1t is said that one OF
the spectators bit Off the end Of his own
thumb in the excitement of the moment. IL
was declared by some that Sam had eluded
the observation of the crowd and escaped
alive. Occasional rumors OF his appearance
in other places were circulated, but all
doubts were settled when the 18th Of the fol-
lowing March his body was found frozen in a
cake OF ice at the mouth of the river. He
now lies in n little cemetery at Charlotte.