The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-07-18
A Greater Leap Than odlum's.

iSan Antonio, Tex, Corr. Philadelphia Times
 When the news of Professor Od- lum's fatal leap from the parapet of the Brooklyn bridge reached here we were talking over the affair in the. "Gold Room" Sam Graham, ex-sergeant of the Rangers, called attention to paral- Tel incident which attracted great deal of attention on the frontier at the time and gave the name of Hammond's Leap" to lofty canyon wall on the bank of the Rio Grande, about six miles west from where the alkaline waters of the Pecos empty into it. The track of the Southern Pacific railroad runs close to the river here, and as you whirl by the trainmen will point out the spot where Robert Hammond made sheer'leap of Iss feet to the waters of the Rio Grande below This leap was made in the early summer of 1882, when the railroad was in process of construction.
 Hammond worked in the day-gang and the big wall tent he shared with six or eight others was about three hundred yards from the edge of the lofty wall against whose base the muddy waters of the great river" dashed and tumb mbled. At this particular point the river is quite deep. One night the sleeping occupants ot Harris camp were aroused by series of startling yells which came from Ham. monds tent. Before they could collect their senses and settle in their min ds whether or not the camp had been att tackled by Indians, Hammond dashed from the tent, and although held by his companions, finally tore himself away, and yelling at every jump, made giant bounds toward the river. The drillers and blasters in the cut stopped their work and ran up on the bank to see what was the matter. They saw Hammond as he dashed toward them and heard his ago nixed yells. A cry of horror burst from their lips as the yelling man reached the brink of the precipice, and, without sec ond's hesitation, lea2ed out and shot down like plummet to the boiling fiSod, is5 feet below. They heard the loud splash made by his body when it struck the water, and then, with blanched faces and hushed voices, hurried down to the river evel to search for the poor fellows mangled body. What was their surprise to meet the supposed dead man alive, un- injured. He was shivering from cold, however, and the muddy water dripped rom hls clothing.
 Wh tt was the matter ?" cried the group of searchers in chorus.
 "One of them internal singing lizards got in my ear and nearly drove my crazy," answered Hammond; "but he popped out when struck the water. By the way, boys, what do you think of that jump f'
 "It ought to have killed you," said one man.
 1t didn't, though" cried Hammond, with a laugh. "I'l make it again for a $Io bill."
 The next morning Jack Harris had the distance measured, and the tape line, held close to the cliff s edge, marked Iss feet and few inches when the other end reached the water. Hammond did not appear to suffer from his terrible flight through the air. He was in his under clothes that night, and his feet were pro- tected only by his thin socks. He struck the water feet first, and described the sen- sation experienced as similar to that if the feet had b en smartly slapped with a broad strap. While in the air he felt no difficulty in breathing, and the increased velocity as his body neared the water was not physically perceptible.