The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-09-18
HAMMOND's GREAT LEAP.
One Hundred and Fifty-fve Feet Down
From a Cliff into the Rio Grand.

One Hundred and Fifty-five Feet Down
From a Cliff into the Rio Grand.
San Antonio Cor. Philadelphia Times.
When the news of Professor Odium'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
rangers, called attention to a. parallel
incident which attracted a great deal
of attention on the frontier at the
time and gave the name of CHAM
mond's Leap" to lofty canon wall
on the bank of the Rio Grande, about
six miles west where the alkaline waters
of the Pecos empty INTO It,: Ihe 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 O.
sheer jump of 155 feet to the muddy
waters of the Rio Grande below. This
leap was made in the early summer OF
1882, when the railroad was In pro-
cess of construction. The painted red
men from safe hiding place on the Mex
lean side watched the busy scene with
wide opened eyes, heard the "big thun-
der" of the blasts with loud-beating
heart and stole back to the Santa
Rosas. The only animate beings that
did not seem to mind the noise and tu-
multi were those pestiferous little var
mints, the vinegaroan, the devil horse,
the tarantula, the centipede, the sting
ing lizard, and the rattlesnake. They
remained and disputed the ground inch
by inch with the invaders. They
caused a great deal of trouble, and the
navvies feared and respected them. 1t
was stinging lizard or scorpion that
caused Hammond's leap. Hammond
was navy, born in England, and at
the time he made the leap about 26
years of age. He was ofrather slender
build, but wiry and muscular, and
Jack Harris, the contractor for whom
he worked, considered him his best
churn driller. Harris camp was at
the head of deep canon, about one
mile south of Vinegaroan. Hewas en-
gagged in making a fill and two side
cuts, and worked gangs day and night.
Hammond worked in the day gang,
and the big wall tent he shared with
six or eight others was about 800
yards from the edge of the lofty wall,
against whose base the muddy waters
of the "great river" dashed and tum-
bled. AT this particular point the river
is quite deep. One night the sleeping
occupants of Harris's camp were
aroused by a series of startling yells,
which came from Hammond's tent.
Before they could collect their senses
and settle in their minds whether or
not the camp had been attacked by In
dians, Hammond dashed from the tent
and although held by his companions,
tore himself away, ndyellingat every
Jump, made giant bounds toward the
river. II e 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 ag
onized yells. A cry of horror burst
from their lips as the yelling man
reached the brink of the precipice and
without q seconds hesitation leaped
out and shot down like plummet to
the boiling g>food 155 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 level
to search for the poor fellows man.
gled body. What was their surprise
to meet the supposed dead man alive,
uninjured. He was shivering with cold
however, and the muddy water dripped
from his clothing.
"What was the NATTER" cried the
group of searchers in chorus.
Zone of them Internal stinging liz
ards got in my ear and nearly drove
me crazy" answered Hammond, ''but
he popped out when I struck the wa
ter. By the way boys, what do you
think of that jump?"
at ought to have killed you," said
one man.
at didn't, though" cried Hammond
with a laugh. "I'll make it again for q
ten-dollar bill"
The next morning Jack Harris had
the distance measured, and the tape
line, held close to the cliff edge, marked
l55 feet and a few inches when the
other end touched the water. Ham
mond did not appear to suffer from
his terrible fight through the air He
worked for Harris until the latter's
contract was finished and then he
went into Mexico to work on the Mex
ican Central. He was in his under
clothes that night, and his feet were
protected by thin socks. He struck
water feet first, and described the sem
sation experienced as similar to that
if the feet had been 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 perceptible.
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