The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-23
Extraordinary Leap.
JUMPING DOWN A LOFTY CANYON
ON THE RIO GRANDE.
A MAN WHO tDASHES OVER A PRECIPICE
155 FEET HIGHEsCAPEs UNHURT

A MAN WHO DAsHEs OVER A PREcIPIcE
1855 FEET HIGH ESCAPES UNHURT
When the news of aProfessor, Cd
lum's fatal leap from the parapet of
the Brooklyn bridge reached here,
says letter from San Antonio, Tex
as, to the Philadelphia Times, we
were talking over the affair in the
"Gold Rocm.' Sam Graham, ex.
sergeant of Rangers, called attention
to parallel incident which attracted
great deal Of attention on the from
tier at the time ard gave the name
of "Hammond's Leap" to g lofty
canyon wall on the bank of the Rio
Grande, about six miles west from
where the alkaline waters Of the Pc
cos empty into it. The track of the
Southern Railroad runs close to the
river here, and as you whirl by the
trainmen will point out the spot
where Robert Hammond made q
sheer leap. Of 155 feet to the muddy
water Of the Rio Grande below. This
leap was anadeain the early summer
of 1882, when the railroad was in
process of construction.
Hammond worked in the day gang
and the big wall tenthe 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 tumbled. At this par
tierlar point the river is quite deep.
One night the sleeping occupants of
Harris camp was aroused by Sc
ries Of startling yells, which came
from Hammond's tent. Before they
could collect their senses -and-settle
in their mind whether or not the
camp had been attacked 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 TO-
ward the river. The drillers and
blasters in the cut stopped work and
ran up on the bank to see what was
the matter. They saw Hammond as
he dashed toward them and heard his
lagonized-yells. a cry of horror
burst from their lips as the yelling
man reached the brink of the preci-
pice, and. without seconds hesita-
tion leaped out and shot down like a
plummet to the boiling 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 mangled
body. What was their surprise to-
meet the supposed dead man alive
and uninjured. He was shivering
with cold, however, and the muddy
water dripped from his clothing.
"What was the matter % cried the
group of searchers in chorus.
Zone of them singing lizards got
in my ear and nearly drove me
crazy answered Hammond, @but he
popped out when / struck the water.
By the way, boys, what do you think
of that jump
'.It ought to have killed you" said
one man.
aIt didn't though" cried Ham.
mond, with a laugh. :l'll make it.
again for $40 bill"
The next morning Jack Harris had
the distance measured, and the tape
line. held close to the cliff edge,
marked 1856 feet and a few inches
when the other end touched the wa
ter. Hammond did not appear to.
suffer from his terrible fight through
the air. He was in his underclothes
that night, and his feet were pro-
tected only by thin socks. He
struck the water feet first, and de-
scribed the sensation 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 We.
locity as his body neared the water
was not physically perceptiole.