The Irish standard., 1886-10-02
SAM PATCH'S LEAP.
A Name as immortal as That Of
Rip Van Winkle.

A Fame Which the World Will Never Ac
cord But to the One Person Who
Earned It by Priority OF Claim
No Snow for Brodie ct al.
lCh;cago Heraid.1
Sam Patch Wa, of obscure origin AM
was born in Providence, r. l., in 1907. Hi
childhood and boyhood years were passed
as a wharf rat. spending his days in pick
| ing up whatever unconsidered trifes h
/ could find without an immediate claimant
and his nights wherever nightfall foune
! him. He then became sailor, and being
a sliiliful swimmer, amused himself b.,
! Jumping from yard-arms and bows. .rit
into the sea. Abandoning the sea he led {
rowing life on tae land, and about the time
he reached his twentieth year found him
self at Paterson, N. j. Here he was EN-
ployed for e. time in a cotton mill, anc
here, also, he commenced the career tina
led to u innate Immortality
Besides the falls of the Passaic, which
| Frank Stockton, in "Rudder Granga.' has
/ immortalized as "ary falls Patterson
!; has or had il the days of Patch, famous
chasm bridge. suspended so1ne eighty fee
over the Passaic river. From this bridge
i'll 1927 Sam made his first daring leap and
became the hero of tho hour After this
he went about the country jumping from
| yard-arms and main-t tops and all sorts OF
| dizzy heights. In this same year of 1927
the eyes of the whole country were at
tracted to Niagara Falls by o widely adj
vertised scheme that vessel, CT as it was
cailed, the Pirate Michigan, would be sent
down the rapids and over the cataract
with crew Of furious animals ON
board. Thousands Of psople from all parts
OF the country journeyed to Niagara to
see the spectacle: and on the Sth day OF
September, 1927 the brig Michigan, q con-
demned vessel, was sent over the cataract.
On board the vessel was 81 crew in efhgv,
an old buffalo, an old and young bear d
fox, raccoon, an eagle two geese aud a
dog. The young bear escaped from the
vessel before the falls were reached, and
succeeded in swimming ashore; the rest
were carried off with the vessel over the
falls One goose was recovered below, the
only survivor of those that made the de-
scent. The exhibition created SO great an
excitement that Sam Patch determined to
onJdo it.
Proclaiming as his motto that "some
things can be done as well as others, !" ne
avowed his intention to make leap from
the top of Niagara Falls into the river be-
low. On his way to Niagara Sam gave
exhibitions wherever he could find suit
able place, and coming to Rochester he
there undertook to leap the falls of the
Genesee, height Of one hundred feet. AS
part of the show Sam had a pet bear which
he invariably caused to make the first
leap. His first exhibition at Rochester was
given in the presence of large number Of
spectators, the banks of the river being
crowded. Ascending che heights at the
place selected, dragging his bear after him,
he calmly surveyed the crowd below him,
and then showed reluctant bruin off the
ledge into the depths below. The animals
descent was successful, and he swan
ashore. Then Sam followed him. Leaping
straight down, his feet together and his
hands pressed to his side, he shot like an
arrow into the pool beneath. When the
crowd saw him emerge from the water q
great cheer resounded, and the people
-'ushed to the waters edge aud carried him
tri:umphantly up the bank.
others which had preceded it, attracted
great crowds to Niagara to witness the
leap to be made there. The place whence
it was made is called s'Saln Patch's Leap"
and is pointed out to the visitor to this
day. Ii is ON the west side of Goat island,
near the Biddle stairs. 1t is about ninety
seven feet, not the full height Of the falls.
A ladder was raised, the bottom resting on
the edge Of tbs river, the top of the ladder
inclining over the water, stayed by ropes
fastened to Che trees on the bank. A small
platform reached from ledge Of rocks to
the top Of the eladder. From this elevation
Sam made two successful leaps in the pres
ence of vast crowds of people.
Sam was now invited back to Rochester,
to repeat and even excel his former per-
formance. In the early days of Novem-
ber, 1929, tho newspapers OF thai village
contained an advertisement like this:
HIGHER YET!
SANS LAST JUMP
"sodE THINGS CAN BE DONE Az WE'LL AS
THERE IS no MISTAKE IN
SAM PATCH!
Then followed the announcement that OIL
Friday, November 19, at two o'clock p. H.,
he would leap from a scafold twenty five
feet in height, erected on the brink of the
Gepesee Falls, into the abyss below dis
tance of one hundred and twenty-five
feet.
On that chill November ds.y every avail
able spot on the river bank was crowded
with people, who had come from Canada,
from Oswego, from Buffalo and from all
the surrounding towns and villages, to
witness the crowning achievement of the
great jumper. 1t was TO be his last great
featin the United States. Already he had
signed an agreement to go abroad and it
was his ambition to leap from London
Bridge.
AT the appointed time, with light heart
and full of confidence, he reached the falls
and climbed hand over hand up pole to
the platform.
Standing or the platform and bowing
to the vast throng below him, Sam spoke
as follows: 'Napoleon was a great man
and great General. He conquered armies
and he conquered nations, but he couldn't
Jump the Genesee Falls. Wellington was
greet man and great soldier. He con-
quered armies, he conquered nations, and
he conquered Napoleon, but he couldn't
jump the Genesee Falls. That was left for
me to do, and I can do it and will" He
threw himself forward, but instead OF de-