Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-09-05
A CHAT WITH BLONDIN.
HE CARES NOW MORE FOR MONEY
THAN FOR GLORY.

Physique of the Famous Tight Rope
walker--No Weakening Of His Powers.
The Most Difficult Feat-A Trip on His
Back-His Method. ...s H-
''If zey would pay me / would cross Nj
agara again, but for re gloire, j'eu al ASSET"
OF course only one man in the world could
have made that remark, and although 1t is
distinction to have done what no other man
of woman born in all the ages has ever done,
Jean Francois Blondin seems to have in a
measure survived himself When in his in
trepid prime he walked the narrow path of
hemp above the mad swirling waters so dizzily
far beneath him, both the American and
Canadian shores were black with beholders
who watched him with bated breath. Now
when he returns to America after decades
and exhibits the even more startling nerve Of
tripping blithely on the tight rope with IS
years on his back, a sparse gathering of
Coney Island visitors look with languid in
terest at the doughty funambulist before the
Sea Beach pavilion.
There is much of the same dissonance be-
tween the Blondin of today up aloft on his
aerial pathway and the Blondin who treads
tIie eiFlu 1HtEe, cidl III llSuts, duu solt-
ened by the enchanting touches of distance,
there is something OF the quasi heroic about
| his physique, despite his protuberant aldo
men Straight as crow Indian, motionless
as the statue of Memnon. he stands until the
braying band on the portico of the pavilion
breaks into "a tumultuous strain. Then grasp
| ing his long balancing pole he steps forth
hardly and with an elastic abandon on the
rope. The cords stand ont on his legs and
arms. his hair has sort of wind swept look,
and his straight ahead gaze is as firm and
confident as the unblanching look of Fate.
His wonderful preservation, the agility
which invests his six and half decades with
the robust vigor of YOUTH tell of his mod
crate, carefully regulated life In the morn
ing he takes a breakfast of eggs and wine, or
| something equally light, and then touches
nothing till after he has walked in the even
ing, when he takes a hearty dinner and lin
gers at the board with friends over some cor
dial-quiet, restful, content
| ''Do you feel any weakening of your pow
ersln was asked
| 'None. There is nothing that have ever
done which cannot do equally well today
answered Blondin in French Il am slightly
| utdNltis bui lttt hS 1tllNt us ever
Have you never felt any trepidation on
the roper
mo Of course there is a certain tension
of nerves, but | am as cool as l could wish
have never had any accident or been hurt
Once or twice lost my chair. did this at
| Niagara. Occasionally some of the gear or
| guy ropes have given way, but have never
been injured. The rope is always subjected
to q good test first. This one is capable of
standing pressure of forty tons, so l am
not likely to break it down. Ny son super
intends all of these details now, and can
| feel the most perfect confidence in the safety
of everything"
well, there must be some feat more diff
cult than others, is there uotsn
Balancing with the chair is the most diff
cult so far as equilibrium goes But the
bicycle work is the most dangerous, as recov-
cry in case of slip would be so difficult, if
not impossible"
''How do yoI nesrvhen the chair is just
balanced Mehe England Br
81 am not so r has AREg lffy sooout that so long
as my center of gravity is right l tell that
| by my shoulders and my balancing pole
| There is a sense of being balanced which as
sllTts ufe IL Is as III euouiu Dt.
I'm carrying person over on your back,
are you Indifferent as to who 1t is, or do YOU
have person who Is trained or specially
| qualified to be carried l don't suppose you
| find many who covet the trip"
| 'Oh, yes. There are plenty who are will
ing to take it. would as soon carry one as
another If he has nerve. But when feel
anybody trembling or showing any trace Of
vertigo, | advise them not to 60. Although
their legs are run through straps they could
slip out of them if they were to get FAINT and
fall backward. The mast sways somewhat,
and a person subject at all TO vertigo will
show it when he gets up there. / generally
carry over my son, though his wife is de-
cidedly opposed to his taking the trip But
1t is perfectly safe. / am not as dangerous
as bobtail car as a means of transit"
"When you crossed Niagara did you find
the rush of the water below you a nerve try
ing thingf
mo. For fortnight before l crossed !
used to go and look down and see the waters
sweep over; but | found that they had no
unpleasant effect on me. Is has been little
annoying here at Coney Island when some
friends have taken me up into the tower and
then asked me if | felt the height. | would
as lief walk rope at one height as another.
The difficulty is in stretching rope securely
at such great height"
Have you ever changed your method al
allf'
No My method is the outcome of expe
rience rather than theory. began walking
when a child. There is such thing as
genius for rope walking as there is for every
thing else. l think have it," said Blondir
modestly, Now my son, though he can gel
over a rope, is not rope walker, He is
good all-round athlete, but he has no de
cided talent for the profession, and woulc
rather go over II tight rope on my back thar
on his feet. New York Tribune Interview