St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-08-25
JUMPING SAM PATCH.
che Interesting "Reminiscences of an OLD
Paterson Farmer.

Ehe Interesting "Reminiscences of an Ola
Paterson Farmer.
A griZzled cid farmer named William
2. Brown was in Middletown, n. y,
the other day, and fell to giving rem
iniscenses of Paterson as he remem-
Dered the place sixty years ago. Il
was born on Manhattan Island he
said. ''when all the upper part was
nothing but farm lands, and went to
work III Il cotton-spinning factory in
Paterson as sweeper and errand boy
when ! WAS eleven years old. Pater-
son was q small place then, and the
factory was a small affair. too but one
of the owners was Sam Patch. who aft
erWard became famous as a high jump
err. saw him make his first big jump
at Passaic falls.
'The story of the jump is this: Sam
Patch and a man named Brannigan
were partners in the factory and they
failed in business. Sam was a Cape
Cod man by birth, and had been a
sailor from a boy up till he came to
Paterson. He was a daring and reck
less fellow and could swim like Il duck.
1t is said that while he was a sailor he
often exhibited his skill and daring by
jumping from the high masts of ships
into the sea. After the failure Sam
Patch hung around Paterson with
nothing to do until he got pretty hard
up. Then, | suppose, the thought oc-
Cured to him that he could make a
raise by jumping off the rocks at
Passaic falls. So notice was given
that at certain day and hour Sam
Patch would jump off the cliff
at the falls into the river below, dis
tance of about eighty feet, for purse
of fifty dollars, made up by some of the
sports of the town. Few people be-
lieved that he would make the jump,
but there was a big crowd on hand to
see it all the same.
'Sam came to the falls stripped to
his undershirt and drawers. He showed
no fear or nervousness, but his face
was flushed, as / thought, by drink.
He took a couple of small stones in his
hands and went to the brink Of the
cliff and dropped them off one after
the other, and watched where they
struck the water down below. Then
he walked back few yards and turned
and took a little run to the brink of
the cliff and jumped Off, clearing the
rocks about ten feet. He went down
feet first, but with his body inclining
considerably to one side, and in this
shape he struck the water and disap-
peared. A few seconds later his head
bobbed up at point down stream, and
he began padding for the shore. Then
the crowd gave him big cheer.
SANS jump at the Passaic falls
was considered a marvellous feat in
those days, and made him famous the
country over. So he took to jump
ing for money from the masts of ships
and from bridges and other high places,
and went about the country giving
exhibitions. Unfortunately for him,
too, he took up another practice that
soon cut his career short. | didn't
see him make his last jump at the
Genessee falls at Rochester, Novem-
Der 10, 1929, but those who did see the
tragedy tell me that when he ap-
preached the brink to make the leap
of 125 feet into the seething pool be-
low he was dazed and unsteady from
drink. He made the jump so bun
glingly that he struck the water flatwise
instead of feet first, the conclusion
crushing in his breast and sending his
dead body to the bottom like stone"
N Y. Times.