The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-17
SOME VERY LOFTY TUMBLERs.
The Nerve and Strength Necessary to
Turn Twice In the Air.
Rl,o,,a fhe Mem YorL. World

The Nerve and Strength Necessary to
Turn Twice In the Air.
From the NeiO York World
Throwing the double somersault is one of
the hardest tricks a professional acrobat
can be asked to do. 1t calls for much
trength, of course but above all the per-
son who tries it must have lots of pluck, a
quick eye and an intuitive knowledge of
how to drop always on the feet, much as a
cat does, no matter how she may be tossed.
Dozens of tumblers have smashed their am
bilious arms and legs trying TO perfor m
this feat. Some few have broken their
hecks by not coming down properly, and
the knowledge of this keeps many likely
youth from trying the feat and hampers
even those who try
What is written above applies only to the
double somersault in which the athlete
comes down feet foremost on big cushion.
Judge how much harder it must be to
throw the double in mid-air. where no
friendly spring board is at hand to leap
from and the impetus must be had from
wobbiy trapeze bari Add to this the diff
guilty of so gauging the fight that the flyer
shall drop his hands into the grasp of his
partner, and so be caught up safely in full
career, and you have about the most trying
acrobatic feat imaginable.
Old professionals say that the great
Lectard, who flourished more than gen
Grafton ago, was the first man to try somer-
saulting off the trapeze Even he didn't
mean to do the trick when he first found he
had done it. 1t was pure accident. Leo
tard was doing the giant swing" on the
horizontal bar-that is, he swung around it
with his body rigid and bis arms bent
little, while he flew through the air with
his hands grasping the bar loosely and re-
volving as he revolved. Somehow or other
he lost his grip and bolted through space.
10 his great surprise, he failed to come
down on his head, but landed feet foremost
and with no worse hurt than little short
ness of breath from the shock That set
MIN thinking. If man can do that acct
dentally, said he, what's to keep him from
learning how to do the act with premedi-
tation and neatness? So he studied and
practced, and then a single somersault
from the trapeze into the hands of a heavy
catcher was evolved.
Acrobats are restless and ambitious A
new and daring trick that catches the pop
uiar eye is worth just so many dollars cash,
and Is sure TO call out much applause. Other
trapeze artists learned the somersault and
eaten, and one day young man appeared
who could throw double" and land in his
bg comrades hands with safety.
For years this difficult work was done
only by men. Then the Lawrence sisters,
hatte and Jennie, began to work on the
IIYuoie trapeze in flying and single leaps.
iiattle used TO do a single somersaut from
tne trapeze and catch IN mid air a vertical
rope that was held steady by man below.
Jennie was one of the first women
70 do the somersault from the
uapeze. Hattie caught her. The appear
hhce OF young women doing these feats
mat mad heretofore been performed only
by men created Juror when they appeared
win barnum's show in 1877. Jennie has
grown TOO heavy of late to be caught with
comfort 80 while shs still does any number
Oh wonderful things on the trapeze In Bar
NUNS show every night, her little sister
A Aii mas taken her place as the leaper.
alice is pretty little girl of 16, slender and
uellcate-looking, but with muscles like
silken cords and nerve enough to perform
her perllous feats without the least tinge of
iear When the three sisters had finished
tnelr mid-air work in Barnums
reporter asked little Alice how she
learned to do the somersault from the
trapeze.
-, I've almost forgotten now,n she said.
but suppose that's because I'm SO used TO
~, MY sisters began to teach me when |
was very little girl, so you see I've grown
qp In the business. Trainingl | don't think
a ! nave ever done any, at least in the way
ine word is generally understood Practice
~ what tells in this business and you must
nave lots Of it. never was limited to any
particular kind Of training diet. OF course
1 don't eat many sweets or much pastry,
put with that exception think live about
~ any other girl does. i have to keep very
regular hours, because irreQularity in sleer-
ing mas bad effect on steadiness, and In
uapeze work steady nerves are needed even
more than strength. My sister Hattie took
p pie up on the trapeze and got me used to
r1ipe through the air with her. II used TO