, 1889-01-05
eLoNpIn, The ROPE WALKER.
He Diseases His nigh Art and Tells
Some Experiences


Some Experiences.
A o p walker is like a poet, born and
not made. / myself began to toddle
along a rope when / was only A years old,
and in my 8th year / gave a special ex-
hibition on the high rope before the king
at Turin. 1t is a usual thing, no doubt,
for the apprentices in a circus t. be
taught rope walking among their other
lessons, but only a few of them aver get
beyond the rudiments of the art. The
usual system of teaching is to make the
pupil walk along a harrow board the
width of which Is daily decreased until
1t Is barely thicker than an ordinary
rope. Posturing and the assumption Of
graceful attitudes are taught in this
manner, n finally the pupil is intro
duced to the rope itself.
h apparatus which a leading rope
walker uses appears in the public eyes to
be simple enough, but in reality it has to
be constructed and arranged with the
greatest of care. The rope / generally use
is found with a flexible core of steel wire
covered with the best Manila hemp, and
is about an inch and th~ree-quarters in
diameter. 1t is several hundred yards
In length, and the cost may be $500. The
rope Is cooled from either end on two
large windlasses, and when supported by
two high poles the windlasses are turned
until the rope Is stretched perfectly
taut. 1t takes me. as n rule, several days
to adjust this simple apparatus to perfec-
ton The balancing pole is madeo of ash,
Is o twenty-six feet long and weighs
some forty or fifty pounds.
L am often asked as to my sensations
when walking the rope; but il by that
is meant whether / feel fear or nervous
ness, l must answer decidedly in the
negative. When walking l look some
eighteen OF twenty feet ahead of me,
and whistle softly or hum a snatch of a
song, as the humor may seize me. also
invariably keep time in my step to the
music the band is playing, and 1 find
that helps me wonderfully in preserving
my balance. With my own weight and
that OF the~b balancing pole there must be
about 23O pounds bearing OF the ope
which naturally gives considerably, this
sagging being one of the chief difficulties
we have to encounter in keeping our
balance. l prefer to perform in the open
air.
Nowadays l never practice, and even
my most difficult tricks, such as turning
a somersault over a chair placed in the
middle of the rope and landing with my
feet on the other side of it, are usually
performed without generalization, Just as
the whim seizes me. This enables me
without effort to vary my programmes at
every performance, and prevents them
from becoming monotonous to me. I
could remain n year or even longer with
out ever setting foot on a rope and hen
go on and tread it as safely as though 1
had been in constant practice.
LII myself do not feel nervous, / am
afraid the many persons l have carried
on my a across the rope have felt a
trifle perturbed, save when they nave
been professional assistants. In reality
there is nothing in the world for them to
ha afraid of All fhnu have 81 L. Il, e
sit perfectly still, refrain from clutching
me too tightly around the neck, and
leave the rest to me. When l am carry
ing any one over for the first time l chat
to him continuously on any Indifferent
subjects l can think about, and try in
this manner to relieve his anxiety, and 1
always caution him against looking
downward when in mid air. Somehow,
though, he never seems quite happy, and
always detect a gasp of relief when the
end OF the rope and the platform are
reached. More han once the victim has
devoutly exclaimed: "Never againi'
My well known trip over Niagara falls
was doubtless productive of nervousness
to those gentlemen whom l carried over
on my back, and for myself it was one
OF the experiences of my life. / was
elevated some 100 feet above the torrent,
and had to walk q distance of nearly ], 200
feet. The rope itself was unlike that
which l use at the present time. 1t was
formed entirely of hemp, and was about
three inches In thickness, and its adjust
ment in place was, in its way, quite an
engineering feat. The rope cost several
thousand dollars, and remained in posi-
ton for nearly two years. 1 nave walked
across enveloped in a sack made Of
blankets, AVE wheeled a barrow across,
turned somersaults, cooked a dinner, and,
as l have said, carried a man over on my
back. 1t is doubtful whether I shall ever
Star.