The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1895-01-26
THE TRIPLE soMeRsAuLT.
gou,e Men Have Thrown 1t and Some Have
Died In the Attempt.


sprino board il is necessary to make q
leap at an angle of about thirty de-
prees to obtain the necessary bal
last" or impetus to turn twice. III an
] almost perpendicular leap is made,
, the acrobat would not have leverage
enough to turn. In order to accom-
plish the double the performer has to
; leap from the springboard with all his
, might to get the proper angles as well
as to obtain sufficient height, so that
he may have time to turn twice before
aliphting. The same conditions gov
ern the triple somersault, only that 1T
is necessary to go about one-third
higher in the air. 1t was said few
years ago that, with the exception OF
Sam Reinhardt, now dead, the famous
Rob Stickney, and an English leaper
whose name has escaped mem
ory, no gymnast in America had suffi-
cient power leap higher than is neces-
sary to accomplish double. Not that
these three men could at that or any
other time accomplish triple somer-
saolts at will, but they could do more
than double.
Some assert that the triple somer-
saults might be acc emphasized by high
err and more powerful springboards
than these in use, but flrst-class per-
formers say that these would merely
change the angle and the result would
be the same. Of course the board
could be placed high enough, but the
specific gravity of the performers body
would be increased in descending. The
| height is not the only trouble. If it
were only height, leaping experts, by
/, improved appliances and practices,
would overcome that difficulty. But
after the body has turned twice the
performer closes his CATCH" or control
of his body, and the law of gravitation
overcomes bodily dexterity. His head
! being heavier than his feet, he is apt
| to light on it first and break his neck.
The first remembered attempt to
! throw triple somersault in this coun-
, try was by performer in Van Ann
! burg's circus in Mobile, Ala, in 1924.
| He fell on his head and broke his
neck. Another attempt was made in
1876, at Astley's amphitheater,L London,
England, then leased to Howe and
! Cushing, the American managers. In
the company were: l. Lipman, fine
vaulter, now in Cincinnati; the late
Levi J. North, famous equestrian;
the late William o. Dale, an acrobat
and equestrian, who afterward lost his
sight and died in Cincinnati. and Will
liam l. Hobbies, n champion leaper. 1t
was previously announced that Hobbies
would attempt triple, and the house
| was damned. He tried it and was in
stantly killed.
The next to attempt the dangerous
feat was John Amor, who was born in
the home of Dan Rice's father, near
Girard, Pa. Amor travelled for years in
this country with Dan Rice's circus,
and in that day was considered the
greatest gymnast in America, if not in
the world. He was said to be the first
person in America to turn double
somersault over four horses.
| In 1859 he went to England and
Travelled with a circus all through the
United Kingdom. In the same year he
attempted to turn a triple somersault
in the Isle of Wight, but landed on his
forehead after he had turned twice and
broke his neck.
Billy Dutton performed the great
feat while member Lakes circus, at
Elkhorn, H., in 1850, at a rehearsal
in the presence Of Jehn Lowlow. the
famous clown. Dutton was ambitious
to have to say that he did it, but did
not make the attempt with the inten-
ton of repeating it. He made the leap
from high springboard and actually
turned three times. Dutton was very
proud, but sensibly said that he would
not try it again, and that his alighting
on his feet was an accident, as he could
not control his body after turning the
second time.
Frank Stark, who was reared by
John Robinson, the circus manager,
undertook the feat at the fair grounds
in Indianapolis in 1870 for a wager of
500. In the first attempt he turned
three times, but alighted on his hands.
Every body was satisfied with the re-
suit, and the money was rendered him.
He proudly refused it, saying the feat
had not been perfectly accomplished;
that he would repeat it and alight up
on his feet before he felt justified in
taking the 500. He did repeat it. but
struck on his head, dislocating his
neck, and death resulted in few hours.
Bob Stickney. the Apollo Belvedere
of the modern arena, accomplished the
great feat at the age of fourteen years
while practicing in the, Hippo theater
in Fourteenth street, New York. Will
liam Stein, at that time an attache of
the circus, and who now with his wife,
| give a 'second-sight" performance,
was one of the persons who held the
4 common wooden catch blanket in which
Stickney alighted. The late Sam
Reinhardt, of Columbus, o., while
travelling with the Cooper & Bailey cir
Gus in 1870, became dissatisfied with
the double-somersault feat, at which
he was an adept, and burned to per-
J form the triple. At Toledo, o., he an
nounced that he would make the at
tempt, and did SO, Notwithstanding the
advice of his friends. Sam made a
| splendid high leap, actually turned
three times, but landed on his seat in
stead of his feet. Andy Spear. a vet
eran circus clown who was once re-
markable leaper, claims to have ae-