The Portland daily press., 1895-05-14

If one had passed along Monroe street
in this city Friday one might have seen
from the street in a certain back yard,
a large and athletic appearing young
man, engaged in walking slack wire
that was strung about ~ feet from the
ground. He was walking the wire with
a good deal of skill, and if you had
watched him long enough you would
have seen him perform some tricks that
belong in the domain of the expert.
This young mans name is Thomas
Rickett and he is 81 years of age. He
has lived in Portland ever since he was
three months old. He was born in
Calais.
His natural propensity for walking the
tight or slack wire has been SO strong,
almost from infancy, and is such freak
of nature that some facts about him are
of much interest.
Almost as soon as he could walk he
evinced this extraordinary desire to bal
ance himself upon a rope. His mother
says that when he was only four years
of age it was necessary to tie him for
fear that he would be getting up on to a
rope and would get dangerous fall.
At that early age he would ask older
boys to stretch rope short distance
above the ground, and he would try to
climb upon it. At eight years of age he
could not only walk on slack rope,
but could hang by his toes and the back
of his head. AS he grew older he always
had rope or wire stretched up some
where in his house or yard, and was con-
tinually practicing upon it.
IL never was and never am contented at
doing anything else," said young Riokett
TO a PRESS reporter, "and intend to 60
into it as profession. shall join some
circus as soon as l get chance"
Since he was very small boy until
the present time there has been only one
year during which he has not practised
rope or wire walking, more or less fire.
quently. When Is years Of age be went
to work on the farm of his uncle. Mr..
WA. Roberts, OF West Hollis. Mr.. Rob-
erts would not allow him to stretch a
wire and practice there. not only because
of the danger to young Riokett himself,
but for fear his own boys would attempt
this dangerous feat of balancing.
Rickett remained with his uncle year
but was not contented, because he could
not follow his strange bent, and SO came
home.
He went to work in shoe factory and
has worked at shoemaking ever since.
But all the time he has been practicing
on the tight and slack wire and has been
steadily improving in the ability to per-
form the tricks of the great experts. He
can do Leo's trick of walking the wire
with hoop around his legs, and he can
also stand on his head on the wire, using
of course the block in which the head
rests.
One trick that is original with him is
the folding of a newspaper over the wire
and then getting down and hanging by
his teeth to the ends of the paper where
they come together under the wire. He
can climb up two steps on ladder bal
anced on the wire and intends to prac-
tice walking a ball on the wire, the ball
of course to have groove in it, to put
into the wire.
In fact his am bition in this respect
seems to have no limit. and he enjoys
himself on the wire just as other men
enjoy fishing or cunning. He likes to do
It,. not only because of the hope of future
SUCCESS and fame, but because of the act
itself.
He has never been hurt by fall, ex-
cept once. When be was nine years old
he fell head 'downwards on to barrel,
and narrowly escaped death.
He has exhibited once or twice in
South Portland and Deering.
Neither of his parents or their ances-
tors have ever exhibited this unusual
trait. 1t seems to have entirely original
ed with him. Doubtless tight-rope
walkers, like poets, are born and not
made.