Smyrna times., 1900-06-27
PERILS OF GYMNASTS
THE RISKS THEY RUN WHILE GOING
THROUGH THEIR ACTS.


1t doubtless appears to the onlooker
at the circus that the midair gymnasts
-"aerialists" in the vocabulary of the
arena-are quite safe from injury so
long as they have the broad, soft net
spread beneath them. They may swing
from bar to bar, as high as the roof of
the tent will permit. or toss a child
from hand 20 hand through long, peril
Gus distances, and all the while the
blase spectator observes with the mere
suggestion of thrill, assuming in his
ineXperience that there is no real dan
| ger in what is called with greater truth |
than color "this marvellous feat of dar- |
| ing" AS a matter of fact, however, |
| the aerialists are in imminent danger |
| of broken necks through every work |
| ing moment of their turn" which be- |
| comes evident indeed when it is said
| that the nerve strain cannot possibly
| be borne through two seasons without
| a long period of rest between for what
may be called nerve recuperatiOn.
| A famous gymnast who is the head
of family of performers said that the
/ lludSl DIduCu Ol ClTCuS WOEk,
which appears so easy and safe of ac-
| complishment, was so full of danger as
to be fought shy of by faint hearted
people, who preferred ground work"
and smaller salaries to it's risk. Safety
| lies wholly in self possession, attention
and nice, practiced calculation of dis
tances through which to leap or turn or
throw. There are four in this family,
and the safety of each depends. not on
ly upon the individual, but upon the
nerve and skill of the others. When
the family is in action, it becomes at
once a machine, and each member
moves and turns and even smiles with
mechanical accuracy. If one part
should fail, the whole would for the
moment be in danger of destruction.
Now" said the gymnast, I'VE are
merely human. We can't all be perfect
In action all the time, so from time to
time the machine goes to pieces, but
we are so well schOoled that we soon
put it together again. When there hap
pens to be fall-as there does fire.
quently-three hearts pretty nearly
stop beating upon our bars until the
fourth of the family rises from the net.
1t wouldn't be possible to continue our
act if every one of us didn't know how
to fall. That's the secret of it, and the
danger lies in the loss of nerve when
the fall takes place. Men in our branch
seldom break legs. They break their
necks or backs and quit the business
once and for all. You've seen a fall,
, no doubt. Well, did you notice how the
boy doubled his legs up land got his
face as close to his breast as he could?
If he failed to do that he would never
survive the fall. He'd break his leg or
his back sure. It's terrible time for
me as the head of the family every
J | time there's fall"
The gymnast has high fall to dread.
, The acrobat on the other hand, has to
| guard against a fall through but two or
three feet.
There's as much danger in our work
as in any circus" said q certain star,
one of the best acrobats in the business
and a good and trustworthy man out
S of it. 'In the tumbling particularly a
man is liable to break his back any
G minute or dislOcate his ankle in landing
n /
: whom are bOysJ is so we'll trained that
it works perfectly. SO just now have
an easy mind. Last season, though,
I. had two bad accidents and had to dis
n charge man. He didn't catch my
+ apprentice one time, with the result
= that the poor boy dislocated his shoul-
n der. The fellow looked at the audience
for an instant. and then the trouble
came. so | lost confidence in him and
let him go. In our business, you know
Il every one has to have confidence in ev.
d cry one else-perfect confidence. II
II you can't get that condition, you can't
IS work. that's all. You can't keep your
o nerve. Our accidents are nasty ones
too 1t may be a fall of three feet and
broken back come from X. You cant
> tell when accidents are going to hap
. pen either. They come so unexpected
/ ly that they knock you out. The heaC
II of the family has to bear the worry
though. He's responsible for his ap
?, prentices. and the 13 I've taught have
A. brought me gray hairs pretty early IL
life"
>, This man is thoroughly conscientious
"a NhN SidihiliS VI DONS Ill
well as in their work. He regards hi
care of them as a high duty, and h,
A. watches them in the circus ring al
IS carefully as a mother might. Hence
s. they are saved from many an accident
He always breathes easier, too, whel
the days work is over. Watch as care
fully as one may, he said, the business
Is such that accidents are bound t,
happen.
al How can you accept an apprentice
with an easy conscience, thenT' he wa
asked.
WELL" he replied, there's DANCE
,, wherever you go. No matter wha
VI your business may be, If you are care
to less the chances are that you will ge
is hurt. / train my boys and men in at
Or tention and accuracy. That's the bes
ID safeguard they can have. It's like this
n If man throws baseball at my head
1t will strike and hurt me- If / dom