The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-12-06

walker.
( Boston Letter IN New York sun
Having the head for the business.
rutaer than strength. Is the main require
ment for success as tight-rope walker.
tumbling. or. IN fact. almost any kind Of
circus work" says l.. o. CHM. now for
many years resident Of Boston. but
formerly famous IN the sawelust arena
as G. l.. Weston. Il was in the business
nearly twenty years. part OF the dime
' Ming ught-rope exhibitions on my own
account. but most Of the time with cir
cuses Forepaugh's and the rest Of them
I was three years with Forepaugh.
Il started IN when ] was i6. / was
working down in q shoe shop near Lewis
ton. Me. where ] was horn. ana my
bench mate was an Old German who had
beer professional trapeze artist and
gymnast. lie was getting up a perform
once for Fourth OF July parade and /
helped him IN his work. he was going 20
do tght-rope act Wen. that tight-rope
/ business just struck me. I kept prac-
tising unta I was able to 90 on the ROAD
] ~ - taAAAtAllt VERY ENNAA anu nave
the wedge-shaped body that Is 80 often
found among those who are quick with
The feet or are ia a calling that demands
agility. ] was heavy through the chest
and shoulders and small about the hips
/ When | was giving Performances on the
/ rope, j had TO wear braces under my
/ heshlngs Ia hold up my trunks and ms
belt was secured IN place by little hooks.
/ Otherwise. II would slip right down over
my hips.
! "Acrobatic work. wire-walklng ana
such. usually appear TO the public as "a
sort o. automatic doinRs They think the
man simply goes through like machine.
with what be has done over and over and
! over, until % has become almost second
| nature 90 him. In spite Of all that the
! fact In that no business demands quicker
decision. moro incessant alertness and
keener brain. II a tight-rope expert was
always performing In the same locality.
where he could have the same wel-traln-
81 attendants. there would be. OF course
much less strain on his nerves. but YOU
take II as things so on the road and It's
fun Of danger. You have constantly TO be
| watching for a pickup helper 10 make q
| mistake OF some kind / was giving a
street exhibition one time out in a little
I village In Ohio. had rope stretched
from a couple Of artificial standards. iron
poles Al each end were local citizens
whom had coached. as far as ! had time
to pun down OF ease up on the guy ropes
I according to the signals I gave Well
had an Arrangement on that should give
the people q little snectacular business
] This consisted OF a nope running down
from my tight rope and held OF an angle
% about foity-hve degrees by couple OF
stout men. My intention was that as ]
| came to fniEh my act on the tight rope
would take run along the roap. leap
OF and after turning a somersault Ia the
mir. catch the rope these men held. See
IL made a neat wind-up. you know But
I see how Il worked this time.
Il stepped on The tight rope and lust
then. one OF the men holding the guy al
| tho end Stacked a bit Wen N I'd been
out on the rope. IL would have shot a foot
| ana a half 20 one side and / would have
got tumble sure's blazes. SO I had 10
caution 'em again TO keep perfectly
steady. You see ms just a little thing
like that that will break mans neck IL
hc don't watch out. Well. / done my act
on the rope and the crowd seemed well
satisfied. cheering and applauding Then
! paused for the run and wind-up ] hur
ried along the rope and lcaped into the
air. turned the somersault and caught
the rope all right. But Just as ! caught
81 the fool that was holding the end
thought he mad completed his job and let
4 80. So I shot through the air like light
ping and went strnlght through the glass
window OF millinery store that was on
the side Of the street The crowd couldn't
help shouting With laughter and vet they
were afraid I might be killed. too But
came through with such force and so
/ quick that | wasn't cut nor injured more
than a Few scratches But scattered the
new styles and fall hats. now. can tell
you.
Funny ching how some OF our experi
cnces seems 10 contradict popular no
tons. You know that the ordinary green
horn. n he's climbing up a tail ladder or
IS al che top OF a tall building. is gem
orally all right n he don't look down
II he does the minute his eyes strike
the ground his head begins 10 swim and
away hc goes Well. now. ! never was
bothered with a mite 81 that. was cut
in Western New York giving perform
ance. The rope was about three hundred
ana nfty feet Ia length and swung al a
hlght OF sixty feet above the falls Of .
river / wheeled barrow out over the
rope, took q frying pan, fried some eggs
and cat EN- there on the rope I could
look right down on 60 that tumbling winter
and % didn't affect my head one partt-
clio But what ala use 10 get me a little
ucklish was a comparatively simple
tnihe sometimes, Whcn had my rope
stretched over street. ! used 20 write
my name on cards and toss the cards
down To the crowd. Wei. while ] couli
handle a balance pole. a whecl-barrow or
any article OF heft and not be bothered
when ] came TO take a pencil ana. as I
looked down on the crowd. 20 through
the delicate motion Of writing 10 used TO
come m ghty near catching me sometimes
found ! didn't like 90 try that trick
only once IN a while. Funny thing that Il
SHOULD bother me 50 Amt az
Sometimes you'll come across a PEI
former that certainly does tricks auto
n.aticaily. more or less. remember the
celebrated ught-wire artist Martin Zu-
ruski. a Chlrlestown boy. by tho way
Though I'm blessed ~ ! can be sure OF
spelling his name right Why. that old
man wouid 30 up on the wire and he was
50 nearsighted he coul-a't see two feet
from his nose. Yet he would take six esrys
three in each hand. and jugglc EN- there
on that rope ard not break one OF en-
I remember some OF the rest OF the circus
boys used 90 bother the old man once IN a
while. hy giving him rotten eggs TO Jug
nlc. ! rcc0Acct she first time ! 500 That
tried. one Of en- busted in old Martins
hand It was an especially ancient egg