The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-09
THE TIGHT ROPES PERILS.
ODD SENSATIONS or AN OLD CIR
Gus PERFORMER.
A Jump Throush q Plate Glass window Quick
Thinking Daring q Fa~il-Dimculty of writ
ing on q Tight Rope-fine Points About
somersAuIe-A Near Sighted wire walker.

ing on q Tight R~ope-Fine Points About
somersaulr-A Near sighted wire walker,
BosToN. Sept s-"Having the head for
the business. rather than strength, Is the main
requirement for success as a tight-rope walker,
tumbling or. in fact. almost any kind Of circus
work, " says l. o.. CHM. now for many years
a resident Of Boston. but formerly famous
In the sawdust arena as &. l. Weston. i
was in the business nearly twenty years, part
Of the time giving tight-rope exhibitions on
my own account, but most Of the time with
oircuses. Forepaugh's and the rest OF them.
i was three years with Forepaugh.
i started In when | was 10 was working
down In a shoe shop near Lewiston. Me, where
l was born, and my bench mate was an old
German who had been a professional trapeze
artist and gymnast. He was getting up q
performance for u Fourth Of July parade and
! helped him in his work. lie was going 10
do q tIght-rope act. Well, that tight-rope
business Just struck me. I kept practising
until | was able to go on the road. | was nat
urally very strong and have the wedge-shaped
body that Is so often found among those who
are quick with the feet or are in a calling that
demands agility. ! was heavy through the
chest and shoulders and small about the hips.
When / was giving performances on the rope.
! had 70 wear braces under my feshings 10
hold up my trunks and my belt was secured
In place by little hooks Otherwise. II would
slip right down over my hips,
"Acrobatio work. wire walking and such.
usually appear TO the public rs a sort Of auto
matte doings. They think the man simply
goes through, like a machine, with what he
has done over and over and over, until il has
become almost second nature to him. In spite
Of all that, the fact is that no business demands
quicker decision, more inccsSant alertncss
aud keener brain, II a tight rope expert was
always performing Ia the same locality, where
he could have the same well-trained attend
ants, there would be. Of course. much loss
strain on his nerves, but you take II "a things
90 on the road and it's full Of danger. You
have constantly to be watching for a picked
up helper TO make a mistake Of some kind. |
vas giving a street exhibition one time out in
from a couple OF artificial standards, iron poles.
At each snd we're local citizens whom | had
coached. as far as l had time. TO pull down or
ease up on the guy ropes. according to the
signals | gave. Well. I had an arrangement
on that should give the people a little spectacu-
lar business. This consisted OF a rope run
ming down from my tight rope and held at an
augle OF about forty-fve degrees by a couple
of stout men My intention was that as |
came TO finish my act on the tight rope, ! would
take Il run along the rope, leap on and after
turning a sOmersau!t in the air, catch the rope
these men held See? Ii made a neat wInd-Ip,
you know. But see how II worked rhi, time
Il stepped on the tight rope and just then,
one Of the men holding the guy at that end
Stacked a BIT, Well. II I'd, been out on the
rope, IL would have shot a foot and a half 10
one side and | would have got a tumble. surc's
blazeS SO had to caution EN- again To keep
perfectly steady. NOu see its Just u little
thing like that thatii break n mans neck if hc
don't watch out. Well. | done my act on the
rope and the crowd seemed we'll satisfied, cheer
mn and wind-up I hurried along the rope
and leaped into the air | turned the sOUer-
sault and caught the rope all right But Just
as | Caught II, the fool that was holding the
end. thought he had completed his Job and
let go. SO | shot through the air like light
ming and went straight through the glass win
dows Of a millinery store that was on the side
Of the street The crowd couldn't help shout
ing with laughter and yet 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 tow scratches. But
scattered the new styles and fail hats. now.
Ii was up in Canada though. that I did ZONE
near getting killed and, as II was, got a fall that
/ shan't get over as long as live. had
stretched my rope across tho street and be-
tween opposite buildings. The end from which
] we- to start out on had been fastened 70 9
CroSspisce set INTO the beams OF the roof. |
thought IL was a. secure a. anything possibly
could be, but IL had evidently rottsd. | got
up at the window az the appointed hour, glanced
down on the crowd, then examined the rope
and bore down upon II II seemed all right
and ! took my heavy balancing pole and crawi"d
a few feet aud then step back for q swirl
chase along the rope. Just then. there was
aCrash and the rope shot from under me The
Joist had given way! was falling. back down
ward. for YOU see az the rope fell II had pulled
my feet out had forty-eiGht feet 10 iall.
You'd, not believe i possible for a man TO
stances. All would have happened before
you could think. put II wasn't that way With
me al all. Soon's started downward, I re-
member the first thought that come 10 me,
and il come the second | left the rope. was I
wish | could see where I'm going, and thought.
Guess I'll hang to this balance pole, stead Of
throwing II away, Tor III want that TO light with
Well. ] curled myself SO that a. | passed a win
dow. | was head down and see a picket fence
miss that somehow, and | managed TO twist
over ,so,st when | liz did miss Il The pole
three pieces and my shoulder was broke and
] was laid up for weeks. II was the accident
that compelled mo to leave the show BUSINESS.
Well. all that saved me from, getting killed
that time was the fact that | could always trust
30 keeping my head Do you know, ! wasn't
half So scared when | see that picket fence as
was while l was going backward and couldn't
tell where | was going To fetch up. InCcr-
tainty is the most nerve-racking fear you can
have.
Funny thing how some OF your expert
ences seems 70. contradict popular notions.
You know that The ordinary sTeenh9Ln. Il he's
a tail building, is generally all right If he don't
look down. II he does, the minute his eyes
strike the ground his head begins 10 swim
and away ne goes, Well. now, | never was
bothered with a mite Of that. ] was out in
western New York giving a performance.
Tho rope was about three hundred and ffty
feet IN length and swung at a height Of sixty
feet above the falls OF a river. ! wheeled 4
barrow out over the rope, took a frying pan,
fried some eggs and eat EN- there on the rope.
| could look right down on to that tumblinR
water and IL didn't affect my head one particle.
But what did Use TO get me IA little ticklish
was a comparatively simple thing, Some
times. when | had my rope stretched over
"A street, | used to write my name on cards and
toss the cards down to the crowd. Well. Willis
| could handle a balance pole, a wheelharrow
or any article Of heft and not be bothered,
when ! come to take a pencil and. a. | looked
down on the crowd, go through the delicate
motion Of writing. IL used to come mighty
near catching me sometimes. | found | didn't
like to try that trick only once in a while.
Funny thing that 1t should bother ms so amt
Sometimes you'll come across a performer
that certainly does tricks automatically, more
or less. | remember the celebrated tight
wire artist. Martin Zu1lski, a Charlestown
boy, by the way. though I'm blessed If I can be
suro Of spelling his name right. Why. that
old man would 60 up on the wire and he was
80 nearsighted he couldn't see two feet from
hs nose. Yet he would take SIX eggs. three
in each hand, and juggle ON there on that
rope and not break one OF EN-. | remember
- - tho rast pf tha rirpua hpva u.a1 ..