The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-05-16
FULTON COUNTY NEWS.
PERILS OF GYMNASTS
THE RISKS THEY RUN WHILE GOING
THROUGH THEIR ACTS.

~ i
spredd Beneath Them Is Liable to
Result In Serious Injury Nerve
and Confidence Necessary.
II doubtless appears TO the onlooker
ut the circus that the mldalr gymnasts
-"aerialists" In the vocabulary of the
arena-arc 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 tont will permit. or toss n child
from hnnd 10 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 matter of fact, however,
the aerlallsts are In imminent danger
of broken necks through every work.
ing moment of their turn" which be-
comes evident indeed when II is said
that the nerve strain cannot possibly
be borne through two seasons without
n 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
midnir gymnast branch of circus work,
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"
10 4. al.
lies wholly in self possession, attention
and nice, practiced calculation of dis
tances through which to leap or turn or
throw. There are four I'm 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, 1t becomes at
once 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
put 1t together again. When there hap.
pens to be n 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
20 fall. That's the secret of it, and the
Of .I,,,,
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 and got his
face as close to his breast as he couldi
If he failed to do that he would never
survive the fall. He'd break his leg or
his back sure. It's a terrible time for
me as the head of the family every
time there's fall
The gymnast has high fan to dread
The acrobat, on the other hand, has to
guard against n fall through but two or
three feet.
There's as much danger in our work
as in any circus" said a certain star
one of the best acrobats in the business
and n good and trustworthy man out
of 1t. "In the tumblng particularly
man is liable to break his back any
minute or dislocate his ankle in landing
badly. My family (of six, two of
whom are boys is so well trained that
1t works perfectly SO just now have
an easy mind Last season, though,
had two bad accidents and had to dis
charge a man. He didn't catch my
apprentice one time, with the result
that the poor boy dislocated his shoul-
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.
every one has to have confidence In ev.
cry one else-perfect confidence II
you can't get that condition. you can't
work, that's all. You can't keep your
nerve. Our accidents are nasty ones
too. 1t may be u fall of three feet and
broken back come from it, You can't
tell when accidents are going to hap
pen either. They come so unexpected
ly that they knock you out The head
OF the family has to bear the worry
though. He's responsible for his an.
prentices, and the 13 I've taught have
brought me gray hairs pretty early In
life"
This man Is thoroughly conscientious
In the training of his boys morally as
well as in their work. He regards his
care of them as high duty, and he
watches them in the circus ring as
carefully as a mother might. Hence
they are saved from many an accident.
He always breathes- easier, too, when
the days work is over Watch as care.
fully as one may, he said. the business
is such that accidents are bound to
happen.
"Elow can you accept an apprentice
with an easy conscience, then?" he was
asked.
''Well," he replied, there's danger
wherever you go. No matter what
your business may be. If you are care
less the chances are that you will get
hurt train my boys and men in at
eentlon and accuracy. That's the best
safeguard they can have. It's like this:
If man throws baseball at my head,
II will strike and hurt me If | don't
stop 1t. I've got to take care. and it's
the same in every walk of life. 1t Is
very dangerous work, the acrobat's-
but them The acrobat shrugged his
shoulders to complete the sentence.