The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-27
he RIDES THE LOOP.
John Ruehl One Of the Few to Per
form The Thrilling
Feat. 4
He'll Be One Of the Attractions Of
the Minneapolis june
Fair.

.tThe goods delivered will be the trade
mark used in connection with the adver.
tising for the bicycle sensation known as
looping the loop, which is to be one OF
the features of the Jabour shows at the
June fair and carnival. This expression
has the peculiar significance at Minne-
apolis. for last year the goods were not
delivered despite all endeaVors and some
reckless attempts Of home talent to sup
ply the death defying, blood curdllng
sensation for the delectation of the public
that had been whetted to white heat by
industrious advertising.
The loop the loop act had been con-
tracted for by Jabour, who furnished the
attractions for the Elks' fair, when it was
the sensation Of the hour at Madison
Square garden. George Vanderverts had
been. successfully performing the feat
twice "a day and New York was daffy
about it,, as@ !,
The fitzpatrick brothers. Charles, and e.
j., had obtained the right to the loop
from Prescott the inventor. in territory
not conflicting with the Sells FOrepaugh
circus for whom Vandervept was riding
3 "A loop was built for the Kilpatricks
which corresponded in exact measure
ments with the original and it was pre-
sumed that almost any nervy cyclist could
safely accomplish what Vandervert did
with. apparent ease. Unhappy fallacy!
Canary, the cyclist, who was engaged,
got a fall that put him out Of the business
just prior to the Minneapolis engagement
The Elks' committee was aghast with
(consternation on the opening day of the
fair when they found that there was no
rider. after looping the loop had been
cried from the housetops, placarded on all
| the dead walls of the city and featured in
the newspapers for a month. .. E. j. Xii :
patrick tried to rise to the emergency.
He was not an experienced cyclist and
had only seen the feat performed once.
Nevertheless rather than fail to fulfil his
contract he decided to risk life and limb
in an attempt When just at the top of
the loop he fell and was seriously hurt.
Then Josiah Dougherty, Wiry athlete
| who had been a circus performer, tackled
the perilous feat. His second attempt re-
suited in such a severe bruising that he
| walked with a cane for some weeks John
| Larson, "the plugger,'' who had the
amount of averdoupois considered right to
secure the proper momentum, went off the
| incline at a tangent and got a heavy fall.
Jabour and the Ell<s' committee had by
this time telegraphed all over the country
| for bicycle riders and Joe Paige Smith
the New York vaudeville manager wired
In return that he had succeeded in getting
EClarence A. Hamilton. who was under ar
engagement to go to Europe to loop the
| loop, to turn back and come to Mime.
tapOl1s. He went around the loop once
! and only slipped at the finish, so a seconi
! venture was made with confidence. H,
was picked up for dead, however, and {
| dislocated shoulder, broken nose and in.
ternal injuries were among the results.
| Ida May, a woman cyclist, who had beer
performing the stunt known as shooting
| the chutes. who had come out from Jer.
sey City, did not make the attempt. She
claimed to be willing to but the Ellzs con
sidered that they would draw the, line
when it came to allowing a woman tt
court death for the sake of furnishing
the public with amusement.
Jabour, the Snowman, did not despair
easily. He carried the loop from Mime
apolis thru a season of twenty weeks ant
made a standing offer Of $500 a week fo
] a successful rider. In each town visited
by the show some rider essayed the feat
l two successfully and without injury-on,
| at Portland, Ore, and the other at Colum
bus, Ohio, but neither rider could be in
duced to make a second attempt. In al
seventeen riders were more or less injured
by attempting to ride the loop with tn,
! Jabour show.
The same difficulty in obtaining rider
was experienced by Prescott, the inventor
who could not be convinced that Wander
Ivert was the only man who could sue
cessfully loop the loop. He put up
practice loop at Fairview, N. j., and es
tablished a regular. loop the loop schoo
Il, Where cyclists pract1ced the incline an
made the attempts to circle the eliptica
loop surrounded by nets and other safe
guards Sometimes there were as man,
as ten riders in the class at this schoo
for the development of devil riding.
Il Seventy-four men were tried but onl
! three successful riders were deVelopeC
These were John Wolff, who is now ridin
at st. Petersburg; Frank Matthieson an
John Ruehl. This latter rider has bee]
performing the feat twice daily with tn
Ringing circus during its three weeks
engagement at Chicago under the name O
Crazo and he has ridden the loop som
1900 times without once falling He it j
who has been engaged to loop the loop a
Minneapolis.
He flies down the steep incline, dart
| around the loop and out with as muc
sangfroid and ease as is Imaginable N
nets are hung to catch him should be IA
I-he, laughs that precaution to scorn.
Last week, Theodore L. Hays, clairna,
Of the committee in charge of the manage
ment Of the Minneapolis June fair. visite
Chicago and after seeing Ruehl ride, wa
, convinced that he can be relied upon an
contract which insures his appearance
was Signed. " = 80. H.