The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-30
HARVEST TIME FOR ACR0BATS
THEY'RE ALL GETTING READY
FOR THE COUNTRY FAIRS.



FOlksTalcs One Wire walker Tells.
The men who make business OF taking
chances with their lives to please the crowd
are not farmers, but none the less are they
glad when the harvest moon has come
and gone and the hay and grain are in tho
barns. More than in other seasons. 1t Is
In the early fall, when all country roads lead
to fair grounds. that these men are up and
doing-up on high wires, up in balloons.
upon bicycles In the arching curves OF
loops, twisting the law Of gravitation.
September and October are the months
In which the acrobats are busiest laying
away funds for the winter, when the weather
keeps them down to earth. When the
agricultural horn Of plenty has become
full to overlooking, the Fourteenth street
agencies, where in August tho open-air
performers were wont TO exchange daily
greetings, grow lonely, for out in the rural
districts the farmers are coming to town,
and the high-wire men, the aeronauts, and
loop the loopers" are Fastening away to
meet them.
The "loop the loop" on a bicycle is the
newest act called for by the fair managers.
Say. want to get hold Of q good rider
that's got his nerve with him.
Tho loop man wiped his brow, for he had
just climbed the agency stairs, and 1t was
hot, and he had had busy morning.
AI've got to get him right away he went
on. because that young Galatians gone
back on mo. He said that when his mother
heard he was goin' to do the loop she threw
a. Il Ia ~ In, q
hole. My Jersey date begins day after to-
morrow. I've just been seem about havin'
my stuff shipped out"
The agent consulted his address book and
said that no thought he could have couple
Of good men around the next morning. The
loop man was relieved
"No, faint hard TO get RIDERS" he re-
marked, except, maybe, at the last minute,
Ike this. There's plenty Of young fellows
that's glad to do the loop on bike for the
good money that's in 1t. But you've got
to know where you can put your finger on
EN- quick.
-Supposin your man gets hurt. You
must have another on the spot, or the fair
people throw down the contract. Tha
means a nice little bunch O. money out o.
pocket. Six-f1fty Ia what get for givin'
the ride once day durin fair week. It's
cheap, Mt that, when you come to reckon
up the damage.
an the first place, there's your riders to
pay. few Of the men that have a loop on
the road do the stunt themselves; but, be-
tween you and me. think too much of my
skin for that. even IL was lively enough.
IL tzaa nd t,raf fol lou md MT
many OF these have money enough to buy
a rig, OF business experience enough to get
the contracts. So they ride for managers.
when I'm film dates out OF easy hai!in'
distance Of Fourteenth street here, l always
carry two riders, givin' the one that's doin'
the act regular $50 week, and the other.
that only does it now and then. but is ready
all the time. a pretty good stake.
They get a good deal more than they
could ever make in any other way that
would he on the square, but they earn the
money, because there is no use tryin' to get
around the fact that it's risky business.
They know 1t well enou gh. and some o
them is apt to key themselves no for work
on booze. have to look out for that. 1
always look over my man before. / let him
mount his bike, and II he amt fit he don't
ride, and Ia fined. That's all in the agree
ment before he goes to work.
Another OF my troubles ia with my rig.
You can't depend on the fair people for
anything take everything along, carryin'
the loop in sections. Why, travel with
II costs, this does, and then there's tie
extra help to pay when you're hustlin' 10
get the loon set No.
-Oh, il amt easy money, and 1t drops
! on you pretty quick. After the lst Of
November there's nothin' doin'. You can
60 South. II you want to, or even strike
down in Cuba. where they're gettin' a
strong taste for frst-class American out
door acts. but with all the stuff you have to
carry. and the long Jumps, il pays better,
to my mind, to Law Oft till the summer parks
and picnic grounds open up for business.
One Of the growing drawbacks OF follow
ing the curve Of the loop to make living
is the feeling in some communities that the
game IL too hazardous to be encouraged,
But at most fairs and pnrks great attrac-
| ton ia the loop. The authorities don't Ike
| TO prohibit 1t, and to obviate the probability
Of the looper breaking his neck, expert
ments are being made with new kind OF
loop.
and instead Of the boxed-in, wooden speed
way, there Ia a narrow and steeply inclined
| track of iron, upon which a grooved wheel
travels. A couple Of handles hang from the
wheel. The man who is to do the stunt
mounts 10 the top OF the incline and grips
the handles. The word is given. The
wheel with the man cinging 10 it shoots
down the decivity and strikes the spiral
loop. Tho body Of the man performs two
rapid revolutions in the air. and his days
work Is over.
This trick is just as spectacular as the
bicycle loop, and Ia not 40 dangerous, that
| is, it's originators hone not Dummies
stuffed with sand have done It successfully
but II has not yet been tried by real man
| The only question Ia, can the looper hold
| his grip, can his arms Withstand the very
strong tendency Of his body to ny on into
| space? In q day or two some daring youth
| will know from his own experience.
Despite the popularity OF the loop, the
managers OF no up-to-date county fair
are wholly satisfied unless they have pro-
yided a wire performer. They know that
the rural population never grows weary OF
Watching man high In the air, with only
| a thin wire bet ween him and the hard earth
cast his outer garments to the winds, burst
| forth in tights and then take surprising
chances with his life.
This 10 called in professional circles q
straight act, to distinguish 1t from those
like looping and parachute leaping. which
require no unusual skill. but plenty OF reck-
lessness They are known as trust to
God" acts.
at takes a long time to become a good
wire walker" said the performer at we'll
known seaside resort nearby. Il began in
a circus when ] was 5, and have been at
| IL for twenty years. I've had some falls
of course, but seem to have developed