The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-28
THREE THRILLING FEATS.
And How the Daring Circus Per-
formers Garry Them Out.


From the Minneapolis Journal.
"Thrillers" is the only word that
APPLY describes the sensational fea-
lures of the big circuses this year
There is an unusually large number of
these ''thrillers." but three of them
stand out with prominence. In the
language of the circus bill, "Volo, the
Volitant," cycles the aerial arch; Solo
descends ladder on a single wheel
While carrying a. companion on his
shoulders, and Ancilotti turns a SOM
ersault on bicycle while looping the
gap" This, however, gives no ade-
quate idea of the character of the
acts nor the sensations they produce
when seen for the first time.
Perhaps the most interesting of these
acts is the whirlwind descent and
flight of the daring Volo Starting
from platform elevated fifty feet in
the air, Volo wheels down a runway
ninety-three feet in length, secures
sufficient momentum to fly fifty feet
through space, lands on a second in
cline, and descends to the ground
with the speed of an express
train
The act displays great cleverness as
well as remarkable nerve. The incline
is less than three feet in width, and
the slightest swerving of the wheel
would cause the rider to dart over the
edge and be dashed to the ground. The
cleverness of the rider is also shown
in bringing the wheel down to the sec
ond incline. Should the bicycle strike
on the back wheel, the rider would
throw an involuntary somersault and
! probably injure his back or kill him
self. Volo overcomes this by perfect
mastery of his wheel. There is a, GER
tain point in the fight when the mo-
mentum of the wheel seems to over
come the resistance of the air. At this
p, moment Volo deXterously throws his
wheel down and the bicycle drops to
the platform, striking fairly on both
wheels. This enables the rider to de-
| scend safely and with great speed.
Volo's real name is Charles E..
Clarke. He is a man of rather small
| stature, and, with his close trimmed
beard, is the perfect type of young
physician. In fact, he is Doc" Clarke
to all the circus.
Il was doing the loop the loop act
last season." he said recently. This
new act was suggested by a combi-
] nation of the ideas of the loop the
} loop and shooting the chutes' 1t
was all figured out fundamentally to
| ascertain the angle necessary for each
! platform and the space that could he
| jumped. Then we had civil engineers
| figuring on it. Finally models were
made, with marbles instead of a hi.
/ cycle.
When l made the first jump every-
thing was surrounded by nets. Everey-
! thing worked just as anticipated. and
1 came out all right. When I tried 1t
again I fell. 1 was not hurt much
and was soon on to the knack of it.
| There is a moment, just as it looks.
/ JybpT nf los
air. That is when the force of grav-
ity overcomes the upward tendency,
and L begin to come down. The ten
| dency all of the time that I am in the
air is to fall on my back, and l have
to throw my weight forward. It is,
of course, more difficult to control q
bicycle in the air than on the ground"
The trick of riding down a ladder
| on a unicycle is a most difficult as well
as dangerous one, and it's perilous
| character is enhanced by the fact that
the rider carries another member of
| the circus company on his shoulders
1t is difficult to ride single wheel
on a level space, but to fly down an
incline on a unicycIe is a feat that
few would dare to attempt. Solo, how
ever, does it at every performance and
wins a generous amount Of applause
| for his cleverness and daring.
Scientifically, however, the most
daring as well as the most dangerous,
of these "thrillers," is the gap"
| Those who have seen the loop the
| loop" apparatus will readily under
| stand the arrangement of the para
| phernalia used in this heat. 1t is, in
| effect, a great loop with section of
the top removed. The opening thus
made is close to twenty feet. Like
Volo, Ancilotti, who loops the gap"
starts from an elevated platform and
| gets his momentum on an inclined
runway. This momentum must be
| sufficient to carry him over the gap
no more, no less. Too much would
throw him over the top of the second
| part of the loop. insufficient momen-
| tum would make him fall in the open
space. The whole thing, therefore,
had to be worked out with mathemat-
! ical precision.
Ancilotti, who performs this great
| feat, is an Italian. He was born in
| Turin, Italy, about "a years ago. His
| father was a famous performer on the
wheel and was, in fact, the first Euro
! pean artist to give a public exhibition
on a bicycle. That was forty years
| ago. Young Anclotti began his career
| as a performer at the age of years
| He was a member of his fathers
! troupe and performed a. series of tricks
on a tiny wheel The gap" which he
exploits at the Barnum & Bailey cir
| Gus is his own invention.
/