Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-08-18
WHEN LOOPING THE LOOP.
There Is a Fierce Upward Rush Of Air,
a Wild Grip at Ones Hat, and
the Shock.

The Loop the Loop was just across
the way, and the artist reminded me
that it was worth seeing, says Albert
Bigelow Paine, in Century.
"Of course we won't ride" he said.
"but it is worth while to see the others"
We entered the Enclosure and gazed
up at the pair of great steel loops
around which cars are carried by the
force of their own momentum. A load
ed a was at the brink of a long incline.
Suddenly it shot down; then for an in
slant it was in the understanding,
hanging, descending-and straight away
up another incline, passing beyond our
view. We declared st%renuously against
this appalling amusement. Another car
went around, and another, and another.
We became silent in the sort of fascina-
ton that awaits impending disaster.
Finally | felt the thing fermenting in
my blood. Nobody seemed to be getting
hurt, and | should like to have the rec
ord of that trip. l expected the artist
w III WLCl l. dHllOulCtu lily luItll-
ton, but he did not. Perhaps he was
h%ypnotized. We buttoned our coats, as
If starting on a cold voyage. l had an
impulse to leave some word for the folks
at home. Then presently we were seat
ed in a car, slowly ascending the pre-
paratory incline.
During this gradual ascent we had
plenty of time to think. l found my
self wondering if people ever tainted in
making that swift revolution; also, if l
had heart disease, and what would be
the consequences to one affected in that
way. Suddenly l remembered that the
princess of the Nile had warned me
against any unnecessary risk of life. 1t
seemed a trivial thing at the moment,
but l realized now that her words
might have been fraught with a special
meaning. l stole a look at the artist.
He seemed pale and distract, perhaps re-
Numbering a similar warning. These
contrivances always ended in some
frightful disaster, and doubtless this was
the trip for it to occur. The next day
our names would be in the headlines. |
reflected that we were probably as great
a pair of fools as walked the earth.
The car had reached the level stretch
at the top now, and the brink was near.
[ recalled the starters injunctions to
keep my head up-probably to avoid los
ing it, as the result of a sudden jerk.
Lifting our eyes, we discovered that We
were on the verge. Heavens! had re-
allied that the incline was steep, but that
why, that was a drop! We were in a
wheeled car, perched at the brow of q
precipice, with a corkscrew revolution
at the end. Oh, to be for a single in
slant on solid ground! To be-
A fierce upward rush of air, a wild
grip at the loosening hat, and an in
slant later the shock! We were on the
loop. We were shooting upward as a
billow that breaks against the cliff; we
were curling over as the wave curls back
ward; we were darting down to inevita-
BILE humiliation!
l confess that my mind was confused.
I knew only that for what seemed an
eternal instant we were hanging in mid
air, that my head was far from being up,
that my body was swaying in a well-de-
fined centrifugal impulse to close up
like an accordion. Then all at once we
had dropped, and were shooting outward
dazed, weak and wondering tour safety.
AS for our heads, they we're still on,
but almost in our laps. An unknown
man in the back seat announced that he
would not do it again for a thousand
dollars. The figures did not seem ex-
travagant.