The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-07-07
FAST AS A BIRD BIRD.
. Man Who Slides Three Miles
a Minute Through Space
FOR HIS HEALTH


verslty Professor Who Finds Pleas
ure In Flying Across Preclpices
and Valleys Astrlde a
Slender Steel Wire.
TO DR.. Alfred, Chapuis, professor OF
zoology In the University of Geneva,
belongs the credit for inventing the
most thrilling and hair. raising form
of recreation ever heard of. Compared
with 1t such attractions as the loop.
the. loop appear very mild.
Professor Ohapuis finds that 1t is
Is very beneficial to his health and
perve to ride for a mile at the tire.
mendOus rate Of three miles a minute
down a slender steel cable extending
from the top Of n Of the highest
peaks In the Saleve mountain, Swift
zsrlahd, cross chasms, pr~ecipices, val
legs and streams to the very bottom of
the Saleve valley. If the wire broke,
or Professor Chapuis lost his balance
and fell, he would be dashed to pieces.
Remarkable as 1T may seem to most
Of us, who would not care to make a
trip down the wire, no matter how
high the inducement, Professor Chap
uis declares that his health has i'm.
proved vastly since he first ventured
out into space astride the slender ca
BILE. His twentieth trip was made early
one Sunday morning last month.
II prefer to make my trips very
early In the morning when there are
very few people to watch me coming
down." he explained. II am doing this
for my health, not for show purposes,
and consequently l have serious OBJ.
jections to giving public exhibitions.
with tie dignity Of q professor Of 70
ology to make a public spectacle of him
self flying through the clouds on a,
slack Wire"
Professor Chapuis Is one of the most
diligent workers in the University Of
Geneva, where he has occupied the
chair Of zoology, for five years. Close
application to his labors threatened
to undermine his health, when he
sought for a strenuous form OF recrea
tion to counteract the wear and tear
on his nervous system. Mountain
climbing and other vigorous forms OF
exercise were not strenuous enough
They did not seem to do him any
good.
One morning while climbing Saleve
mountain the idea Of sliding down
from the top on a wire occurred to
| him FNhn noppntotn 10 n 1,ook lD,,Ilo
peaked mass of limestone, lying to the
southeast Of the city Of Geneva, and
forms q very ~fayorite Summer resort.
The mountain is full Of quarits, es.
pecially at Veyrier, about three and
one-half miles from the city, and at
the foot Of the mountain. Years ago
the big blocks Of stone were blasted
from the quarries close at hand by the
villagers, but In recent years since the
introduction o aerial ropewaYs,
local prOprietors have attacked the
mountain top itself with success, and
made 1T yield up It's valuables at all
levels.
Anyone may see for himself the
huge blocks Of limestone travelling,
apparently OF their own volution, down
the steel cable hundreds OF feet above
the valley. 1t was the sight Of these
stone blocks travelling from high up
on the mountain down into the valley
that suggested the idea to Professor
Chapuis. There seemed no reason why
he should not also slide down from the
mountain to the village. 1t seemed to
him that 1t was exactly the form of re-
creation he had been seeking.
II had not the slightest idea Of at.
tanning any notoriety, !" said the doctor
OF zoology, 'or of performing any dare.
devil trick with that object. I said
nothing to my friends when l made
my final decision, but arranged all the
details with the manager Of the ca.
BILE, who most Strenuously opposed my
plan.
You will certainly fall, he de-
clared and I shall be responsible for
your DEATH 1t was madness--utter
madness, he urged. Even supposing
the cable would stand 1t, the young
scientist would surely lose his grip
on the wire and slide with fatal rapid
ity to the bottom. The steel wire Ca:
bic, by the way, is about three quar-
ters OF an inch thick, and It's total
length Is owe q mile. at one dizzy
point there Is a loose swinging strand
Of nearly a thousand feet between two
supports, and the height at this point
Is about $50 feet above the dreadful
Jagged rocks.
The gradient, too" M. Chapuis
continued, is extremely steep, varying
from forty to fifty degrees, so strong
nerves and q firm hold were absolute.
ly necessary to the slider. / assured
the manager | should take every pre-
caution and that In any event no blame
should attach TO him. All the same,
he was In a pitiful state Of apprehen-
sion the day he saw me prepare for o
first descent.
Il threw my legs on either side OF
the thin wire, much as | would across
az horse, my face toward the summit
and my hands firmly gripping the
wire. Just as | swung myself clear OF
the rock the manager turned away,
trembling with terror. l was wearing
some extra heavy trousers L had pre-
pared, and, OF course, the stoutest
gloves obtainable, but when 1 reached
the bottom they were not only torn TO
ribbons but my hands and body had
suffered severely from the friction and
great heat generated by the sWiftpess