Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1906-04-07
DANGEROUS CIRCUS ACTS
Some of the Many Ways Of
Breaking Your Neck
A RISKY ROAD TO WEALTH


Looping the Loop and Devices That
Followed--Accidents Resulting i'm
Death--Large Pay Received by
Performers-The Human Arrow
Earns $4,000 Year.
Looping the loop and it's progeny
are the most effective devices yet in
vented for producing apparent as
well as real danger, says the Scien-
tific American. Does any one still
remember the American bicyclist
down steeply inclined sixty-foot
ladder? One night an attack Of ver-
tigo caused his death, but his act
was less dangerous than the per-
Torrance on inverted and aerial
paths to which we have since be-
come accustomed
The public soon tires of the strong
est sensations. The stationary loop
gave place to the rotating circle
called the devils wheel, in which the
cyclist spins like a squirrel. Taking
his place inside the wheel, which is
about fifteen feet in diameter, he
pedals in a direction opposite to that
Of the wheel, and thus remains at
the bottom until the wheel has ac-
quired considerable velocity. Then
he stops pedaling, applies his brake,
and is carried backward and upward
nearly to the top, whence he rushes
down, and flies around and around
the revolving wheel with startling
speed
At a performance in Vienna a cy-
ciist stricken with apoplexy fell from
the wheel and soon expired But the
danger Of cerebral congestion is not
the only one. The critical phase of
the act Is the last when both the BIZ
cycle and the large wheel are being
brought to rest by brakes. The BIZ
cycle lurches, and the slightest error
In steering may send it through the
open side OF the wheel and precipi-
tate the rider to the stage.
In Germany genius called
"Eclair" invented an internal wheel
OF another sort. 1t was about rs
feet in diameter, and a smaller wheel
rolled around inside of It, obtaining
its impetus from plunge down an
inciined plane. which made descent
OF fifty feet. To this small wheel |
"Eclair" was dashed in spreadeagle |
.xaehion. He accustomed himself to
tkis novel mode Of lQcomotien by
having himself strapped to a similar
wheel, which was turned rapidly
KBout fixed axis by means of
crank. 9s'~~gf~<. .-.~r~
g. Mort startling and perilous than
any of these devices Is the ''circle OF
death" This is large, fiat, trun-
Gated cone. like the rim of pud-
ding dish, supported by ropes in a
position slightly inclined to the hori-
zontal, so that only one side of the
lower and smaller edge rests on the
stage, Bicyciists-one or more-en-
ter the central space and run up and
around the steep side with their ma
chimes and bodies nearly horizontal.
Then TO add to the apparent and real
danger, the whole apparatus is
raised aloft The effect is thrilling,
for the riders appear to be in con-
slant danger of falling. In Berlin, as
three cyclists were gyrating in a sim
gle circle of death. one fell and car
ried second down with him. They
had scarcely reached the stage when
the third performer fell also,
What Is the incentive which i'm
gels these men and women TO risk
stheir lives nightly before crowds OF
spectators? Is 1t ambition, vanity,
love of applause, or simply the hope
OF making a fortune? The American
looping the loop" was conceived in
an essentially practical spirit, and
"Diavolo," who received $500 a
a night, has become a rich man.
Mile. Dutrieu, "the human arrow"
earns $4,000 year, "Mephisto' re-
ceived $140, Mile. de Tiers 5000 a
night in Paris and larger sums
abroad Imitators, of course, re-
ceive less than originators. The cur
rent pay for looping the loop is from
$40 to $40 a night which is not high,
especially if the performer owns the
apparatus, which costs at least $500.
1t seems, therefore, that the hope
of gain is not the only incentive, but
that the performer, like the public. is
attracted by the very danger of the
act-a curious Illustration Of the
fascination eXertel AyemoJons which
In themselves are disagreeabe.
The Worlds Most Powerful Gun.