The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-14

movements of the car with the body in order to prevent too great a strain upon nerves and muscles.
 The woman who dares" in the Dip of Death is Miss Isabelle Butler She is an American gl H. and was born in Chicago 22 years ago She attended Vassar, and was preparing for d career in medicine when her health failed and her parents took her to Europe. During that period, which also witnessed her complete return to health, she saw the performance of "L'A to-Bolide" in Paris, where il was original ly produced at the Folies Bergere.
 How did you happen to become an ae- rial automobilist?" Miss Butler was asked recently.
 "There was no mystery about it." was the reply, smilngly q had seen the act in Paris, and had been fortunate in meet ing the inventor and learning from him the secret of how to ride in comparative safety. When the proposition was made to me to give the act in the United States. l did not hesitate. 1 had been accustomed to doing daring and hazardous things all my life-just for the fun of the thing The opportunity to perform a thrilling act and a sensational one for great sum of mon- ey was irresistible. l succumbed. Don't think me altogether mercenary, however. There Is d kind of wild excitement in the Dip of Death that appeals to me There are times when l actually enjoy feeling myself carried through the air in the auto- mobile. And then the audience-it is great fun to watch the audience. When l am first introduced, all eyes are turned upon me curiously-almost pityingly, sometimes.
 Up to the time that 1 take my place in the chair to be drawn mp to the platform where the auto starts on it's journey.
 there is a buzz of conversations ripple
 of curious comment As l ascend, how ! ever, the crowd becomes very quiet. Tho still is almost oppressive. At first 1t
 annoyed me. now I have become ac- customed to it. When I take my place in
 the car the silence, if possible becomes
 more profound. It seems to me I can see
 the people breathing and hear their ac-
 celerated heart-beats As the car is low
 cred into position on the track, many
 in the audience turn away their heads. ! They are afraid of an accident When, however, tho director calls from the
 ground, Are you ready?' and l respond, 1 All readyl almost every eye is turned
 toward the car again. 1 presume the fas- cination of the thing is irresistible. Sud- denly the engineer pulls the bolt, the car l gides down the runway with the speed of an express train, turn the great hook at
 the lower end, and shoots into the air. The silence is still impressive; though the machine is upside down, I can see the faces of the those nearest me looking up wan and half frightened. I can see
 the sudden start in the crown when, dur ing the actual flight, l press the bulb of the horn"
 'It is really wonderful how much one
 can see and feel in such a brief space
 of time as it takes for the car to loop that i fortytwo foot chasm It is probably i a second before it completes it's flight
 and lands on the receiving runway The
 moment it strikes and starts on its jour ney to the ground 1 can see and feel the relief in the audience The tension is re- laxed, the tongues renew their buzzng,
 and when l spring from the car and face the audience again, l am greeted with spontaneous applause. I think that ap- plause is a relief to the wrought up
 feelings of the crowd. Nevertheless, l appreciate it. No one knows or realizes
 more than l do how dangerous the act is, or how little it would take in the way of a disarrangement of the mechan-
 ism to cause an accident. And, then, but, pshaw, what's the use of thinking about it?"
 Were you nervous the first time you attempted the feat?"
 i "Yes. indeed, but not for myself. I did
 not allow myself to think of the possibi- i ty of an accident but l was nervous ] for fear the act would not make the
 sensation that was predicted for it in this country. Besides-oh. well, am woman,
 and I worried little for fear the shock
 would make my hair come down." | How does it feet to take an automo- | bile nght?"
 "'rhe sensation as I suggested before, l if often eXhilerating. There are only two 1 places on the journey where it is unpleas- ant The first is when the car, overcom- 1 Ing the attraction of gravity turns around l the hook I ne shock at that point is se- we're. and if 1 did not relax at the crit | cal moment, an injury to the spine would
 undoubtedly result As it is, the turn
 nearly always gives me a headache. The l second shock is when the car lands This l is not so severe one might suppose l for the inventor, Mr. Perez, has cleverly relieved the force of the impact Never l theless, great care has to be taken to adapt the muscles to the shock, and any
 earelessness in this respect means a stiff neck for several days.
 Have you no fear of an accident?" None whatever. I have perfect faith in the carefulness and forethought of the engineer who directs the machine The act is given under his immediate super vision. so that all danger of accident from neglect is avoided But if some- thing should go wrong, it would only be what might happen to any circus per- former. If it Is going to happen, it will happen-I am too much of fatalist to worry about it.
 Miss Buffers insensiblity to danger was curiously illustrated in New York City recently. A well known physician exam ined her pulse both before and after the Dip of Death" act. In both instances the heart action normal. There was practically no variation.